DYNASTIC RULERS IN AMERICA
DYNASTIC EUROPE is dead, but the dynasties in America flourish. There are more dynasties in the United States than ever existed in the old world; and their wealth-power is greater than all the King-power combined. Theirs is the power of life and death over the whole human race.
There is the Dynasty of Oil and the Dynasty of Copper, the Dynasty of Beef and the Dynasty of Coal, the Dynasty of Steel and the Dynasty of Railroads, the Dynasty of Gas, Electric Light and Traction, and the Dynasty of Ships, the Dynasty of Tobacco, the Dynasty of Rubber, the Dynasty of Sugar, the Dynasty of Telephone and Telegraph, and the Dynasties of a hundred other things in essential use by the people.
There are various rulers in each of these dynasties, some of which are ruled by the same set of men and families.
The Dynasty of Oil is ruled by Rockefeller, who controls the Standard Oil Companies. There are lesser rulers in the Oil Dynasty such as Payne, Pratt, Harkness, Flagler, Bedford, Rogers, Archbold, Doheny, Pierce, Sinclair and Cosden.
The Steel Dynasty is ruled by Rockefeller, Morgan, Phipps, Baker, Schwab, Corey, Gary, Wilkinson, and the heirs of Converse, Carnegie and Frick.
The Coal Dynasty is ruled by Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, Baker, Widener, Stotesbury, Girard, Peabody, Mellon, Berwind, Madeira and Watson.
The Beef Dynasty is ruled by Armour, Swift, Cudahy, Morris and Wilson.
The Copper Dynasty is ruled by Guggenheim, Morgan, Rockefeller, Rogers, Haggin, Phelps, Dodge, James, Sewell, Hayden, Stone, Agassiz, Shaw, Clark, Ryan, Cole, Whitney and Lewisohn.
The Railroad Dynasty is ruled by Rockefeller, Morgan, Harriman, Vanderbilt, Hill, Huntington, Gould, Baker, Stotesbury, Frick, Payne, Widener,  Harkness and Whitney.
The Dynasty of Gas, Electric Light and Traction is ruled by Rockefeller, Morgan, Baker, Brady, Bodine, Dolan, Billings, Doherty, Fruehoff, Bertron, Griscom, Byllesby, Barstow, Stone, Webster, McMillan, Insull and Porter.
The Dynasty of Telephone and Telegraph is ruled by Rockefeller, Morgan, Baker, Schiff, Vail, Mackay, Whitney, Gould, Harkness, Marsters and Slocum.
The Dynasty of Tobacco is ruled by Ryan, Payne, Duke, Widener, Brady, Lorillard, Hill, Dula, McAlpin and Whitney.
The Dynasty of Rubber is ruled by Rockefeller, Brady, Ryan, Colt, Leland, Aldrich, Vail and Ford.
The Dynasty of Sugar is ruled by Havemeyer, Spreckels, Post, Arbuckle, Thomas, Childs, Babst, Howells, Jarvis, Mollenhauer, Jamison and Allen.
The Dynasty of Gunpowder and Firearms is ruled by DuPont and Dodge.
The Dynasty of Ships is ruled by Rockefeller, Morgan, Harriman, Keith, Dollar, Grace and Franklin.
There are scores of lesser dynastic rulers whose wealth is estimated in the tens of millions but whose rulership is only subordinate to those of greater fortune.
Rockefeller is the Colossus that bestrides the world. The Rothschilds in Europe, whose wealth is estimated at Two Billion dollars, and the Guggenheims, DuPonts, Vanderbilts and Astors, whose family possessions approximate half a billion dollars each, are subordinate to Rockefeller.
In a single lifetime, John D. Rockefeller has amassed a fortune greater than that of any other individual or family. His wealth is estimated at TWO BILLION, FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, including the holdings in the Foundations.
Mr. Rockefeller is worth one billion dollars in oil alone. His railroad holdings are estimated at $400,000,000. His holdings in industrial corporations outside of Standard Oil, are appraised at $400,000,000, and his interest in gas, electric light and traction, is fixed at several hundred millions more. He has several hundred
million dollars in bonds of the United States and other countries and in the bonds of cities and states. He owns many millions in real
THOSE WHO OWN IT p age 13
estate and mortgages. Part of this vast wealth is held in the
Foundations.
When Mr. Rockefeller dies, his estate will show far less than
he owns, because a large share of his fortune has already been trans-
ferred to his children.
Individual and family rulership in the various industries is the
result of private monopoly. Excessive incomes and excessive private
fortunes are produced mainly through private monopoly; and it is
through private monopoly only that excessive prices for commodities
can be maintained. Public control of monopoly would result in
reduced prices.
More than forty families in the United States have in excess
of One Hundred Million Dollars each.
More than one hundred other families have in excess of Fifty
Million Dollars each.
More than three hundred other families have in excess of Twenty
Million Dollars each.
The income tax is levied only on taxable wealth. Government
bonds and Liberty bonds of the first issue, are exempt from taxation.
The bulk of these non-taxable securities is held by those of excessive
fortune. About four hundred million dollars of Mr. Rockefeller’s
taxable wealth is held in Foundations and other institutions, that
pay no taxes.
Estimated income tax returns show that John D. Rockefeller’s
taxable income is about $40,000,000 a year ; William Rockefeller and
the late Henry C. Frick $10,000,000 each; Morgan, Baker, Hark-
ness, Armour, Ford, Payne, Vanderbilt, Field, Green, Harriman,
Guggenheim, Astor, Hill, Mellon, and Phipps $5,000,000 each;
Stillman family, Ryan, Schwab, DuPont, Clark, Brady and Whitney,
$3,000,000 each; Schifr, Duke, Eastman, Kahn, Swift, Rosenwald,
Blair, Huntington, Flagler, Widener, Stotesbury and Pratt, $2,500,-
000 each.
Others whose taxable incomes are estimated to exceed $2,000,000
a year are Penfield, Converse, Gould, Reid, Rogers, Dodge, Hearst,
Mills, Davison, Belmont, Ryan (John D.), Gary, Billings, Cochran,
Pullman, Couzens, Pierce, Doheny, Chapin, Wendel, Goelet, Wool-
Page 14 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
worth, Plant, Arbuckle, Rhinelander, James, Morris, Moore, Phelps,
Lamont and Warburg,
The gross income of most of these persons far exceeds the taxable
amount. The gross income of John D. Rockefeller, for example, is
about $140,000,000 a year. His income in 1907, the panic year, was
estimated at the same amount. Prior to that time it was estimated at
$6,000,000 a month.
There are other excessive fortunes besides those based on indus-
trial and utilities monopolies. The excessive wealth of the Astors,
Wendels, Goelets, Rhinelanders, Watt, Appleby, Gerry and Hoffman
is based on inherited real estate in New York City. There are
excessive real estate fortunes in every large city in the United States.
An analysis of the fortunes of those of excessive wealth who died
during the present generation shows to what extent the wealth of the
nation is concentrated.
Andrew Carnegie and Frederick Weyerhaeuser had $300,000,000
each ; William Waldorf Astor left $200,000,000, mostly in New York
property; Charles W. Harkness left $170,000,000; Oliver H. Payne,
$150,000,000; Henry C Frick, $142,000,000; James J. Hill, Hetty
Green, William K. Vanderbilt, L.V. Harkness, Moses Taylor Pyne
and E. C. Converse, $100,000,000 each, and Morgan, Brady, Astor,
Wendel, Kennedy, Weightman, Sage, Gould, Widener, Goelet,
Flagler, Harriman, Field, Stephenson, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Dodge
and Schiff, more than $60,000,000 each.
The estates of these and other excessively rich men show that
they control the leading industries, utilities and banks. They control
the railroads and mines ; and the bulk of their great fortunes has been
left to mediocre and inefficient heirs. These estates can never diminish
so long as private monopoly and the cohesive power of great wealth
endure.
Of three million stockholders in the leading corporations in the
United States, less than one per cent controls. The average small
stockholder has less than fifty shares, in any of the leading corporations.
Fifteen stockholders own a majority of Standard Oil stock, the
market value of which is about Three Billion Dollars. Of about
20,000 shareholders in the American Tobacco Company, ten own a
majority. The same state of concentration is true in the five corpora-
tions that compose the Beef Trust.
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 15
Of 628,000 stockholders in the railroads, the majority is owned
by 8,300 or 1.3 per cent, according to government report. These
controlling shareholders own an average of 6,130 shares each, as
against an average of 75 shares each held by the other stockholders.
Of 27,000 stockholders in the New York Central, twenty of
them own 25 per cent of the stock. The twenty largest shareholders
in Illinois Central own 41.6 per cent; in Southern Railway, 37.7 per
| cent ; in Southern Pacific, 23 per cent ; in Chicago and Northwestern,
*’ 19.8 per cent; in Erie, 19.7 per cent; in Chicago, Milwaukee and St
Paul, 18.5 per cent; in Lehigh Valley, 18.1 per cent; in Baltimore
and Ohio, 17.4 per cent; in New York, New Haven & Hartford,
15.3 per cent; in Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, 14.3 per cent, and
in Pennsylvania Railroad, 8.9 per cent.
The Rockefellers, Harrimans and Huntingtons are the leading
I stockholders in the Union Pacific; the estates of James J. Hill, J. S.
Kennedy and D. Willis James, in the Great Northern and Northern
Pacific. The Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Astors are the largest
* security holders in the New York Central, and Rockefeller, Frick,
Stotesbury, Harkness, Widener and a few others, are the leading
stockholders in the Pennsylvania Railroad. These four railroad sys-
tems constitute one-quarter of the railroad mileage in the country and
have aggregate assets of five billion dollars.
Ownership of a majority stock is not necessary for control. The
^ ownership of stock in a corporation is usually so scattered that control
can be obtained and held by only a small minority. This is the case
i in virtually all large corporations.
The largest stockholders in the leading industrial corporations
are among the controlling stockholders in the railroads. The Beef
Trust controls the railroads so far as the shipment of its own products
is concerned. The Oil Trust, Steel Trust and other trusts do like-
wise. This fact is established by government inquiry and report.
The result is that the railroads are managed mainly for the benefit
of private monopoly which profits to the extent of tens of millions
of dollars annually through rebates and other railroad favors. The
railroads are the instruments of private monopoly and these monopo-
listic corporations control their own banks, and own vast real estate.
The Federal Constitution is intended to preserve free institu-
Page 16 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
tions in this country. There can be no industrial freedom so long
as control of monopoly remains with the few, for private ends.
Private monopoly is mainly responsible for the ills of society.
It is responsible for economic strife and political misrule. It is re-
sponsible for newspaper misrepresentation and for high prices. It is
responsible for Bolshevism in America. The Bolshevists in Europe
aim to overthrow capitalism throughout the world.
The Constitution has been amended at various times to correct
wrong tendencies in the country. It was amended to extend the
right of citizenship to the negro and to provide governmental revenue
through an income tax. It was amended to extend the ballot to
women and to curb the appetite for strong drink. The fact that
some appetites have been whetted by prohibition, is merely an incident
in the failure of law enforcement.
The Constitution should be amended to cure a fundamental
economic wrong a wrong that is at the basis of our social and politi-
cal ills. It should be amended to take control of monopoly out of
the hands of the few and transfer it to the many.
This can be done by limiting private fortunes. If private for-
tunes are limited, so that the surplus or excess over the prescribed
amount, goes back to the nation, the government becomes the principal
stockholder and bondholder in all monopoly in place of the Few.
The government, representing ALL the people, needs no excessive
profits out of commodities. It needs only normal income for gov-
ernment purposes. The cost of living would be reduced, wages of
employees increased and governmental revenue provided without
taxation.
The bulk of excessive private fortunes is in the hands of the
second, third and fourth generations, few of whom earned any part
of them. Why should wealth be concentrated for the benefit of the
few, while the mass of people suffer? Why pile up greater fortunes
for those who are unable to earn even a small part of them ?
Government is instituted for the good of all, and when the cost
of living rises beyond the reach of ordinary persons and wealth be-
comes congested, then the government should intervene. The system
of industry should be readjusted.
The cost of oil, steel, beef and other monopolized products and
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 17
by-products in essential use by the people, is far greater than business
necessity warrants. The claim that private monopoly reduces prices,
is long an exploded myth. Private monopoly aims only to increase
prices in order to swell profits, not to reduce them.
The income tax is no remedy for fundamental economic ills.
It is merely a governmental measure for raising revenue. When
the income tax went into effect, the pioneers of industry were busy
amassing fortunes. Their net incomes to-day and those of their heirs,
in face of the income tax, are far greater than when the tax was first
levied. Rockefeller’s income is twice what it was when the tax first
went into effect, because he controls monopoly.
Unrestricted greed has produced gross social inequality in this
country and throughout the world, Europe is in chaos and we should
re-adjust our affairs in order to restore a balance not only in the
United States, but by example, in every other nation. Think this
over and decide for yourself what steps should be adopted.
Page 18 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
Excessive Private Fortunes That Have Been
Inherited During The Present Generation
Andrew Carnegie (highest amount owned) $300,000,000
Frederick Weyerhaeuser (estimated) 300,000,000
William Waldorf Astor (estimated) 200,000,000
Charles W. Harkness 170,000,000
Oliver H. Payne 150,000,000
Henry C. Frick (estimated) 142,000,000
Lamon V. Harkness 100,000,000
James J. Hill (estimated) 100,000,000
William K. Vanderbilt (estimated) 100,000,000
Hetty Green 100,000,000
Moses Taylor Pyne 100,000,000
Edmund C. Converse (estimated by son) 100,000,000
Henry M. Flagler 90,000,000
Anthony N. Brady 87,000,000
John Jacob Astor 87,000,000
Marshall Field 85,000,000
John G. Wendel 80,000,000
Cornelius Vanderbilt 80,000,000
Edward H. Harriman 80,000,000
J. Pierpont Morgan 78,000,000
Jay Gould 74,000,000
Isaac Stephenson, Wisconsin (estimated) 70,000,000
William Weightman, Pennsylvania 70,000,000
John F. Dodge, Michigan (estimated) 70,000,000
John S. Kennedy 67,000,000
Russell Sage 66,000,000
P. A. B. Widener (estimated) 65,000,000
Ogden Goelet 60,000,000
James Oliver, Indiana (estimated) 60,000,000
Robert Goelet 60,000,000
Jacob H. SchifT (estimated) 60,000,000
William L. Harkness 55,000,000
Charles E. Appleby 50,000,000
George W. Vanderbilt 50,000,000
Horace E. Dodge, Michigan (estimated) 50,000,000
Meyer Guggenheim (estimated) 50,000,000
Mrs. Phoebe Hearst (estimated) 50,000,000
John I. Blair 50,000,000
William Rhinelander 50,000,000
Frank A. Sayles (R. I.) 50,000,000
THOSE WHO OWN IT p age 19
Henry A. C. Taylor (estimated) 50,000,000
Henry H. Rogers 49,000,000
Benjamin Altaian 44,000,000
Frederick G. Bourne 43,000,000
John D. Archbold 42,000,000
George Smith 42,000,000
Darius O. MiUs 41,000,000
James Stillman 40,000,000
George Crocker 40,000,000
Norman B. Ream 40,000,000
John C. Brown 40,000,000
Archibald Watt 40,000,000
William H. Yawkey 40,000,000
William P. Furniss 40,000,000
Michael P. Grace (estimated) 40,000,000
Charles G. Roebling (estimated) 40,000,000
William B. Leeds (estimated) 40,000,000
P. D. Armour 40,000,000
Adolphus Busch 40,000,000
W. L. Elkins (estimated) 40,000,000
Edward Morris 40,000,000
Henry Miller (Calif.) 40,000,000
Edward F. Searles 40,000,000
Collis P. Huntington 37,000,000
John Arbuckle 37,000,000
Alfred G. Vanderbilt 35,000,000
Daniel O’Day 35,000,000
Thomas Dolan 35,000,000
Joseph R. DeLamar 34,000,000
Morton F. Plant 33,000,000
Warren B. Smith 32,000,000
Levi Z. Leiter 30,000,000
James H. Smith 30,000,000
George M. Pullman 30,000,000
Mrs. Leland Stanford 30,000,000
William W. Scranton (Pa.) 30,000,000
Frank Woolworth 30,000,000
John H. Barker (Illinois) 30,000,000
Moses Taylor 30,000,000
Alexis I. DuPont (estimated) 30,000,000
D. Willis James 27,000,000
Nelson W. Aldrich (estimated) 25,000,000
Mrs. Potter Palmer 25,000,000
John W. Gates 25,000,000
William Salomon 25,000,000
Page 20 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
Frank Drexel 25,000,000
Norman H. Harris (111.) 25,000,000
William G. Warden (Pa.) 25,000,000
Joseph Pulitzer 24,000,000
Wm. C. Whitney 23,000,000
Quincy A. Shaw 23,000,000
James B. Haggin 21,000,000
Ferdinand A. Schlesinger (Wis.) 20,000,000
John W. Sterling 20,000,000
Eugene S. Higgins 20,000,000
Edward Ford (estimated) 20,000,000
Marcus Daly 20,000,000
Henry G. Davis (W. Va.) 20,000,000
Dr. James Douglas 20,000,000
John C. C. Mayo 20,000,000
Robert R. Randall 20,000,000
W. Murray Crane (Mass.) 20,000,000
Theodore N. Vail (estimated) 20,000,000
William Penn Snyder (Pa.) 20,000,000
George C. Boldt 20,000,000
Henry M. Tilford 20,000,000
Charles W. Post 20,000,000
Samuel W. Allerton (111.) 20,000,000
Charles R. Smith (Wis.) 20,000,000
John R. McLean 20,000,000
Karl G. Roebling (estimated) 20,000,000
Harris C. Fahnestock 18,000,000
William Ziegler 17,000,000
Henry O. Havemeyer 17,000,000
Henry Strong (Rochester, N. Y.) 16,000,000
James Campbell 16,000,000
Stephen Sanford 16,000,000
Richard T. Wilson 16,000,000
Louis H. Severance 15,000,000
Jacob Ruppert 15,000,000
James R. Keene 15,000,000
James G. Fair 15,000,000
J. W. Garrett 15,000,000
David Eccles 15,000,000
Mrs. Lucy Carnegie 15,000,000
Frank Work 15,000,000
Benj. F. Keith 15,000,000
Amos F. Eno 15,000,000
Ambrose Monell (estimated) 15,000,000
Dean Hoffman 15,000,000
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 21
Alfred T. White 15,000,000
Jacques Lebaudy 15,000,000
Theodore A. Havemeyer 15,000,000
Harry S. Harkness
William Hester (estimated) 15,000,000
L. A. Heinsheimer 15,000,000
John Augustus Pell 15,000,000
Mrs. Morris K. Jessup 13,000,000
Isaac V. Brokaw 13,000,000
James McLean 12,000,000
Wesley H. Tilford 12,000,000
Michael Cudahy 12,000,000
Charles H. Senff 12,000,000
William Deering 12,000,000
Ex-Governor Bookwalter (Ohio) 12,000,000
W. Bayard Cutting 11,000,000
Edwin Hawley 11,000,000
Marcellus Hartley . ; 11,000,000
Joseph Milbank 10,000,000
Hugh J. Grant 10,000,000
George Westinghouse 10,000,000
W. L. Moody (Texas) 10,000,000
A. E. Orr 10,000,000
Adolph Ladenburg 10,000,000
Robert Hoe 10,000,000
C. Amory Stevens (estimated) 10,000,000
Clement A. Griscom 10,000,000
David H. Moffatt 10,000,000
Edward Holbrook 10,000,000
Wm. M. Rice 10,000,000
John K. Stewart 10,000,000
Paul J. Sorg 10,000,000
John B. Manning 10,000,000
John C. Martin 10,000,000
Walter Gibb 10,000,000
Alonzo C. Hall 10,000,000
Alonzo J. Pouch 10,000,000
Herman Frasch 10,000,000
James H. Moore 10,000,000
George W. Perkins (estimated) 10,000,000
Levi P. Morton (estimated) 10,000,000
George Arents 10,000,000
George A. Hearn 10,000,000
Samuel Thomas 10,000,000
Charles Pratt 10,000,000
Page 22 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
It is the practice of some excessively rich men to save taxation
on part of their estates, by transferring property to their heirs during
their lifetime or creating a trust. The official appraisal of some of the
above estates is far less than actual value.
Of the above estates, totalling about SEVEN BILLION
DOLLARS, about one-sixth was left by Standard Oil beneficiaries.
Other large estates held Standard Oil securities.
At least five hundred persons died during the present generation
leaving between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000 each. A partial list of
these and the appraisals of their estates, follows :
Edward W. Morrison (Chicago) $8,000,000
Charles J. Harrah 8,000,000
Peter Doelger 8,000,000
M. C. D. Borden 8,000,000
Robert Bacon 8,000,000
Eva S. Cochran 8,000,000
William Whiteright 7,230,000
Mary G. Pinkney 7,200,000
Charles G. Thompson 7,000,000
David H. Tolman 7,000,000
Mrs. E. C. Bryce 7,000,000
David Dows 7,000,000
Robert Pringle 7,000,000
James A. Garland 7,000,000
Otto Huber 7,000,000
George S. Bowdoin 6,600,000
Nathaniel Thayer 6,275,000
James J. Goodwin 6,250,000
Johnston Livingston 6,000,000
Richard M. Colgate 6,000,000
John H. Converse 6,000,000
Francis L. Loring 6,000,000
Baroness Von Zedwitz 6,000,000
George W. Grossman 6,000,000
Mrs. Eleanor Pell Phelps 6,000,000
A. G. Spalding 6,000,000
William H. Walker 5,950,000
William Van R. Smith 5,900,000
Abraham Abraham 5,650,000
Edward R. Bacon 5,600,000
Jacob Langeloth 5,550,000
Byron L. Smith (Chicago) 5,500,000
Charles Kohler 5,400,000
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 23
Mary Ann Chisholm 5,300,000
Cora F. Barnes 5,200,000
William W. Cole 5,000,000
George F. Baer 5,000,000
Charles E. Cotting 5,000,000
Helen C. Juilliard 5,000,000
John M. Burke 5,000,000
Ellen S. C. James 5,000,000
Andrew Freedman 5,000,000
Charles G. Gates 5,000,000
Louis C. Hamersley 5,000,000
John R. Marshall 5,000,000
Charles H. Marshall 5,000,000
Charles H. Steinway 5,000,000
John D. Crimmins 5,000,000
Stephen B. Elkins 5,000,000
Oliver Ames (Boston) 5,000,000
Jason S. Rogers 5,000,000
Charles H. Tenney 5,000,000
Ernst Thalman 5,000,000
Hobart Williams 5,000,000
Benjamin Guggenheim 5,000,000
L. Arthur Hinckley 5,000,000
Julia L. Butter/kid 5,000,000
William V. Van Vleck 5,000,000
Charles G. Emery 5,000,000
Elizabeth Milbank Anderson 5,000,000
Luther Kountze 5,000,000
Ralph J. Preston 5.000.000
Max J. Breitenbach 5,000,000
John B. Stanchfield 5,000,000
The list of those who died in the present generation leaving be-
tween one and five million dollars, is too long to print. It contains
several thousand names.
Page 24 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
DETAILED SCHEDULE OF ESTATES
(No attempt is here made to tell how these fortunes were ac-
quired. Other records and writings are available for this purpose.)
CARNEGIE
Andrew Carnegie died in 1919, leaving the bulk of his fortune
to the Carnegie Corporation. He was at one time worth $300,-
000,000. The president of the corporation was Andrew Carnegie;
vice-president, Elihu Root and Robert A. Franks; secretary, James
Bertram. No schedule of the Carnegie estate has been filed. The
will specifically disposes of a net estate of $23,000,000, half of which
went to Mrs. Carnegie and half to the Carnegie Corporation, which
had previously received $125,000,000 from Mr. Carnegie. The Cor-
poration was created by the New York State legislature in 1912.
Mr. Carnegie left his real estate and household effects to his
wife and explains in his will that “having years ago made provision
for my wife beyond her desires and ample to enable her to provide
for our beloved daughter, Margaret, I leave to her mother the duty
of providing for her as her mother deems best.”
Mr. Carnegie’s only child is Mrs. Roswell Miller. The sum
previously set aside for his wife and daughter’s support, is not dis-
closed nor is it disclosed when or in what manner it was done. Mr.
Carnegie left annuities for relatives and friends. The services and
functions of the Corporation are analyzed elsewhere in this book.
Andrew Carnegie received about $225,000,000 first mortgage
5 per cent Steel bonds for his holdings in the Carnegie Company,
when the steel trust was organized in 1901. His aggregate income
on these securities was about $200,000,000. He gave $200,000,000
to colleges and libraries before he died. Most of his fortune was in
first mortgage U. S. Steel bonds and in railroad securities.
WEYERHAEUSER
The value of the estate of Frederick Weyerhaeuser, who died
in 1914, has never been authoritatively disclosed. By government
report he was the largest individual owner of timber land, his holdings
exceeding one hundred billion feet. Weyerhaeuser’s holdings are
in the names of various companies which he . controlled and
others in which he was interested. He owned timber lands in the
north, south and west, his principal holdings being in the northwest.
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 25
He acquired a large share of his holdings from the Northern Pacific
Railroad, which obtained it for nothing from the government.
Weyerhaeuser’s wealth was estimated before he died, at One Bil-
lion Dollars. It is conservative to say he was worth several hundred
million dollars. No actual appraisal of his estate has been made
public, but it is known he was interested in the following companies :
Mississippi River Boone & Logging Co. ; Weyerhaeuser Timber
Co., Weyerhaeuser Lumber Co., Weyerhaeuser Land Co., Weyer-
haeuser Realty Co., Clark Co., Pokegama Sugar Pine Lumber Co.,
Pelton-Reid Sugar Pine Lumber Co., Western Pacific Land & Tim-
ber Co., Western Washington Logging Co., Calcasieu Pine Co.,
Southland Lumber Co., Virginia & Rainy Lake Lumber Co., C. N.
Nelson Co., Atwood Lumber Co., Rutledge Lumber Co., Northland
Pine Co., Pine Tree Lumber Co., Musser-Sauntry Co., Chippewa
Valley Logging Co., Colquit Lumber Co., Weyerhaeuser-Dinckman
Co., North Wisconsin Lumber Co., Bonner Terry Lumber Co.,
Superior Timber Co., Clearwater Timber Co., Humbird Lumber Co.,
Cameron Lumber Co., Western Timber Co., Patlatch Lumber Co.
and Payette Lumber & Mfg. Co. Weyerhaeuser’s personal land hold-
ings exceeded two million acres.
ASTOR
William Waldorf Astor, Viscount of England, died in 1919, leav-
ing most of his fortune estimated at $200,000,000, in trust for his two
sons, Waldorf and John Jacob. The trust was created two months be-
fore he died. He had transferred many millions of dollars in New
York City real estate to his sons several years prior. Deceased became
a British subject in 1899. His New York real estate was then as-
sessed for taxation at $50,000,000, though worth about $100,000,000.
He acquired many parcels since that time and his holdings at the
time of his death were worth about twice that sum. Included in his
holdings are the Astor Hotel and half the Waldorf-Astoria, worth
together about $10,000,000; property at Fifth Avenue and 35th
Street, valued at $10,000,000; 8 Wall Street, valued at $5,000,000,
and many other parcels worth from $500,000 to $3,000,000 each.
His total holdings include many parcels in the tenement districts as
well as acreage in outlying sections. The State of New York has
not received a dollar of inheritance tax from the estate and the federal
authorities contend that the tax law has been evaded and that about
$15,000,000 is due on inheritance. Deceased’s property came to him
from John Jacob Astor, son of William B. Astor, who was the son
of the original John Jacob Astor who started the family fortune and
died in 1848, leaving an estate of $20,000,000.
Page 26 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
John Jacob Astor, cousin of the late William Waldorf, died on
the Titanic in 1912, leaving a fortune appraised at $87,000,000, con-
sisting mostly of New York City real estate. He was son of Wil-
liam B. Astor. The assessed value of his real estate in 1912 was
$63,000,000; the actual value about $100,000,000. The actual
value of John Jacob’s property in 1919, when William Waldorf
died, was about $150,000,000.
John Jacob Astor and his cousin William owned more than
100 parcels of real estate each, and the William Astor Trust, con-
trolled by John Jacob, holds about 40 separate parcels, valued at about
$40,000,000.
Among John Jacob Astor’s largest stockholdings are: 10,000
shares Illinois Central, valued at $1,295,000; 40,000 shares N. Y.
Central, valued at $4,650,000; 8,160 Pullman, valued at $1,313,760;
7,582 Niagara Falls Power Co., valued at $1,213,120; 5,463 pref.
Allis Chalmers, 2,000 Amalgamated Copper, 2,000 American Tele-
phone and Telegraph, 3,000 Delaware & Hudson, 1,600 Little
Kanawha & Elk River Petroleum and Mining Company, 6,229 New
York, New Haven and Hartford, and 4,226 Western Union.
His largest bond holdings include $2,500,000 Niagara Falls
Power and $109,000 New Haven, besides government securities.
Among his bank stocks were 725 snares Astor Trust, 270 Bankers
Trust, 561 Farmers Loan & Trust, 100 Fulton National Bank, 75
Guaranty Trust, 600 National Bank of Commerce, 85 Mutual Bank,
and he had large holdings in insurance companies.
In the William Astor Trust, which he controlled, are 1,400
shares Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, 1,000 Chicago Junction Rail-
way, 1,200 New York, Lackawanna & Western, 1,000 Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne and Chicago, 1,200 United New Jersey Railroads, besides
$150,000 bonds in Baltimore & Ohio, $115,000 Ann Arbor Rail-
road, $100,000 Central Pacific, $100,000 Chicago, Milwaukee &
Puget Sound, $192,000 Hocking Valley Products Company, $175,-
000 Lake Shore & Michigan, $104,000 Louisville & Nashville,
$100,000 New York, Ontario & Western, $100,000 Union Pacific,
$100,000 West Shore and $100,000 Rome, W. & Ogden.
William Vincent Astor was a minor when he inherited the bulk
of his father’s fortune. He is now 28 years old and director in the
Western Union Telegraph Co., Niagara Falls Power Co, United
States Trust Company and the National Park Bank.
FRICK
Henry Clay Frick died in 1919 leaving an estate estimated at
that time by officials of the State of Pennsylvania, at $142,000,000.
THOSE WHO OWN, IT Page 27
The question of Mr. Frick’s residence is disputed by New York
State. A schedule of the estate, filed in 1921 by the President of
the Union Trust Company (Pittsburg,) as executor, shows the net
estate to be $92,883,766. There is no doubt that Mr. Frick’s actual
wealth, far exceeds this sum. At the time of his death, his total real
estate holdings were given at $85,000,000. The schedule shows his
real estate holdings at $18,057,540. Mr. Frick’s home on Fifth
avenue is appraised at $3,250,000. Mr. Frick’s total stock holdings
are given as $49,312,888, and his total bond holdings as $6,004,579.
His largest stock holdings are Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
R. R., appraised at $6,589,695 ; Chicago and Northwestern, $4,400,-
725; Norfolk and Western, $8,250,793; St. Paul Coal Co., $3,085,-
624; Faraday Coal and Coke, $4,209,583; Pennsylvania R. R.,
$1,929,228; Cerro De Pasco Copper Corp., $4,568,150; Erie Rail-
road, $366,468; Consolidated Gas, $356,737; Union Trust Co. of
Pittsburg, $8,640,500; Texas Pacific Land Trust, $650,000; Toledo
Furnace Co. of Ohio, $660,000; Missouri Pacific, $492,500; Fidelity
Title and Trust of Pittsburg, $499,125; Columbia Chemical Co.,
$517,500; Kenecott Copper, $107,000.
The largest bond holdings were Missouri Pacific, $707,687 ; Nor-
folk & Western, $518,750; Erie, $280,000; N. Y. Shipbuilding Corp.,
$351,364; Interboro Rapid Transit, $128,951; International Mer-
cantile Marine, $133,000; and $2,000,000 Liberty bonds. His New
York Bank stocks include Bankers’ Trust, $306,400; First National
Bank, $495,000; National City, $165,500 and National Bank of
Commerce, $25,100.
Mr. Frick’s will provides that his home on Fifth avenue, N. Y.,
be turned into a public art gallery and that his art collection valued
at $13,000,000, be kept on exhibition there. He left $5,000,000 each
to Princeton University, Harvard, and Massachusetts School of
Technology and $5,000,000 to the Educational Commission of Pitts-
burg. Sixteen other institutions were left $9,000,000. These be-
quests may be materially reduced. His wife, son and daughter receive
the bulk of the estate. The trustees to turn his New York home
into an art gallery, are John D. Rockefeller Jr., George F. Baker Jr.,
J. Horace Harding, Walker D. Hines, Lewis Cass Ledyard and
Horace Havemeyer.
HILL
The estate of James J. Hill (in excess of $100,000,000) who
died in 1916, was left to his sons, Louis W., James H., and Walter
and to his daughters, Mrs. Samuel Hill, Mrs. George T. Slade, Mrs.
Michael Gavin, Mrs. Egil Boeckmann, Mrs. Anson M. Beard and
Miss Clara Hill. No schedule of the estate has been made public
Page 28 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
but it is known that he was the largest stockholder in the Great
Northern and Northern Pacific, and one of the largest in Chicago,
Burlington and Quincy and Colorado and Southern. He owned vast
farm lands and controlled banks, including the First National Bank
and Northwest Trust Company of St. Paul, Minn. ; First National,
Chicago; Northwestern National, Minneapolis; and he was a large
stockholder in the Chase National, New York. He was also the
largest stockholder in the Great Northern Pacific S. S. Company.
John S. Kennedy, D. Willis James, Gorge F. Baker and J. P.
Morgan were associated with him in the railroads. He also had
large holdings in the Texas Company, in which his son James is
director.
VANDERBILT
William K. Vanderbilt died in 1920, leaving an estate estimated
at $100,000,000 to his children, William K., Jr., Harold and Con-
suelo (Duchess of Marlborough), each of whom had a separate for-
tune. No appraisal of the estate has yet been made. Deceased was
one of four sons of William H. Vanderbilt, who died in 1899, leav-
ing about $200,000,000. One of the sons, Cornelius, died in 1899,
leaving $80,000,000; another son, George W., died in 1914, leaving
$50,000,000. Frederick W. is the only surviving son.
Deceased held the largest share of Vanderbilt family stock in
the New York Central Railroad, 139,000 shares standing in his name.
He was director in many railroads in which the Vanderbilt family
is the largest or among the largest security holders, including the
West Shore, Canada Southern, Chicago and Northwestern, Chicago,
St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha; Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago
and St. Louis; Lake Erie and Western; Michigan Central; New
York & Harlem; New York State Realty and Terminal Co. and
Pittsburg & Lake Erie. William K., Jr., is his father’s successor in
these properties and he is director in about 90 corporations, most of
them railroads. Harold is director in about half that number.
Cornelius Vanderbilt, brother of the late William K., left the
largest share of his fortune to his son Alfred G. He cut off his oldest
son Cornelius with one million dollars, because he was displeased by
his marriage, and he gave his youngest son, Reginald, and two daugh-
ters, Gladys and Gertrude, $7,000,000 each. Gladys is the Countess
Szechenyi and Gertrude is Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney. Alfred
made up the difference of seven million dollars to his brother Cor-
nelius out of his inheritance.
Alfred Vanderbilt was drowned on the Lusitania in 1915. His
estate was appraised at $35,000,000. Five million dollars went to
his son William H., by his first wife, who was Elsie French; $8,000,-
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 29
000 to his widow (formerly Mrs. Margaret Emerson McKim) ; the
balance to his two sons by his second wife, Alfred G., Jr., and
George, who were two and a half years and seven months old, respec-
tively. His first wife received $10,000,000 in settlement at the time
she was divorced, and the widow received $3,000,000 and a life in-
terest in $5,000,000.
Among Mr. Vanderbilt’s holdings were 32,300 shares Pittsburg
& Lake Erie, valued at $5,650,250; 14,400 shares New York Central
valued at $1,200,000; 4,200 pref. and 3,600 com. Chicago & North-
western, valued at $1,150,000; 10,230 Pullman Company, valued at
$1,750,000; 1,800 Delaware & Hudson, $263,700; 5,330 Beech
Creek Railroad, $234,520; 1,400 Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul,
$126,000; 2,500 Lincoln Safe Deposit Company, $510,000; 1,000
Chemical National Bank, $404,000 and 700 National City Bank,
$266,000. His largest bond holding was $1,875,000 New York
Central 3J4 per cent bonds.
George W. Vanderbilt left his fortune to his widow Edith and
his daughter Cornelia, who was 13 years old. He was a resident of
Biltmore, N. C., where he developed a beautiful estate.
Frederick W., the only surviving son of William H., is director
in many Vanderbilt properties. Reginald and Cornelius, sons of
Cornelius, who died in 1899, are directors in the same and other cor-
porations. A large share of the present Cornelius’s fortune is invested
in other than so-called Vanderbilt properties.
The total wealth of the descendants of William H. Vanderbilt
is estimated to exceed $500,000,000. The Vanderbilts are married
into other, rich families, including the Whitneys, Fair, Shepard
Twombly, Sloane, Wilson, Field, Burden, Webb, Schieffelin and
Pulitzer, the aggregate wealth of all of them exceeding One Billion
Dollars.
GREEN
Hetty Green died in 1916, leaving approximately $100,000,000
to her son, Edward H. R. Green. At the time of her death, she had
approximately $38,000,000 invested in New York City. The bal-
ance of her estate escaped taxation in New York State, on the ground
that she was a resident of Vermont where the tax rate is very low.
For many years Mrs. Green lived in a cheap flat in Jersey City and
Hoboken, though she did business daily in New York City. By
living in Jersey, she escaped personal tax in New York City. In
1921, the higher court exempted all but $2,000,000 of the estate from
taxation in New York state.
Most of Mrs. Green’s money lending was done through the
Page 30 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
Westminster Company which, when she died, had $26,606,390 in
stocks, bonds, mortgages, secured loans and cash. Besides this, Mrs.
Green had $9,508,393 in cash in the Seaboard National Bank and
$4,230,504 in certificates of deposit. The Windham Company was
another of her investment agencies. It held $682,520 in bonds when
she died.
“My mother was nothing but business, business, business,” said
Mr. Green, who is president of the Texas Midland Railroad and
director in the Columbia Trust Company and Seaboard National
Bank, in which his mother had deposits. She also had deposits in the
National Park and Colonial banks. She had large real estate hold-
ings in Chicago and New York City.
PYNE
Moses Taylor Pyne, one of the heirs of Moses Taylor, died in
1921 leaving a fortune estimated at $100,000,000, to his widow and
two sons, Moses Taylor Jr. and Percy R. 2nd. Deceased was second
largest stockholder in the National City Bank with 33,000 shares,
worth about $10,000,000. He was one of the largest security holders
in the Consolidated Gas Company, (N. Y. City) and in the Dela-
ware, Lackawanna and Western R. R. He was also a large holder
in the United N. J. Railroad & Canal, Morris & Essex Ry., N. Y.,
Lackawanna & Western, Sussex R’y., Passaic & Delaware, Warren
R. R., Lackawanna Steel, and in other similar properties. He was
also a large holder of securities in various banks and other financial
institutions.
CONVERSE
Edmund C. Converse died in 1921, leaving an estate estimated by
Edmund Converse Jr., at more than $100,000,000. His chief heirs
are his son and two daughters, Mrs. Benjamin Strong Jr., and the
Countess Von Romberg, who was Antoinette Converse. Deceased
was the chief factor in the National Tube Company, controlled by the
Steel Trust and he was one of the largest stockholders in the Trust.
He was one of the largest security holders in Inspiration Copper and
International Nickel, in the Astor Trust Co., Bankers Trust, Liberty
National Bank and in other large industrial corporations. Deceased
left about two million dollars to charity and friends, the balance going
to his family. An appraisal of the estate filed in Connecticut in June,
1921, makes the total $30,769,867, his largest holdings being $10,-
260,000 in the Warner Railroad Co., $3,030,870 in Bankers Trust
and $1,268,750 in Guaranty Trust. His holding in U. S. Steel, Na-
tional Tube Co., Inspiration Copper, International Nickel, Manati
Sugar and American Bank Note Co., are not disclosed.
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 31
BRADY
Anthony N. Brady died in 1914, leaving $87,000,000, to his two
sons, Nicholas F. and James C., his daughters Mrs. James C. Farrell
of Albany, Mrs. Francis P. Garvin and Mrs. Carl Tucker of New
York, and his grand-daughter Marcie Gavitt, of Albany. Among his
principal stock holdings were :
288,335 shares British-American Tobacco; 75,745 shares com-
mon and 45,000 preferred U. S. Rubber Co.; 36,000 shares Kings
Co., Electric Light & Power; 32,344 com. and 12,844 pref. Amer-
ican Tobacco; 16,785 Liggett & Myers; 6,300 com., American Snuff;
12,400 Anaconda; 22,029 Brooklyn Rapid Transit; 12,680 com. and
2,700 pref., Lorillard Co.; 11,200 Utica Gas and Electric; 6,600
Amalgamated Copper; 5,439 com. and 6,501 pref., Consolidated Gas
& Electric Light & Power of Baltimore; 10,000 com. and 4,800
pref. Dayton Power & Light; 9,614 Electric Storage Battery
Motors; 1,668 Harway Improvement Co.; 1,857 General Motors;
7,392 Interboro Metropolitan ; 2,456 each, first and second preferred
and 1,961 com. Maxwell Motors; 4,853 New York Air Brake;
1,400 Memphis Consolidated Gas & Electric; 58,208 Osaka Gas Co.,
Japan; 5,600 People’s Gas Light and Coke; 8,800 Union Carbide;
4,000 Reynolds Tobacco; 4,000 United Drug; 8,750 Cohoes Gas
Co.; 11,858 Cohoes Co.; 3,667 Municipal Gas of Albany; 1,155
Troy Gas Co.; 9,200 Consolidated Gas of N. Y.; 3,600 Bronx
Terminal Corp.; 3,960 Commonwealth Edison; 2,445 Bridgeport
Gas; 2,920 Delaware & Hudson; 1,150 Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western.
His principal bond holdings were:
$2,385,000 Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co. ; $3,200,000 Chattanooga
and Tennessee River Power Co.; $1,088,000 Indiana Natural Gas
& Oil; $1,010,000 Memphis Gas & Electric; $629,000 Kings Co.
Electric Light and Power; $535,000 Consumers Light, Heat &
Power; $312,000 Merchants Power Co.
Mr. Brady owned $31,000,000 tobacco securities, about $10,-
000,000 rubber, $6,000,000 B. R. T., and $7,000,000 in Japanese
Lighting plants. He owned 210 shares Central Trust Co., valued at
$210,000; 800 Industrial Trust; 955 Lawyers Title Ins. & Trust.
FIELD
The estate of Marshall Field ($85,000,000), who died in 1906,
was left to two grandsons, both minors. Henry Field, one of the
grandsons, died in 1917 at 22 years of age; the other, Marshall Field,
3rd, is alive and sole heir. Under the will, he and his brother were
to divide half the income from the estate, the other half being cumu-
Page 32 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
lative until the younger became 50 years of age, when the estate was
to be divided, three-fifths to Marshall Field 3rd and two-fifths to
Henry. The estate at that time, it was reckoned, would exceed
$400,000,000.
The income from the estate in 1917 was $4,500,000. In 1919,
it was $3,000,000, the reduction being due to the income tax. Mar-
shall Field 3rd is now 30 years old. In 1905, he married Evelyn
Marshall, daughter of Charles H. Marshall of New York. Henry
had a son by Peggy Marsh, an actress. He subsequently married
Nancy Perkins, niece of Viscountess Astor, a few months before he
died. Henry’s son by Miss Marsh, will not share in the estate be-
cause of a court decision. His mother received $200,000 in settle-
ment.
The estate consists of large real estate holdings in Chicago, New
York and elsewhere, holdings in railroads and other properties, and
the controlling interest in the firm of Marshall Field & Co. He
owned stock in the Chicago & Northwestern, appraised at $1,850,000;
Baltimore & Ohio, $1,500,000; Pullman Company $800,000;
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, $600,000; Corn Products Refining
Co., $450,000; International Harvester Company $350,000; Na-
tional Biscuit Company, $350,000 and American Can Company,
$200,000.
WENDEL
The estate of John G. Wendel ($80,000,000) who died in 1916,
was left to his four sisters, three elderly spinsters and one married.
The estate consists mainly of real estate in New York City which
has been in the family more than 100 years. The Wendels own
some of the choicest parcels on Broadway and Fifth avenue. Just
before he died the deceased transferred $10,000,000 real estate to
his sisters to whom he had already transferred the bulk of his property.
Next to the Astors, Goelets and Rhinelanders, the Wendels are the
largest property owners in New York City. The policy of the estate
as announced by the deceased, was not to sell or improve, only to lease.
HARRIMAN
The estate of Edward B. Harriman ($80,000,000) who died
in 1909, was left to his widow and son, William Averill, who is now
30 years of age. Among the largest holdings were 51,900 shares
preferred and 55,000 common Union Pacific, appraised together at
$16,000,000; 47,400 shares Erie, 10,000 Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul, 6,000 Delaware & Hudson, 4,000 Reading, 3,000 Baltimore &
Ohio, 3,146 Brooklyn Rapid Transit and 2,272 Alton. He held only
473 shares of the Illinois Central which road he wrested from Stuy-
TP1OSE WHO OWN IT Page 33
vesant Fish and only 1,000 shares of Southern Pacific, controlled by
the Union Pacific. His largest bond holdings include Erie $8,-
849,000, Burlington $1,777,000, Wheeling and Lake Erie $1,455,000,
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western $1,000,000, Chicago & Alton
$832,498, and Interboro-Metropolitan $918,400. His bank stocks
include 4,829 shares of Guaranty Trust, 5,650 National Bank of
Commerce, 500 Equitable Trust, 800 First National of Chicago,
1,000 National City Bank, 100 Harriman National. J. Ogden
Armour owed him $414,000.
W. Averill Harriman is director in the Baltimore & Ohio, Dela-
ware & Hudson, Illinois Central, Railroad Securities Company, Union
Pacific, Wells Fargo, American-Hawaiian Steamship Co., Guaranty
Trust Company, National Surety Company, and the St. Joseph &
Grand Island Railroad. The Railroad Securities Company is cap-
italized at $20,000,000 and holds a large part of Harriman’s wealth.
R. S. Lovett, President of the Union Pacific, is President of the com-
pany. A large share of Mr. Harriman’s wealth was no doubt given
to his family before he died.
MORGAN
J. Pierpont Morgan, who died in 1913, left an estate appraised at
$78,149,024. There is no doubt that he was worth more than this
sum and that he gave several millions to his family including his son,
who succeeded him as head of the firm of J. P. Morgan & Co., and
his daughter Anne, before. he died.
Among his largest stock holdings were:
7,504 shares N. Y., N. H. & Hartford R. R., 6,500 shares com.
and 415 pref. Southern Railway, 1,279 shares N. Y. Central, 3,125
pref. and 3,125 com. American Bank Note, 2,142 American Tele-
phone & Telegraph, 1,060 American Tobacco Co., 47,025 shares
com. and 25,775 pref. Argentine Great W. Ry., 3,100 Argentine
Transandine Ry., 1,100 Brooklyn Rapid Transit, 5,500 Cerro de
Pasco Co., 15,000 City & Suburban Homes, 1,000 H. B. Claflin Co.,
20,000 Campagnie Universelle de Telegraphic et de Telephonic,
5,000 founders shares same, 1,200 pref. General Motors, 1,000 pref.
and 300 com. Hartford Carpet Corporation, 4,958 com. and 3,366
pref. Havana Tobacco Co., 5,000 com. Intercontinental Rubber,
24,889 pref. Manchester Ship Canal, 1,703 1st. pref., 1,740 second
pref. and 1,764 com. Maxwell Motor Co., 4,124 Niagara Falls
Power, 998 com. and 550 pref. Otis Elevator Co., 4,300 2nd. pref.
St. Louis Bridge Co., 2,134 com. Studebaker Vehicle, 9,000 Sub-
marine Signal, 1,400 Tenth and 23rd. St. Ferry Co., 6,325 com.
United Dry Goods, 931 1st. pref. U. S. Rubber, 2,625 com. and 832
pref. Waltham Watch and 41,666 Wooten Land & Fuel Co.
Page 34 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
Among his largest bond holdings were :
$1,700,000 Atlantic Coast Lumber Corp., $1,162,000 N. Y.
Central, $268,000 Cerro de Pasco Mining Co., $300,000 Havana
Tobacco, $269,000 Niagara Falls Power, $100,000 Indiana Steel
Co., $104,000 International Motors, $150,000 West Short R. R.,
$64,000 Illinois Steel, $100,000 N. Y. & East River Ferry, $60,000
Rome Locomotive & Machine Works, $57,000 N. Y. & Hoboken
Ferry Co. and $50,000 L. I. R. R. Ferry Co.
Among the principal bank stocks were :
2,300 shares Bankers Trust Co., 500 Bond and Mortgage Guar-
antee Co., 150 Central Trust Co., 500 First National Bank, 250
Guaranty Trust Co., 800 Hudson Trust Co., 775 Liberty National
Bank, 6,800 National Bank of Commerce, 282 shares Equitable
Life Assurance Society and 250 Aetna Insurance Co.
Mr. Morgan’s interest in the firm of J. P. Morgan & Co. was ap-
praised at $30,000,000. The firm owns 14,500 shares out of a total
of 100,000 shares of the First National Bank of which George F.
Baker is head (worth $14,000,000), one-seventh interest in the First
Security Company which has securities worth $50,000,000 and 15,000
shares out of 250,000, National City Bank (worth $5,000,000.)
GOULD
Jay Gould died in 1892, leaving a net estate of $74,500,000 to
his six children, George J., Edwin, Helen M., Howard, Anna (for-
mer Countess de Castellane) and Frank J.
His largest holdings were 101,800 shares of stock (valued at
$5,500,000) and $13,000,000 bonds of Missouri Pacific Railroad;
220,000 shares of Western Union Telegraph Co., valued at $18,-
700,000; 100,000 shares of Manhattan “L,” valued at $12,800,000;
$7,286,872 bonds of St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern; 83,000
shares (valued at $913,000) and $980,000 bonds of Wabash Rail-
road; 18,000 shares (valued at $643,000) and $1,912,000 notes,
Union Pacific; $1,700,000 bonds of Kansas and Arkansas Valley
Railroad; 20,000 shares (valued at $184,500) and $788,452 bonds
of Texas and Pacific; 10,000 shares of American Telegraph and
Cable, valued at $850,000 ; 6,696 shares of Wagner Palace Car Co.,
$816,912; 916 Iron Mt. Car Trust Certificates, valued at
$870,000; $910,000 bonds of Kansas City, Wyandotte and North-
ern; $478,000 bonds of International and Great Northern. The
St. Louis and Iron Mt. Railroad owed the estate $3,000,000 and the
Missouri Pacific $2,000,000.
The six children shared equally in the estate which was under
the management of George J. Gould. The Rockefellers have ac-
quired a large share of Gould’s properties.
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 35
WEIGHTMAN
William Weightman died in 1904, leaving virtually his entire
estate of $70,000,000 to his daughter Mrs. Anna N. W. Walker,
who later became the wife of Frederick C. Penfield. Deceased was
the largest owner of real estate in Philadelphia and he owned property
in Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago. His interest in the firm of
Powers & Weightman was worth $20,000,000, when he died. Mrs.
Penfield inherited approximately $10,000,000 from her husband
(Walker), son and mother, before she obtained her father’s fortune
which made her at that time, the richest woman in the United States.
She has no children.
KENNEDY
The estate of John S. Kennedy ($67,000,000), who died in 1909,
was divided as follows: To his widow, $17,000,000, to relatives
$15,000,000, and to charitable, educational and philanthropic institu-
tions, $35,000,000.
Mr. Kennedy was a banker and in railroad construction with
James J. Hill. His principal holdings were in Hill properties. He
left 160,000 shares of Northern Pacific, valued at $24,000,000;
100,000 shares Great Northern preferred, valued at $14,650,000;
96,000 shares Great Northern Iron certificates, valued at $7,752,000;
3,000 shares Standard Oil Trust, 1,356 shares New York Central,
1,100 New York, New Haven & Hartford, 3,000 Pittsburg, Fort
Wayne & Chicago, 2,000 United New Jersey Railroad and Canal,
1,000 Manhattan Railway, 1,500 preferred and 2,428 common, Met-
ropolitan West Side of Chicago, 2,222 Granby Consolidated, 1,650
Manhattan Company. His principal bonds were St. Paul, Min-
neapolis and Manitoba, $2,000,000, Eastern Railway of Minnesota,
$789,000, Montana Central $703,000, Minnesota Union Railway
$654,000, Minneapolis & Manitoba $751,000, Northern Pacific $295,-
000, and Pennsylvania Railroad $211,000. He also held bank se-
curities.
Deceased left no children; nephews, nieces and friends received
from $800,000 to $2,500,000 each, and churches and Mission societies
received $15,000,000, colleges $7,000,000 and hospitals, museums and
libraries $13,000,000.
SAGE
The estate of Russell Sage ($66,000,000), who died in 1906, was
left to his widow, who died in 1918. She left her brother, Joseph J.
Slocum, $8,000,000, and distributed about a million dollars to other
relatives; about $35,000,000 was left to institutions. The Sage
Foundation received $15,000,000 in 1907.
Page 36 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
Mr. Sage was associated with John S. Kennedy and Jay Gould
in railroad and other properties. Among his largest holdings were
35,800 shares Western Union, 9,330 common and 13,265 preferred,
St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern, 12,400 Manhattan Railway,
15,285 Missouri Pacific, 1,500 common and 5,000 preferred, U. S.
Steel, 5,150 Baltimore & Ohio, 7,226 Pennsylvania Railroad, 1,440
preferred Union Pacific, 5,347 American Telegraph and Cable, 2,50Q
Pullman, 4,402 Iowa Central. Among his largest bond holdings
were $2,366,117 St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern, $3,350,000
Missouri Pacific, $942,480 Texas & Pacific, $856,662 St. Louis
Southwestern, $1,130,500 Wabash, $485,865 Missouri, Kansas &
Texas, $555,000 Iowa Central, $210,000 Galveston, Houston &
Henderson. His principal bank holdings were 625 shares National
Bank of Commerce, 1,000 shares Mercantile Trust and 497 Im-
porters and Traders. At the time of his death, he had $36,000,000
loaned on call in Wall street.
Mrs. Sage’s estate includes 20,400 shares of American Tele^
phone & Telegraph, 13,300 preferred Santa Fe, 6,000 Northern
Pacific, 11,500 pref. and 1,000 com. U. S. Steel; 13,800 Pennsyl-
vania Railroad, 5,940 General Electric, 6,300 New Haven, 5,000
Missouri, Kansas & Texas, 16,000 Wabash, and 3,000 Illinois Cen-
tral. Her bond holdings include $1,000,000 Interboro and $1,000,-
000 New York Telephone, besides other railroad and government
bonds. She left several million dollars in mortgages.
WIDENER
P. A. B Widener died in 1915, leaving an estate estimated at
$65,000,000 tied up in a trust fund for 70 years. The heirs of this
estate are his son, Joseph E. Widener; nephew, George D., and the
children of his son George D., who was drowned on the Titanic.
The Widener holdings in the Tobacco Trust are estimated at
$20,000,000 and his holdings in traction and other securities exceed
that sum. He was probably the largest stockholder in Philadelphia
traction and one of the largest in the gas company there. He was
the largest stockholder in the Reading Railroad, owning 100,000
shares, worth about $8,000,000, and he and W. L. Elkins, who was
associated with him, owned together 10,000 shares Standard Oil.
Mr. Widener left several million dollars in Philadelphia and
Pennsylvania real estate and he was a large holder in U. S. Steel and
Pennsylvania Railroad. His art collection was appraised at $10,-
000,000. Several years before his death, he established the Widener
Crippled Children Memorial Home and contributed $7,000,000 for
its support.
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page
GOELET
Robert and Ogden Goelet died in 1899 leaving about $60,000,000
each, mostly in New York City real estate. The Goelets are second
to the Astors in the value of their holdings which are appraised in
excess of $125,000,000.
Robert Goelet owned 217 shares Chemical National Bank ap-
praised at $889,700, at the rate of $4,100 a share; 300 shares, Union
Trust Company, appraised at $420,000; 136 New York Life In-
surance and Tiust Company, $218,400; 250 shares Guaranty Trust,
$150,000; 700 Gallatin National, $108,500; 18,000 Brooklyn City
Railroad, $444,600; 1,800 Third Avenue Railroad, $387,000; 1,500
New York Central, $210,000; Illinois Central bonds, $358,550; New
York and East River gas bonds, $521,520; New York, New Haven
& Hartford, $162,060; Northern Union Gas, $117,500; Chicago &
Alton Syndicate subs, $205,640. He had $620,000 cash in bank and
a note of $100,000 from E. H. Harriman. The estate was left to
his son, Robert W., daughter, Beatrice, and widow.
Ogden Goelet owned 200 shares Chemical National Bank, valued
at $780,000; Illinois Central bonds, $340,800; 300 shares Union
Trust, $258,000; 155 New York Life and Trust, $155,000; 700
Gallatin National, $108,500; 15,000 shares Brooklyn City Railroad
Company, $285,000; 1,500 shares New York Central, $162,000;
938 shares New York, New Haven and Hartford, $164,150; 2,040
Penn. R. R. $112,200; 1,500 Third Avenue Railroad, $225,000;
1,000 Oswego & Syracuse, $100,000; Brooklyn park bonds, $199,800,
and cash in bank $362,000. His estate was left to his son Robert,
daughter Mary, and his widow.
APPLEBY
The estate of Charles Appleby ($50,000,000) who died in 1913,
was left to his sons Edgar and John, who have three children to-
gether. The estate consists mostly of New York City real estate.
Deceased was a lawyer who specialized in real estate and amassed
one of the largest real estate fortunes. He was 90 years old when
he died. He represented King Louis Philippe of France in real
estate transactions in the United States. He owned a large part of
Central Park south and west, and property along Riverside Drive.
GUGGENHEIM
Meyer Guggenheim died in 1905, leaving an estate estimated
at $50,000,000 to his six sons and three daughters. The Guggen-
heim family fortune to-day is estimated at $500,000,000, ten times
the amount left by the father.
Page 38 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
The Guggenheims control some of the largest copper properties,
including Kennecott, Utah, Nevada Consolidated, Braden and Chile
Copper, besides the American Smelting and Refining Company and
properties in Alaska. Most of deceased’s wealth was given to his
family before he died, the schedule of his estate showing only
$2,2000,000, which was distributed to his children.
BLAIR
The estate of John I. Blair ($50,000,000) was left to his son,
De Witt Clinton Blair, and to five grandchildren who received
$500,000 each. De Witt Clinton Blair died in 1915, leaving $10,-
000,000 to his sons, C. Ledyard and J. Insley Blair, to whom he had
given $7,000,000 each the Christmas before his death. The Blairs
are of the firm of Blair & Co., bankers, and are directors in many
large properties including the Lackawanna Steel Company, Pressed
Steel Car Company, Kansas City Southern Railroad, Seaboard Air
Line, New York Trust Company, Equitable Securities Company and
Securities Company of New York. They are also large owners of
real estate.
RHINELANDER
The estate of William Rhinelander ($50,000,000) was left to
his widow and sons, Oakley and Philip. He disinherited his son
William C., whose marriage he condemned. The estate consists of
some of the choicest parcels of real estate in New York City. Mrs.
Rhinelander, the widow, also disinherited her son William, when she
died in 1914.
SAYLES
Frank A. Sayles, who died in 1920, leaving an estate estimated at
$50,000,000, was one of the largest mill owners in New England.
He lived in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His family inherited the bulk
of his fortune.
TAYLOR
Henry A. C. Taylor died in 1921 leaving an estate estimated at
$50,000,000. He was the son of Moses Taylor and uncle of Moses
Taylor Pyne, who died a few months before him leaving about $100,-
000,000. Deceased was director in the National City Bank, National
City Co., Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, Morris & Essex, N. Y.,
Lackawanna & Western, Cayuga & Susquehanna, Farmers Loan &
Trust Co., N. Y. Life Ins. & Trust, and Newport Trust Co. His
son Moses Taylor, is trustee of the Consolidated Gas Co. (N. Y.),
and director in J. G. White Engineering Corp., Lackawanna Steel
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 39
Co., Cornwall R. R., Lake Champlain and Moriah R. R., Mines
Finance Co., N. Y. & Queens Gas, South Buffalo R’y, Tilly Foster
Mines, and Westchester & Bronx Title & Mortgage Guaranty Co.
When his will was filed for probate in Portsmouth, R. I., the petition
set forth that his personal property amounted to $15,000,000.
ALTMAN
Benjamin Altman died in 1913, deaving an estate estimated at
$44,000,000. He was principal owner of the drygoods firm of B.
Altman & Co., on Fifth Avenue, New York. Deceased left 20,000
shares of stock in the company to the Altman Foundation for the
benefit of employees and he distributed 23,000 shares to employees
on condition that they be resold to the firm at $125 a share when the
employee leaves. The State of New York estimated the endowment
fund at $25,000,000. The deceased’s art gallery, valued at $10,-
000,000, was left to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
City. The balance of the estate was appraised at $9,000,000, on
which an inheritance tax was paid. The Altman Foundation was
chartered in New York State and may devote its funds to benevolent
and charitable purposes.
BOURNE
Frederick G. Bourne died in 1919 leaving an estate appraised
at $43,000,000. He was formerly president of the Singer Sewing
Machine Co., in which he was one of the largest security holders.
No schedule of the estate has yet been filed, but his holdings include
$1,000,000 in bonds of the Aeolian Co., $1,000,000 N. Y. City bonds,
3,500 shares Consolidated Gas (N. Y. City), 1,500 shares Illinois
Central. He was director in the Atlas Portland Cement Co., Bab-
cock- Wilcox Co., City and Suburban Homes Co., Long Island R. R.,
Manhattan Co., Singer Manufacturing Co. and Singer Sewing Ma-
chine Co. Deceased left securities appraised as follows: Stocks,
$26,510,000; bonds, $13,500,000; real estate, $1,450,000.
His seven children inherited the estate. They are Arthur K.,
Alfred G., George C., Marion, Marjorie and Mrs. Ralph Strass-
burger of Norristown Pa., and Mrs. Anson W. Hard of Long Island.
SMITH
George Smith died in 1899, leaving $42,000,000 equally to his
nephew James Henry Smith and to a friend, George Alexander
Cooper, of England. Deceased was a merchant on the Pacific coast.
He spent the latter years of his life in England. His nephew lived
on Fifth Avenue, New York. Deceased left $12,850,000 bonds of
Page 40 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad; $11,000,000 bonds of
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; $1,000,000 Chicago & Pacific,
$1,050,000 Chicago & Northwestern, $757,000 Baltimore & Ohio,
$580,000 Wisconsin & Minnesota, $355,000 Burlington & Missouri
River Railroad, $350,000 East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Rail-
road, $325,000 South Carolina & Georgia, and similar sums in other
railroads. He held $1,000,000 bonds of the State of Tennessee.
MILLS
The Estate of Darius O. Mills ($41,000,000) who died in 1910,
was left to his son Ogden and daughter Mrs. Whitelaw Reid, wife
of the late ambassador. There were small bequests to institutions.
Among his largest holdings were 16,000 shares N. Y. Central,
13,500 shares Rock Island, 6,810 shares Atchison, 15,970 Portland
Ry. Light & Power, 10,659 Peoples’ Gas & Coke, 15,878 pref.
International Paper, 34,500 com. and 3,347 pref. Shredded Wheat;
49,224 Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining, 5,000 Tidewater Oil,
600 Standard Oil Trust, 1,000 Chicago & Northwestern, 1,000
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, 1,000 Northern Pacific, 2,000 Rock
Island, 6,000 pref. and 7,000 com. Seaboard Air Line; 2,454
Southern Pacific, 31,141 Virginia & Truckee R. R., 8,106 Brooklyn
Rapid Transit, 5,000 Central London Ry., 2,155 American Steel
Foundry, 14,942 Black Diamond Coal, 5,500 Lackawanna Steel,
1,800 Buffalo Gen. Elec., 1,800 Commonwealth Edison of Chicago,
1,000 Duluth Edison, 4,500 Guanajuato Power & Electric, 2,000
Niagara Falls Power, 2,500 Northwest Gas Light & Coke, 37,675
Alaska Mexican Gold Mining, 501,450 Alaska Treadwell Gold
Mining, 15,475 Alaska United Gold Mining, 8,800 Cerro De Pasco,
14,942 Bellingham Bay Improvement, 10,000 Chicago Transfer and
Clearing, 2,284 Crex Carpet, 56,250 Nevada Petroluem, 1,000
Pressed Steel Car, 1,000 Palace Hotel, 3,264 Pullman, 4,000 Spring
Valley Water, 730 Erie Elevator Co., 605 North Atlantic
Steamship.
His principal bond holdings include $505,000 Rock Island,
$144,000 Penn. R. R., $860,000 Seaboard Air Line, $100,000 Erie,
$114,000 International Traction, $250,000 Guanajuato Power &
Electric, $200,000 Ogden Gas Co., $300,000 International Paper,
$133,000 Union Iron Works Dry Dock, $250,000 Coal & Coke Ry.,
$100,000 Southern Pacific, $85,000 Lake Shore, $83,000 Nassau
Electric Ry., $84,000 Kings Co. Elec., $100,000 Valley Counties
Power and $567,000 Cerro De Pasco Mining. He owned stocks
in nine banks including Bank of New York, Guaranty Trust, Morton
Trust, Mercantile Trust, National Bank of Commerce, Maine
National of Buffalo and Mercantile Trust of San Francisco.
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 41
It was acknowledged by the heirs that deceased gave them each
$1,000,000 in securities each Christmas for several years before he
died and that he gave them 16,000 shares of Atchison a few months
before he died. Mrs. Reid also inherited her husband’s estate of
$2,000,000 which included the ownership of the New York Tribune.
STILLMAN
James Stillman died in 1917, leaving an estate appraised at
$40,279,807 to his three sons, Charles C., James A. and Ernest G.
Stillman, and to his two daughters, Isabel G. Rockefeller and Elsie
G. Rockefeller, who married the sons of William Rockefeller.
Stillman and Rockefeller were engaged in many financial enterprises
together. Mr. Stillman undoubtedly gave many millions to his
children before he died, his total wealth being estimated at
$80,000,000.
Among the principal holdings in the estate are 47,498 shares of
National City Bank, appraised at $14,507,876; 4,054 shares Hanover
National Bank, appraised at $2,249,970; 5,740 shares Second
National Bank, appraised at $2,095,100; 5,269 shares National Bank
of Commerce, $790,350; 3,371 shares Citizens National, $606,780;
700 New York Trust Company, $399,000; 1,340 Lincoln National,
$321,600; 304 U. S. Trust, $174,512; 971 Lawyers Title & Trust,
$89,332; 25,000 American International Corporation (60% paid),
$1,350,000; 20,000 Fidelity Company, $1,970,000; 3,619 New
Jersey Zinc Company, $852,274; 2,100 common and 3,255 pref.
Union Pacific, valued at $479,000 ; 3,459 pref. Chicago, Milwaukee
and St. Paul, $242,130; 3,175 New York Central, $222,250; 21,068
U. S. Realty and Improvement Company, $168,544; 1,128 Standard
Oil Co., of New Jersey, $595,584; 1,136 Standard Oil of California,
$241,967; 860 Standard Oil of New York, $223,600; 688 Ohio Oil,
$222,224; 344 Standard Oil of Indiana, $214,656; 5,732 Kennecott
Copper, $182,707; 3,000 Haskell & Barker Car Co., $111,000;
1,046 Terminal Warehouse Company, $104,666; U. S. Trust
Corporation Ltd. of London, $546,000; Midvale Steel and Ordnance,
$216,000.
His principal bond holdings were Fidelity Company, $846,000;
U. S. Realty & Improvement Company, $672,800; Chicago & Alton
Railroad, $420,750; Equitable Office Building Corporation, $382,200;
Morris & Essex Railroad, $418,800; Terminal Warehouse Company,
$80,000, and United Lead, $73,730.
Mr. Stillman ‘s real estate in New York City was appraised at
$1,379,483 and he had real estate in Texas, appraised at $232,888,
and in Little Falls, N. Y., appraised at $397,331. Each of the three
sons received approximately $7,000,000 and the daughters, $2,250,000
each. Ten million dollars was held in trust for the grandchildren.
Page 42 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
REAM
The estate of Norman B. Ream ($40,000,000), who died in
1915, was left to his wife, four sons, Edward K., Norman P., Robert
C., and Louis N. and two daughters, Mrs. John C. Kemmerer and
Mrs. Redmond D. Stephens. The deceased was one of the organizers
of the Steel Trust, and a director. He was heavily interested in
Western ranches and banks, besides railroads. He was at one time
associated with P. D. Armour, Marshall Field, John Cudahy and
George M. Pullman, and he owned valuable real estate in Chicago. At
the time of his death he was director in the Baltimore & Ohio, Chicago
& Erie, Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, Erie, N. Y. Susq. & Western;
Pere Marquette, Pullman Co., Seaboard Air Line, Equitable Life,
Fidelity-Phenix Fire Ins. Co., First National Bank of Chicago,
Metropolitan Trust Co., N. Y.; National Biscuit Co., N. Y. Trust
Co., Securities Co., Sussex Realty, U. S. Steel.
Mr. Reams’ wealth was probably in excess of the amount given,
no schedule of his holdings being made public. He was a “resident”
of Thompson, Ct.
BROWN
The estate of John Carter Brown ($40,000,000) who died in
1874, was distributed in 1914. It was $25,000,000 when left in trust
forty years before distribution. The bulk of the estate went to John
Nicholas Brown, his grandson, who is now 25 years old, and to Mrs.
William Watt Sherman, his aunt. The boy also inherited $10,000,000
from his uncle’s share of the estate. His grandfather founded Brown
University in Providence, R. I.
YAWKEY
The estate of William H. Yawkey ($40,000,000), who died in
1919, was left to his nephew, Thomas A. Yawkey, 16 years old, and
to his widow. The boy was adopted by Mr. Yawkey, after the death
of his parents. The estate is largely in oil and timber lands, which
the deceased inherited from his father.
FURNISS
The estate of William P. Furniss ($40,000,000) was left to
three daughters, all of whom died. The last of the daughters was
Mrs. John E. Zimmerman. She died in 1918, leaving $2,000,000 to
religious, educational and charitable institutions. She had no children.
Her father was known as the “West Indian Merchant Prince.”
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 43
ROEBLING
The estate of Charles G. Roebling ($40,000,000) was left to his
daughters, Mrs. Richard N. Cadwalader, Jr., and Mrs. Sargeant
Tyson, Jr., of Philadelphia. He was head of John A. Roebling Sons
and of the New Jersey Wire Cloth Co. ; also a large stockholder in
the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. and Otis Elevator Co.
Karl G. Roebling, son of Ferdinand W. Roebling, who was
president of the John A. Roebling’s Sons Co., died in 1921 leaving
a fortune estimated to exceed $20,000,000. He was director in the
Otis Elevator Co., in which the Roeblings are the largest stock-
holders, and in the N. J. Wire Cloth Co., Mechanics National Bank,
Standard Fire Insurance Co., Union Mills Paper Co. and other
corporations.
LEEDS
The estate of William B. Leeds, estimated at $40,000,0000, was
left to his widow who was Miss Stuart of Cleveland, who was half his
age. His property was taken over by the Steel Trust in 1901. Mrs.
Leeds is now the wife of the brother of King Constantine of Greece,
and her son, by her former marriage, who is only eighteen years old,
is married to the King’s niece.
BUSCH
The estate of Adolphus Busch ($40,000,000) was left to his
family. The estate consists of 190 parcels of real estate held separately
by him in Missouri, California, Iowa, Kansas and Texas, besides the
parcels owned by the Brewing Company in which he was the largest
stockholder; and notes, stocks and bonds valued at $18,000,000.
ELKINS
W. L. Elkins, who was P. A. B, Widener’s partner, left a fortune
appraised at $6,000,000, though his actual wealth was about
$40,000,000. He was a large holder of traction securities in New
York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Baltimore, and he held
many thousand shares of American Tobacco stock. He owned
several thousand shares Pennsylvania Railroad, a vast amount of real
estate in Philadelphia, and several thousand shares of Standard Oil.
MORRIS
The estate of Edward Morris ($40,000,000) who died in 1912,
was left to his widow and four children. Mrs. Morris inherited a
Page 44 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
fortune from her father, Gustavus Swift, the packer. The estate
consists principally of a majority stock in the firm of Morris &
Company, and heavy holdings in banks.
MILLER
Henry Miller died in 1916 leaving an estate appraised at
$40,000,000, to his only child, Mrs. J. Leroy Nickel of San Francisco,
to whom he transferred a large share of his property before he died.
Deceased owned more land in California, Nevada and Oregon than
any other person, his total holdings aggregating two million acres, or
about three thousand square miles, which he accumulated in sixty
years. He at one time owned more cattle than any other person in the
West. The State of California is trying to collect an inheritance
tax of ten million dollars from the estate.
SEARLES
The estate of Edward F. Searles ($40,000,000) who died in
1920, was left to Arthur T. Walker, his secretary. The deceased left
no family. He obtained the fortune from his wife who was the widow
of Mark Hopkins, one of the Union Pacific pioneers. She was many
years his senior when they were married in 1887. She died in 1891,
leaving him $30,000,000. Mr. Searles was the principal owner of
the New York Globe. A part of the principal and income of the
estate went to the law firm that managed it, under a contract for such
compensation. The estate consists largely of railroad and traction
securities. Relatives of the deceased contesting the will, received a
settlement leaving Mr. Walker the largest portion. He is unmarried.
HUNTINGTON
Collis P. Huntington died in 1900, leaving an estate appraised
at $37,000,000 to his widow Arabella, nephew Henry E., daughter
Clara (Princess Hatzfield) and other relatives. The widow received
$15,000,000; nephew, $10,000,000; daughter, $1,000,000. The
largest holdings in the estate were Southern Pacific stock valued at
$13,055,000 (par value, $39,000,000) ; bonds, stocks and notes of
Newport News Shipping and Dry Dock Co., $7,000,000; stocks of
Market Street Railroad, $1,200,000; stock and bonds of Galveston,
Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad, $2,320,000 ; bonds of Mexican
International Railway, $1,132,620; Southern Pacific bonds, $657,-
000; Chesapeake Dry Dock bonds, $600,000; bonds of Astoria and
Columbia River Railroad, $720,000; stock of Old Dominion Land
Co., $505,000; bonds of Texas & Northern Railroad, $478,000.
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 45
The Pacific Improvement Co. owed the estate $2,744,000. His home
at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street was appraised at $1,200,000.
ARBUCKLE
The estate of John Arbuckle ($37,000,000) coffee merchant,
who died in 1912, was left to his sisters, Miss Christina and Mrs.
Katherine Jamison. Miss Arbuckle was 74 years old when her brother
died, leaving neither wife nor child. She was appointed administrator.
William A. Jamison, son of Mrs. Jamison, is active head of the firm
of Arbuckle Bros. He is also director in the United States Mortgage
and Trust Company, Wabash Railway, Mechanics & Metals National
Bank, Stave and Timber Corporation, Jay Street Connecting Railroad
and American and Foreign Marine Insurance Company.
DOLAN
Thomas Dolan, of the famous Widener-Elkins-Dolan syndicate,
died in 1914, leaving $35,000,000 in trust for 21 years after his last
lineal descendant. He left three sons, Thomas, Clarence and H. Yale
Dolan. He was President of the United Gas Improvement Company
of Philadelphia, which owns and controls the light, heat and traction
in more than 300 cities and towns in the United States. He was also
director in the Metropolitan Street Railway, New York City,
Continental Tobacco Company, William Cramp & Sons, and other
large corporations.
DELAMAR
The estate of Captain Joseph R. DeLamar ($34,000,000) who
died in 1918, was left to his daughter, who received $10,000,000, and
to Harvard, John Hopkins and Columbia Universities. The deceased
was little known outside of his own business circle. His largest
corporate holdings include bonds and stocks of the Sinclair Oil and
Refining Co. and Sinclair Gulf Corporation valued at $2,084,000;
Delta Beet Sugar Corporation, $2,697,000; Manati Sugar, com. and
pref., $298,000; International Mercantile Marine, $314,160;
National Conduit & Cable Co., $440,000; American Petroleum &
Transportation, $432,000 ; Aetna Explosives, $290,000.
PLANT
The estate of Morton F. Plant ($33,000,000), who died in 1915,
was left to his son and to his widow, who received $8,000,000 on her
marriage to Mr. Plant in 1914. He was 62 years old and she 31, at
that time. The bulk of the estate went to his son by a former
Page 46 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
marriage. The widow was Mrs. Manwaring before she married
Plant. She is now Mrs. William Hayward.
Mr. Plant owned the Boston Herald and Traveler and the New
London Telegraph. His estate included $2,500,000 bonds in the
Atlantic Coast Line, $2,000,000 Interborough Rapid Transit bonds,
$1,6000,000 Standard Oil Stocks, $1,500,000 U. S. Steel, $592,000
Eastern Connecticut Power bonds and $545,000 Shore Line Electric
Railway bonds. Mr. Plant’s father left him $17,000,000 in 1899,
and the estate was appraised at $30,000,000 in 1905.
SMITH
Warren B. Smith died in 1901, leaving $32,000,000 of which
$20,000,000 went to his nephew, Alexander Smith Cochran. Cochran
also inherited $8,000,000 from his mother and several millions from
his father, William F. Cochran who was a partner in Smith &
Cochran, the largest carpet manufacturers in the world.
Mr. Cochran’s two brothers, Gifford and William, and his sisters,
Mrs. Thomas Ewing, Mrs. Percy Stewart and Elsie Cochran,
inherited part of the same estates.
SCRANTON
William W. Scranton died in 1916, leaving an estate estimated
at $30,000,000, to his only child, Worthington W. He owned the
gas and water works in Scranton, Pa., which he inherited from his
father after whom the city is named, and he owned the Carbondale
Water Company. He was at one time president of the Lackawanna
Steel Company and lost control of the company to the Blairs.
WOOLWORTH
The estate of Frank Woolworth ($30,000,000) who died in 1919,
was left to his wife who is an invalid. The estate is in the hands of
an administrator and will pass on the widow’s death, to her daughters,
Mrs. Charles E. F. McCann and Mrs. James P. Donohue.
The estate consits of Mr. Woolworth’s interest in the stores that
bear his name, which is appraised at $15,000,000. He had 107,164
shares common and 18,000 shares preferred, in the Broadway-Park
Place Company, which owns the Woolworth Building. He owned
1,794 shares Irving National Bank and 895 shares Irving Trust
Company, and he owned other stocks and bonds besides his home on
Fifth avenue.
BARKER
The estate of John H. Barker ($30,000,000) who died in 1913,
was inherited by his daughter Catharine at 18 years of age. She
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 47
comes into full possession in 1922, at 26 years of age. She is now
Mrs. Howard Spalding, Jr., having married in 1915. James P.
Forgan, President of the First National Bank of Chicago, is
her guardian, the bank being trustee under the will. The estate will
be worth about forty million dollars when she gets full possession.
Deceased was a car manufacturer in Chicago.
DU PONT
Alexis I. DuPont died in 1921, leaving a fortune estimated at
$30,000,000. He was one of the fourth generation of the family
whose name has been identified with the manufacture of gunpowder
for more than one hundred years. There are two-score members of
the fourth and fifth generation alive to-day and they are engaged in
many lines of business. Deceased’s holdings in the E. I. DuPont De
Nemours Co., of which he was secretary, consisted of about 50,000
shares common and debenture stock, valued at about $5,000,000. He
was also interested in the Atlas Petroleum Corporation, capitalized
at $5,000,000, of which he was probably the largest stockholder.
The DuPont family owns half the stock of the DuPont company.
They are heavily interested in banks, utilities, motor and manufac-
turing companies, and T. Coleman and Pierre S. have large interests
in New York City. They control the stock of the Equitable Life
Assurance Society and Equitable Building Corporation. T. Coleman
is director in the Empire Trust Co., Greeley Square Hotel Co.,
Industrial Finance Corporation, Morris Plan Bank, National Surety
Co. and Thompson-Starrett Co. Pierre DuPont is director in the
American International Corporation, Bankers Trust, Chatham &
Phoenix National Bank, General Motors Co. and Philadelphia Na-
tional Bank.
The aggregate wealth of the living DuPonts exceeds $500,000,-
000.
JAMES
The estate of D. Willis James ($27,000,000) who died in 1907,
was left to his widow and son Arthur Curtiss. Mr. James was senior
partner in Phelps, Dodge & Co. His widow died in 1916 leaving
$5,000,000, half to her son, who is Vice-President of the Phelps,
Dodge Company and who received the balance left by his father.
D. Willis James’ principal holdings were 32,000 shares Great
Northern pref., valued at $3,840,000; subscription receipts valued at
$985,600; 32,700 shares Northern Pacific, valued at $2,924,000, and
subscription receipts, $500,310; 52,600 shares Southwestern Invest-
ment Co., valued at $3,156,000; 55,000 shares Copper Queen,
$2,750,000; 47,317 shares Old Dominion Co., $1,419,500; 35,000
Page 48 DYNASTIC AMERICA and
Great Northern Ry. Iron Ore, $1,715,000; 6,138 American Brass
Co., $681,318; 1,655 Ansonia Clock, $306,175; 3,000 Golden Hill
Corp., $400,000; 12,000 Detroit Copper Mining Co., $420,000;
23,311 North Star Mines Co., $233,110; interest in Phelps, Dodge
Co., $945,736; cash at Phelps, Dodge Co., $475,000; note of James
Douglas, $307,126; 700 shares First National Bank, N. Y., $424,200;
152 shares U. S. Trust Co., $174,800; and $1,500,000 real estate in
New York City.
ALDRICH
The estate of Nelson W. Aldrich of Rhode Island, whose
daughter is the wife of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., was appraised at
$6,000,000, though his wealth was estimated at $25,000,000. His
principal heirs are his son, Edward B., and his daughter. Edward
B. Aldrich is president of the American Congo Company and vice-
president of the Intercontinental Rubber Company, and Rubber
Exploration Company, in which the Rockefellers are also interested.
Mr. Aldrich’s holdings in the Intercontinental were at one time
appraised at more than $4,000,000.
PALMER
The estate of Mrs. Potter Palmer ($25,000,000) who died in
1918, was left to her sons, Potter and Honore, and about one million
dollars to philanthropic institutions. The estate consists chiefly of
a trust fund left about fifteen years before her death, made up mainly
of real estate in Chicago.
GATES
The estate of John W. Gates ($25,000,000) who died in 1911,
was left to his widow and son, who died in 1912, leaving his inheri-
tance of $6,000,000 to his mother. Mrs. Gates died in 1918 leaving
the bulk of her fortune to her brother Edward J. Baker of Illinois,
and Miss Dellora F. Angell, her niece, who is under 21. The bulk
of the estate is in securities of the Texas Company, one of the largest
oil properties.
SALOMON
William Salomon, the banker, died in 1911, leaving approximately
$25,000,000 to his wife and about a million to relatives and philan-
thropic institutions. No schedule of his estate was filed in New York
county.
THOSE WHO OWN IT Page 49
PULITZER
The estate of Joseph Pulitzer, who died in 1911, was appraised
at $20,355,985, the value of his newspaper properties being fixed at
$5,944,342. The Morning and Evening World (New York) were
appraised at $3,267,081 and the St. Louis Post Dispatch at $2,677,262.
The New York newspapers were earning one million dollars a year
when he died. The actual value of the estate which was left to his
family was about $24,000,000.
The estate includes 6,000 shares Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad, valued at $1,617,870; 4,000 shares Central Rail-
road of New Jersey, valued at $1,183,560; 5,000 General Electric,
valued at $735,000; 5,000 Louisville & Nashville R. R., 6,000
Southern Ry. pref., 5,000 Western Union, 4,000 American Locomotive
pref., 3,000 Illinois Central, 3,000 com. and 2,000 pref. B. & O.,
6,000 Westinghouse Electric; 2,000 com. Chicago & Northwestern,
3,000 Missouri Pacific, 1,800 Minn. St. Paul & S. S. M. R. R.,
1,250 D. L. & W. Coal Co., 1,000 Union Pacific, $1,000,000
Panama 3% bonds, $1,000,000 N. Y. City bonds, $600,000 Northern
Pacific bonds, $200,000 West Shore, $200,000 Chicago, Rock Island
and Pacific, $100,000 Central R. R. of New Jersey and 500 shares
American Exchange National Bank.
WHITNEY
William C. Whitney, who died in 1904, left an estate of
$23,000,000. His sons, Harry Payne and Payne, received $10,248,717
and $2,049,743 respectively, and his daughters, Dorothy received
$6,149,230 and Pauline P. Paget, $2,049,743. The principal holdings
in the estate were Standard Oil stocks valued at $7,078,400,
Continental Tobacco, $4,730,950; Guggenheim Exploration,
$780,000; Morton Trust Co. stock, $1,311,414; National Bank of
Commerce, $337,000; Union Lead and Oil, $225,000; Cuba Rail-
road, $150,000; and real estate in New York City, $1,500,000. Mr.
Whitney, with Dolan, Widener and Elkins, manipulated the traction
lines in New York City but his estate does not show a single share of
traction stock.
HAGGIN
The estate of James B. Haggin ($21,000,000) who died in 1914,
was left to his wife, son, daughter a