The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-01
HOW FORTUNES GROW.
The Second Million Is Easier to Make
Than the First Thousand.
Tit RitSO

81 made the thousands, the millions
made themselves" the late Jay Gould
once declared; and although the state
ment may perhaps SAVIOR of exaggera-
ton, it is probable that many another
man of millions would indOrse ]. D.
Blair's statement: Il made my second
million easier than my first thousand"
At what an astounding rate a fortune
may grow when once it has passed the
million rubicOn, which so few of us
may hope to reach, is proved by the
following statement Of J. D. Rockefel-
ler's wealth at different stages of his
romantic career. In 1865 his capital.
all told, was a bare $4,000; five years
later it had grown to $500 in five
years more it touched 81 ZOO, GOO; an
other ten years made it $50 000. 900; five
more years doubled it; in 1899 his for
tune had reached the stupendous sum
Of $3.50, 000 900; and today, just forty
years after the first 81, 1000 was saved.
it is said to exceed $500, 600, 900, or.
roughly e1O0. 600 900.
Thus in fifteen years Q875 to 1880,
Mr.. Rockefeller increased his fortune a
hundredfold; and in the next fifteen,
though he has only multiplied it by
five. he has added ESQ. 900, 600 to it.
representing an average addition of
five and third millions every year.
/. To illustrate how possible such an
increase is, and how millions can make
millions, let US take one year-that Of
1990-in Mr.. RockefeIler's race for
riches. At the beginning of that year
he stated on oath that he was the own
e. of G6, 200, 900 in Standard Oil stock.
Before December came that stock had
appreciated 400 points-each pound he
held in January had grown to e5 by
the end Of the year. end thus, as any
boy can calculate, his holding in the
Standard Oil company alone had added
84,SO0,000 to his riches without any eff
fort whatever on his part. At the same
time Mr.. Rockefeller had been opera
ting heavily in the stock of half a
dozen railways, and, in cooperation
with j. PerpOnt MORGAN and James 7
Hill had formed colossal railway
combination, with the result that these
transactions put e5.10O. coo more 70
his eXchequer. From these sol Is
alone the American Croesus addet to
his fortune nearly $50, 000, 900 in a ! n
gle year-a larger sum than he had
accumulated in the thirty years ending
in 1895.
That a man like Pierpont Morgan.
practically controls properties capitaI-
lied at over e1.300, 0OO, 00O-or e2O0 900 :.
600 more than the aggregate revenue Of
the forty-three principal nations of the
world-should be in position to make
money goes without saying. 1t is in
teresting, however, to see how and ar
what rate he can add to his millions
Five yeas ago, when the great coal
strike was on, and in the absence of
any prospect Of a settlement. Mark
Hanna, Mr.. McKinley's campaign man
ager called on Mr.. Morgan and told
him that for political reasons the strike
would have to be settled at once. Mr.
Morgan accordingly called q meeting
of the mine owners to receive Mr..
Hanna's proposals; and, confident that
the deliberations would end in a SET
tement he proceeded to buy every coal
share he and his agents could secure
Mr. Morgan's foresight was justified:
the strike was settled, prices took a
big leap upward and the great fInan-
cier was able to sell at a profit vari-
ously estimated at from e2,OOO.OOO to
S3,000,O00