The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-27
Carnegie Has Only
$4,000, 900 Left; Most
of That TO Go TO Charity
lronmaster Sinks Far Down List of Americas Rich
Men After Giving Away $3.50 900 in
Desire to Die Poor.


Andrew Carnegie has a fortune to-
day Of only $4,000. 900. OF the vast
wealth which the ironma ster possessed
when he started giving away his
money twenty years ago in conformity
with his principle OF dying poor. that
Is all ne has left. He is now far down
on the list Of Americas rich men
Mr.. Carnegie has given away about
$3SO.000.0 900. II interest were TO be in.
cluded on some of the funds he has set
aside the total would reach nearly
s4oo.ooo.ooo. This sum he has given
away in pursuance Of his belief. as ex-
pressed by Dr. Henry $. Pr,tchett
president Of the Carnegie Foundation.
in his address Wednesday in Pittsburg,
that the man who dies possessed Of
great wealth and who devotes no part
Of it to the public use has failed In life
The s2OyOOO.OGO which Mr.. Carnegie
has left he has devised In his will nj.
most entirely to charity. Very little
will go to his family. Thus. when his
will Is made public. II will he found that
he really made good his boast of dying
poor. There Il. strictly speaking, no
record like his In this or any other
country.
The actual amount OF Mr.. Carnegie's
present fortune was disclosed to The
ScN yesterday by one of the iron
masters closest friends. a man who hns
had the direction of the disposal Of
much OF this great wealth. While pre-
ferr!ng that his name be not used this
friend made it clear that he believed
the time had come to make known the
extent of Mr.. Carnegie's wealth to-day
in proof of his deep sincerity OF pur-
pose and of the manner In which he
had carried out his formula of the re-
sponsibility OF private wealth.
Remarks Lead tO lnquiry.
II was the remarks made by Or.
Pritchett at the Carnegie birthday cele-
bration In Pit,sburg that led THE SuN
to make inquiry AS TO the exact wealth
to-day Of Andrew Carnegie. In that
address. occasioned by the eightie'h
birthday OF the ironmaster and Pitts
burgs benefactor, DIR. Pritchett spoke
OF Mr.. Carnegie as possessing now only
moderate fortune after giving away
nearly s400. 100000 He declared that
he had made vital the conception that
the owner of great wealth was trus-
tee for the public. obligated to divide y
for the public use.
The most noteworthy thing about Mr..
Carnegies preaching OF the doctrine Of
the conservation Of wealth. Or Prit-
chett added. ''is the fact that his practice
has squared with his preaching. The
great bulk Of his accumulations, nearly
s4uO 600 ,0u0, has been turned back by
him to the public to be used in the
cause Of human betterment. He Is to-
DAY "A man of moderate fortune.
Naturally this utterance by the head
OF the Carnegie Foundation served only
to increase the speculation concerning
the actual extent of Mr. Carnegie's
present wealth. speculation which
has been indulged in generally ever since
Mr. Carnegie began years agp To an
nouncs his immense benefactions. That
most II the computations made have
been far from the mark is indicated by
the facts disclosed yesterday. 1t had
been estimated IN sume OF these that
Mr. carnegie's wealth was at east
slO0,000. 900.
1t was when definition was sought
of President Pritchetts term "m"ierate
fortune" that the close friend OF Mr.,
Ca.n-gies was induced 10 give the real
figures of the ironmaster's present
wealth. He coupled this with the as
sertion that, of course. fortunes were
largely relative; that the term mod
crate" when applied to n fortune in the
case OF a man who had given away
nearly s+0o,0Oo,0o0. was not to be- ac-
| cepted as meaning the same as in the
cas- of "A person of the average COM
petence,
No Desire to Make Money.
But. however small fortune OF
| s2O,0O0,UU0 may be relatively IN com
pariRon with the amount OF MIR, Car
! negie's total benefactions. II does not
mean. as this close friend OF Mr.. Car
negie explained. that the latter believes
he has fultlled his purpose. 1t was in
this connection that this friend made
known the fact that Mr. Carnegie's will
devises almost his entire remaining
| wealth to charity.
Mr.. Carnegie's immediate family COLI