The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-04-30
MELLON SECOND
AMONG RICH MEN
His Wealth Places Him
Second tn Rockefeller
in Spite of Denials
FORD ALSO RANKS HIGH
He Probably Paid Most in
Taxes Last Year; George
+. Baker Near the Top

Every once so often 81 is us-
serted that Secretary Mellon is the
second richest man In the United
! states. II is taken for granted that
John u. Rockefeller ia ~" woalthics,
despite hts sons mudcgt protest that
the oil king really isn't worth a bill
lion, the figure usually tackled to
lis name, ana in somewhat the
same way. despite Mr. Melons dis
claimcr of distinction a. runucr-up
to "A fortune su Colossal a-'H Really. |
am poor man, comparatively" he
has been quoted ns snylng "a popu-
lar belief IN the report persists.
ON the basis OF taxable income,
Mr. Mellon Is comparatively poor
Rated on this basis alone, Henry
Ford is unqucstiuuahly the richest
man IN the world. not cxccptlug
Hugo shines, John -. Rockefeller,
George T. Baker. chairman of the
board OF tho First National Bank
IN New York. and Mrs T.. H. Iinrri-
man. widow of tho railroad maguntc.
probably trail In tho order named
ana on that basis Mr. Mellon is not
much better than any one OF II score
OF American multimilliOnaircs
But ns n matter OF real wealth,
tho secretary OF the treasury prob
ably ranks easily among the top
most ten. for taxable income a. i'm.
deed n poor thing whereby to COM
puto fortunes nowadays High in
come surtaXcs operate In familiar
fashion to take their toll from pro.
ductive Industries, while they drive
Investment capitnI into excmpt So.
| curities Mayor lanes couzcns of
Detroit, for instance, mnkos no
bones of tho fnct that tho Rrontcr
uart OF hi3 wealth. estimated at
$36, 900 900. In in taN.cXcmpt bonds.
and the estate of the late Jacob If.
Srhiff was found 10 bo largely of
the same character. Tho federal
tax-gnthorer has lean pi"king I'm
such circumstances. Hut Henry
Ford's wealth lwith the execution
of mI-stntic Investments I'm mines
and forests, the reservoir of his rnw
materially is devoted almost wholly
to production. uo IN the Abou-ben-
Adhem OF the tax rolls. fIis name
lends all tho rest
George T.. Baker ia n director OF
tho New York Central and affiliated
lines. the Erie, the West Shose. the
Reading and many other railroads,
OF The Pullman monopoly. the
, United States Steel corporation.
Consolidated Gas, tho Mutual Iifo
, and other big corporntions. II NAV
bo presumed that his Income. nj
, slenst from his vast transportntIon
, holdings, IL not large, and that he
has invested heavily I'm tax-sxempt
securities. In tho financial world
no is sometimes ranked second To
, Rockefcllcr--butt then tho financial
world looks asknnco nj the sucAoss
, OF Henry Ford, who is an insubor-
, dlnato where bankers are concerned.
There is no secret about Mr.
= Ford's taxes. He himself ia author
, ity for Mo statomcnt TINT he mid
> Uncle sam seventy-six millions i'm
taxes last year, lie didn't say that
, IA large slice of thIs merely paseed
: through his handN na intermediary
Z between n million or more purchns-
: crs OF Ford automobiles and tho
1 TREASURY, lie has a news sense
r which the best nowspapor men may
Z well envy. and no iA n surc-shot
. Iage-one marksman. So he merely
. droppcd this ifnpoalng figure into
r "A picased rominiscence of the time
. seventeen years ngo whom he could
not get credit FOR a Thanlfsgiving
chicken. IL was great publicity
g stuff
:, Eord's Wealth.
Q IL must not be supposed that
] Henry Ford paid seyenty.six mil
I 1 lions on hia personnl income. large
llnnOuDtDnIN n.
To- facturcr'g excise tax on automobiles
h is per cent, on tractors 3 per cent.
n OF the selling price, and IL is paid by
- the Consumer" although 1t is col
4: lected at the source; and IL tx fair
i 10 estimate that Mr.. Ford paid In
o the neighborhood of thirty-five mill
J.. lions on this score alone. whether
v ne included the corporntl1n tax on
the Ford Motor company, which he
Q and his son Edsol own. h "A matter
= of speculation. IIc has told his
o first-page audience that II he wished
he could capitalize the company a.
a billion and sell every share Of
o stock. and probably that IN true.
4 Not even his most cnvilus COM
g pctitor has denied II. And besides
70 the ynst plants Of the automobile
| concern. there arc some big forests
/. aud a little railroad and some iron
4 mines 10 be taken into account in
. estimating Mr. Fords wealth. lie
q spends O0OO 900 "A year Tor raw
o materials alone.
u Most visitors to Detroit suppose
that the Ford building. a ssyscraper
n thorc, Is Hcury's AS "a matter of
a fact IL belongs to another very rich
= Ford family. the children Of the late
d Edward Ford Cuut kin TO Henry.