Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-05-08


perhaps, in the world, is coming out
from under cover. His name is scarce
" known to the general reader, and
his remarkable personality has been
quite Overshadowed by that OF the
Colossus, although he was far richer
than Rhodes. But he will be in many
respects Rhodes successor, and the
fierce light that beats upon a throne
will soon make him one of the most
taIked-about men of the time.
His name is Alfred Belt. Short and
ugly as it is, that name could make an
otherwise worthless bit of paper into
8 check that might be used to shake
Wall street and Lombard street to
their foundations. Whether he is really
richer than John D. Rockefeller is a
question Belt himself probably couldn't
answer. Two men who have been
closely associated with him in widely
different ways have told me in the last
few days that this financier probably
could not scrape together more than
hundred million dollars or so just now,
although it has been stated IN print
a billion of dollars. Both of these
authorities agreed, however, that the
end of the war in south Africa, where
this vast fortune has it's roots, would
assuredly bring prOdigious increase
in the Belt wealth.
TO Be a Millionaire Presently.
If he keeps or at the rate of the last
ten years the world will not have to
wait much longer before getting its
first sight of a Millionaire.
Heretofore he has been content to
worship Rhodes and to pick up mill
ions, but an Englishman who has been
conspicuous in the operations of the
Chartered company ever since the first
MatabeIe war said to the writer: Il
venture to predict that Belt, who has
been known only as a fnancier up to
now, will be found before long taking
up and carrying to completion some of
the empire-building work Rhodes left
well begun but only half done. I have
reason to believe that Belt caught
some of Rhodes enthusiasm for i'm
perialism to such an extent that he
will eventually put money into it with
out getting it back, just as Rhodes
did. So far as investments in the De
Beers company Johannesburg, and in
RhOdesia go, Belt is the big man in
Africa already. and if he shows adj
ministrative power equal 10 his finan-
cial ability his future is going to hold
the worlds attention. His friendship
for Rhodes was something more than
an alliance for business purposes. He
fairly wOrshiped the man.
Like Rhodes in Many Ways.
This mysterious mult-millionaire
was born in the same year, 1858, as the
man into whose shoes he is expected
TO step Like Rhodes, he is a bachelor,
and for the same reason that Rhodes
and Kitchener got the credit of being
man-haters-because they were too
much engrOssed in their ambitions to
have time to give attention to domestic
affairs. Like both of these men, too,
he cares little for society, although
there is a plenty Of exclusive peers
who seem glad to accept an invitation
TO dine with him at his beautiful house
in Park lane, England and although
many titled mamma is said to nave
Lried to capture him for a son-in-law.
like Rhodes, again. he gave no in
dicatiOn in youth of being anything
unusual. He was born in Hamburg
forty-nine years ago, coming of an old.
solid Hebrew family. not vastly
wealthy, but rich enough to give him
= good education in the German
schools and get him a good place in a
banking house. His luck began when
he was 22 and was drawn to south
Africa by news of the diamond dis
cOverieS. He got there a little before
Cecil Rhodes arrived in the hope of
keeping out OF the early grave to
which his physicians had surrendered
him.
Belt made money as diamond
merchant at Kimberly and invested it
in diamond mines. which brought him
IN touch with young Rhodes, who was
laying the foundation of his portion by
his scheme for consolidating the dia-
mond interests-a scheme that proved
TO be a lucky one to Belt. In fact,
Belt seems to have been Rhodes chief
helper in the business
Leader in South African Mines
Belt branched out into the banking
business, becoming a partner in the
firm Of Jules Porges & Co. predeces-
sors of the present great firm of
hoy, pnif @ 10
discovered i'll the Transvaal Belt was
in on the ground floor again. and with
his johannesburg partner, Hermann
Eckstein soon became one of the great
captains of the south African gold in
dustry. He is credited with having
transformed south African gold min.
ing from a speculation into a steady.
we'll organized. conservative business.
He had the wit to import the highest
quality OF American machinery, and to
pay prodigious salaries to sucn mining
engineers as John Hays Hammond.
Herman Jennings, and Louis Seymour
TO advise and superintend this huge
enterprise, which before the war was
putting out 100000, 900 worth of pre-
cious metal a year, and which. besides
paying heavy taxes to Kruger, turned
$20,000,000 year of profit over to its
shareholders
This lucky son of Hamburg was
grubbing along with only a meager !
two or three millions in 1900. Most of |
the stream of wealth that has poured |
into his Golfers ever since came from !
the gold of Johannesburg and the |