MYSTERY MEN OF EUROPE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 276, 20 November 1926, Page 38

MYSTERY MEN OF EUROPE.

MILLIONAIRE'S PRIVATE LINER SIR BASIL ZAHAROFF'S ROMANCE. THE BANKING PIMPERNEL. Behind the scenes in the drama of the nations there are powerful and mysterious figures whose names mean little to the man in the street. Among them is the millionaire wno has startled two continents by offering to place at the disposal of Belgium £10.000.000 for two years without interest, and of France a similar sum at 2 per cent interest, with a further £20.000,000 to follow. Ask the average man if he has heard of Carnegie, the ironmaster, John Rockefeller, the oil king, Schwab, the eteel king, Pierpont Morgan, the king of trusts, and he will probably be able to give you some facts about these men of enterprise and fabulous wealth. But there are few people who, previous to the recent sensational news, realised that there is one whose power in the world of finance is even greater than that of the men of resource, genius, and pertinacity who were among the chief factors in building up the prosperity of their country. The word of Mr. Alfred Lowenstein can make or mar aspirations of more than commercial importance, yet he hates the limelig-ht as he hates lazinessTo all but his trusted secretaries he is a man of the fewest words and a man of mystery. i 2 Cars and 4 'Planes. Xot only has he an air fleet consisting of a sixteen-seater Handley-Page, an eight-seater Napier Vulcan, a fourseater D-11. 50, and a speical amphibian Napier Yikinj: flying-boat, but also a land fleet of twelve motor cars. Known to his staff as the "active millionaire." he rises at 6 a.m. and rides one of his 10 thoroughbred horses. He transacts business in half-hour periods throughout the day. and indulges in pames in between whiles. There are professionals in ljoxinp. bil'iards. tennis*, golf and racquets on his staff, and every day he pits his skill against them. Soon, it is understood, he is going to the United St-ates. and instead of booking passages for himself and his staff in the ordinary way, he is understood to be chartering a liner. But "the" mystery man of Europe is Sir Basil Zaharoff Nobody knows the extent of his power and influence, for he is the most elusive man in the worldHe once said that no one knew enough about him to write his story and that no one ever would. 6ir Basil is probably one of the richest men in the world, if not actually the richest. His generosity is astounding- He has 1 founded chairs for literature and aviation in Oxford, Paris, Petrograd, , and London, has given money for the : restoration of Westminister Abbey, for j the training of athletes for the Olympic I Games and for a host of other worthy . objects. 1 It was in the most casual way that he called at the University in Paris and. learning that the cost of a chair of aeronautics would be £28.000, at once j signed a cheque for that amount. I He began his carer as an agent of the firm of Vickere in Spain, and later became identified with the firm. Then he passed on to other enterprise?, and became an international figure in politics and finance. Love Romance. Sir Basil's most famous stroke of business in the last few years was the purchase of Monte Carlo during the war. Sir Basil bought all the shares, which he afterwards distributed to French j investors through his banks- The success of the experiment may be judged by the fact that in 1924 the profits of the company exceeded six hundred thousand pounds for distribution among Sir Basil and his investors. His marriage, which did not take place till he was 74 years of age, to the Duchess of Villafranca. was one of the great love romances of the present age. It was in 1924 that the wedding was celebrated, but the romantic story of devotion dated back 20 years before that The Duches of Villafranca de la Caballeros had first been married when a girl of 17 to Francesco de Bourbon. Duke of Marchera, the head of one of the branches of the Spanish Bourbon family. Sir Basil and the Duchess met at a ball in Madrid. The Duchess was only a girl, married to a man who was by that time a hopeless invalid, and she was very unhappy. Sir Basil and the Duchess fell in love with each other at first sight that night at the ball. He was rich and handsome, she brilliant and charming. 1 They knew that they would have to wait many years for each other, but their love remained firm and true, and was ultimately rewarded upon the death of the Duke in 1923. When the marriage did take place the greatest possible secrecy was preserved. The ceremony was in the private chapel of the Chateau de Malincourt, near Paris. The gates of the chateau were closely guarded. A Press photographer, who ventured near had his camera broken, and after the wedding Sir Basil and his bride left by motor car for a mystery honeymoon. Their wedding happiness was very short, for the Duchess died at the beginning of this year. Like Sir Basil Zaharoff, Mr- Montague Colet Norman, governor of the Bank of England, has become famous for sudden appearances on secret missions. To the man in the street he is practically unknoivn. Yet as Governor of the Bank of England he wields an enormous influence, and some people regard him as being the power behind the throne of British high finance. Totally unlike the popular conception of a banker, Mr. Norman is a quiet, rather serious man of middle age, with soft, pointed beard and keen brown eyes. Elusive Pimpernel. v Last year he departed suddenly on a gold-standard mission to the United States. The first news of his departure reached England when the liner carrying him reached New Yirk. He returned as secretly as he went. That is "The Governor"—sudden, unexpected, almost whimsically elusive. He is the elusive Pimpernel of British banking circles, and has a somewhat legendary personality even to the members of his own organisation. He has immense vitality and capacity for work. But intercourse with other men tires him. He cares nothing for society, rarely goes out, and cannot be drawn into participation in public, social, or official functions.