The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-07-29
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC J. HAsKIN. Director.
Washington, ID. O.
Lo. THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

LO, THE OR-AfILL1ONAIRE!
Washington, D. c., July 24.-The
term millionaire may mean one thing
or IT may mean another. To the aver
, age person a millionaire is a man who
is the fortunate possessor of $1,000
600. To some of those who study the
statistics of income published by the
Internal revenue bureau of the treas
ury. millionaire is not one who pos
sesses merely 100000, but one who
has an income of $1,000,0O0 a year or
more. Such a man must possess
fortune of many millions of dollars.
The vicissitudes of these super-mil-
lionaires, most of whom were created
by the war, is an interesting story.
There may be some fiction in it,. also.
1t is difficult to determine whether
the statistics reflect actual vicissitudes
of fortune or Jugglery of figures, but
the figures must be taken at their
face value and the assumption made
that they constitute true report. II
that be true, the super millionaires of
the United States came and went In
the war years as summer insects come
and go, but there are many still
buzzing around.
In 1914, the first year in which the
great war in Europe changed the face
of the world and turned the channels
of business, there were sixty persons
in the United States who reported in
comes of $1,000,000 a year or more.
The internal revenue bureau has no
higher classification than this. but it
is said that if the classifications werc
carried upward. it would be found
that there are incomes Of $10,000,OOO
a year and more.
BY 1915 the crop of super million
aires had doubled. There were 100
persons who returned income of ST.
100000 year and over: In 1916 the
the peak. In 1917 the figures had
fallen to 141: but in 1918 it was 81;
in 1919, IS; and in 1920 there were
but SO Americans reporting incomes of
81, 900, 900 a year and over.
when They DwindIed.
Observers of these matters see a
coincidence in the fact that the great
incomes began to dwindle in the same
year that the United States entered
the war and laid heavy taxes and sur
supposed to give, not the taxable in
come merely, but the total net income.
That is, these amounts were returned
whether taxable or not. The point
has been made that the great incomes
did not actually fall off when the
United States entered the war so
sharply as has been indicated, but
that by some mysterious manipula-
ton. they were kept out of the re-
turns. That may be fact and it may
be that the oeneficiaries of these vast
incomes, realizing that large proper
ton of their funds would be taken
by the income tax collector, began in
1915 to distribute their property to
heirs or to dissipate it in other ways.
II the normal definition of q mill
lionaire is used, the statistics are as
founding. Assuming that a million
aire is one who has an estate worth
10000 the numbers can be arrived
at by assuming that each receives an
income of 10 per cent on his fortune.
This would be at the rate of 100000
a year. In 1914 the number of per-
sons having incomes of 100000 q
year was 2,2SS. Add the 60 super-mil-
lionaires and a grand total of 2,S4S is
obtained. This was the year in which
the European war broke out
Taking this same definition of mil
lionaires, there were in 1915 some
3,704 of them and, with the super
millionaires added, grand total of
1924. The figures for 1915 show
6,427 with 2O6 super-millionaires to
add, giving grand total of 6.6S3. In
1917 the number was $500 and, with
the uper-millionaires, 1854. This
was the high tide for the combined
showing. The high tide for the
super-millionaires was 1915, when
but 141. But the classes ranging
down to the normal single-million-
aires reached their zenith in 1917. In
1918 there were 4,423 normal mill
lionaires and sixty-seven >super-mil-
lionaires, or a total of 4,499; in 1919,
there were 5,461 normal rnillionaires
and sixty-five super-millionaires or a
total of 5,526; in 1920 there were
3.616 normal mi1lionaires and thirty
three super-millionaires or a total of
3.649. This is the last year for which
figures have been compiled, but it is
expected that 1921 and 1922 will show
still further decreases in all these
classes.
ton, it has been arbitrarily assumed
that the millionaires make returns of
10 per cent and our classification has
been worked back from that hypothe-
sors of $1,000,000 earning but 5 per
cent on their fortunes. If this CLASH
fication be included, the total num-
Der of milllonaires is greatly swelled
more than doubled.
OF the $4,000 income class-a
per cent yield on $1,000, 000-there
were 5,161 in 1914. These added to
the 2,34S of the higher classes, would
give a total of 1909 for 1914. The
figures for the other years for these
total when added to the upper classes
of 1851 all told; 10.452 for 1916 or
a total of 1905; 12,4S9 for 1917 or
a total of 19.103; 1895 for 1913 or
total of 1886; 1903 for 1920 or a
total of 1912.
The figures show that the groups
OF lesser millionaires, that is those
having estates ranging from S1,OVU,OOV
to 100000 900 have held their fortunes
thru the war better than the super
millionaires with fortunes above $780,
100000.
When Poor 1IiIIionaires Flourished.
In fact the high point for single
millionaires. that is possessors of ST.
600, 900 yielding incomes of 100000 a
year was not reached until 1918 which
was three years after the high point
for the supernillionaires had been
passed. In fact every class of lesser
millionaires from the impoverished
possessors OF a mere million up to
those with SS,000,000 or 100000
was more numerous in 1920 than in
1914 when the var staSted; whereas
there are hut half as many super-nil-