_Millionaires.--A List of the Great American Fortunes.--The
Stock Exchange.--A Billionaire's House.--Benevolent Acts.--A
Democracy Ruled by many Kings._
I am afraid it will make my readers' lips water, but here is a list of
some American fortunes, as I have heard them stated:--
Name. Capital. Revenue at 5%.
J. Gould L55,000,000 L2,750,000
J. W. Mackay 50,000,000 2,500,000
C. Vanderbilt 25,000,000 1,250,000
J. P. Jones 20,000,000 1,000,000
J. J. Astor 18,000,000 900,000
W. Stewart 8,000,000 400,000
G. Bennett 6,000,000 300,000
These are the princes of the Land of the Dollar. The largest English
fortunes fall short of these figures. The Duke of Westminster's is
reckoned at only L16,000,000; that of the Duke of Sutherland at
L6,000,000; the Duke of Northumberland has L5,000,000; and the Marquis
of Bute L4,000,000.
It is in mines and railways especially that the colossal fortunes have
been made.
In France, with their fortunes translated into francs, Messrs. Jay Gould
and J. W. Mackay would be billionaires; it takes a larger word than
millionaire to give an idea of the opulence of these men, and I beg to
suggest to the editors of French dictionaries the addition of the word,
"MILLIARDAIRE, or BILLIONAIRE--a person possessing at least a
_milliard_. This phenomenon is found in America."
Needless to say that, with his millions on millions, Mr. Jay Gould is a
power. I was told in America that this man went to New York with only a
few dollars in his pocket, and for some time earned a living by selling
mousetraps. He now holds the American Stock Exchange in the hollow of
his hand; instead of mice, he goes for _bulls_ and _bears_, and stocks
rise and fall at his whim. Other speculators are glad to pick up the
crumbs that fall from his fingers. As for contending with him, as well
try to break the bank at Monte Carlo with a sixpenny-piece.
I have not seen the town house or the country house of Mr. Gould; but I
know that in the grounds of the latter stand conservatories estimated to
be worth L50,000. I trust this will give an idea of what the rest may
be. In these jottings, taken by the way, I can scarcely do more than put
the reader on the track of that which can be seen in America.
I cannot guarantee that Mr. Gould is a happy man. Concerning immense
fortunes, a witty American friend, rich in moderation and a great
philosopher, said to me one day:
"No man can own more than a million dollars. When his bank account
outgrows that, he does not own it; it owns him, and he becomes its
slave."
The two kings of American plutocracy are Messrs. Vanderbilt and Astor.
The name of king applies to them less on account of the size of their
fortune than the generous use they make of it. They have founded
hospitals, museums, and libraries, and are known for the generosity with
which they respond to appeals for help in philanthropical causes.
Shortly before my arrival in America, Mr. Vanderbilt had given 500,000
dollars to found a hospital in New York. Mrs. Astor had just given
225,000 dollars towards the funds of the Cancer Hospital.
The Vanderbilt mansion, in Fifth Avenue, New York, is a princely
habitation. One might fill a volume in giving a complete description of
the treasures that are crowded into it. The luxury on all sides is
extreme. In the bath-room, I am told, the walls are all mirrors painted
thickly with trails of morning glories, so that the bather seems to be
in a bower of flowers. In plate and pictures, several million dollars
must have been spent. The pictures hang in two spacious, well-lighted
rooms. They number one hundred and seventy-four works, from the brushes
of great modern masters, including the "Sower" and seven other
masterpieces of Jean Francois Millett, three Rosa Bonheurs, seven
Meissoniers, Turners, Geromes, the "Bataille de Rezonville" by Detaille,
seven pictures by Theodore Rousseau, and beautiful examples of Alma
Tadema, Sir F. Leighton, John Linnell, Bouguereau, Corot, Dore, Bonnat,
and Munkacsy. In the entrance-hall hangs a portrait of Vanderbilt I.,
founder of the dynasty.
The Americans, having no king in our sense of the word, make the most of
those they have, Republicans though they be. To read the pedigrees,
published in full every time a death occurs in one of these rich
families, is highly entertaining. A Mrs. Astor died while I was in
America, and, after the enumeration of her charms and virtues, which
were many, came the list of John Jacobs from whom her husband had
sprung. The Astors were all John Jacobs apparently, and were mentioned
as John Jacob I., John Jacob II., John Jacob III. The line does not go
back very far, John Jacob I. having gone to America as a poor emigrant
early in this century, I believe, and laid the foundation of the present
grandeur of his House by trading in furs.
It will not do to inquire too closely into the way in which some of
America's millionaires have amassed wealth. Strange stories are told of
men so grasping that they stopped at nothing, even to the ruining of
their own sons. When I saw Mr. Bronson Howard's clever play, _The
Henrietta_, in which he portrays a son so madly engrossed by the
excitement of gambling on the Stock Exchange as to try and absorb even
his father's millions, I thought the picture was overdrawn. Americans,
however, told me that the case was historical, but with the characters
reversed--which made it still more odious.
As for the colossal fortunes of railway kings, it is well known how
thousands of small ones go to make them; how the rich man's palace is
too often built with the stones of hundreds of ruined homes.
There is no other name than king used in speaking of the few rich
financiers who hold the bulk of the railway stock in America. But they
are not the only ones. There are oil kings, copper kings, silver kings,
and I know not what other majesties in America; and when you see the
power possessed by these, and the numberless Trusts, Combinations, and
Pools--a power pressing often very sorely on the million--you wonder how
the Americans, who found one King one too many, should submit so
patiently to being governed by scores.