RICHEST MAN IN EUROPE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 81, 2 October 1924, Page 7

RICHEST MAN IN EUROPE

SIR BASIL ZAHAROFF

A MYSTERIOUS PERSONALITY

POWER IN EUROPEAN POLITICS.

"I wish to call attention to the. honour given to Sir Basil Zaharoff, who is reputed to be the richest'man in the world, and who is said to have made his money out of munition factories: which he holds in many countries^ _ If it'be true; that he helped us out in the war by giving us a loan, why .was that »ot stated when he was decorated?":—Erorn a statement by Mr. Aubrey i Herbert, ; .M.P., in the British House of Com--mons, as reported in "The London Times. Sir Basil Zaharoff, one of the most mysterious men in the world, is lifted by this utterance into - the rank of its richest. A cable' message published last Wednesday announced his marriage to the Spanish Duchess of ViH'afranca. A munitions maker, international banker, owner of steamship lines and partowner; of the Casino at Monte .Carlo, an undismayed contender, for oil rights against such enormous aggregations of capital as the Standard Oil and the Royal Dutch Shell, an unseen power behind nipre moves than' one on, the political chess board of Europe, and an eccentric philanthropist, a Haroun-al-Ras-chid for whom half the Continent is a Bagdad, he has yet managed to shroud in secrecy much' of his life, even the very place and; date of his birth. It was during a debate in the House of Commons on the distribution of honours that Aubrey Herbert' asked whether. Sir Basil had been knighted on account of a substantial loan to the British Empire during the war; and wliy> ,if that were so, the fact was not 6tated that, he was "reputed to be'the richest man in the world." '„'

The subject then under discussion was held up for inquiry by a Royal Commission, arid no'answer was given tb'Mr. Herbert, -.j No explanation was forthcoming therefore as to how and, why a man so influential in the councils of European States, a cosmopolitan who speaks half a" dozen languages and owns as many homes' and estates, in various countries, credited with having financed Greece in. the last Balkan war and assuredly of fabulous wealth', could have remained practically unknown to the public. ,■''.-' -' '■ .' ,;- "

Yet this extraordinary figure is not entirely a mystery. What he chooses;to make known about hirhßelf is thus set down" in the 1922 copy of the English "Who's'"Who" ■:—.

Zahroff, Sir Basil, G.C.8., cr. 1921; G.8.E., cr. 1918; Hon. D.C.L., Oxford;. Grand Cross of Legion of Honour; Banker; b. 1850. Educ. London, Paris. Established chairs of Aviation, Universities of Paris and Petrograd; also Chair'of Aviation in England, attached Imperial College of S»ienco and Marshal Foch - Professorship of French Literature at Oxford University; established at' the -Paris University the Field . Marshal Haig Chair of English Literature. Address: §3, Avenue Hoche, Paris; Chateau de Balincourt, Seine et Oise, France. Club, Marlborough. ..,:..-... '--..-. The French Government made Zaharoff a Commander of the Legion of Sw°S!"7*l.l9^ 4- * B WM- not' until 1918 that the Grand Cross of the order was. conferred upon, him. The British have honoured him with tho Knight Grand Cross of the British Empire and the_Knight Grand. Cross of the Order of Bath; and Oxford" has, made him an honorary Doctor-of Civil Laws. He has moreover, been' recognised as the intimate of Lloyd George, 8 0 f Venizelos! ot Glemenceau, Bnand, and of other powers in Europe; and he has been admitted to^the guarded circles of the. exclusive-Marlborough Club. '■ More draw„ onSf i* J***' ben<^ctions- have «■nd 1 moine"tary attention to - him, and on several occasions his name has iTe'haL 111 li eUCh a, Ud EnS«Bh legist live halls. Never but once, so far as men" °WnCohK V^ t^° S\ screen 111"117 m<*ed h* and a silvery moustache and imperial French oS> Lfc o n°th^ m ' •* cakals? i "l^"-? dozen Continental and^ politics •' sucf world "nance, agreefrn ght well infl^ 8"16' yoU *iIJ other sources belieVed lief L i rfw m states the New York I'^ nef v «■ ™y be facts vviU be ?rl 6 ! b^ tße writer cannot ref^ i„ horn repeating at the outset a story vhich even if ,t prove to be apocryphd it comes from an' excellent source) is yet too interesting to withhold longer NARROW ESCAPE FROM GERMANS.

From the outset of the World War, so the story goes the Germans regarded the capture of Zaharoff as of extreme importance. It is even said that a pricewas put upon his head, and that when the German, armies first overran France .he escaped from one gate of the park surrounding Jiis chateau "near Pontoise (once a gift from Leopold of Belgium to the Baronne de Vauglni) while tlier-uhlans were dashing \in at another, but the incident I had in mmd concerns a journey he made on a neutral ship which was overhauled by a. U-boat. A boarding detachment from the submarine made, a thorough search of the ship, and in Zaharoff*s cabin found a man hiding, under : the buiik'.' Quickly a sack was thrown over his head, he was bound band and foot, and, thus securely trussed, was borne in triumph to the TJ-bouf. .

The captain-of the raided ship Was amazed a few hours, later to find Sir Las ll standing beside him. thought they got you," he gasped. On, no was the reply; "I was in a sailors locker. But I'm/afraid they have taken my secretary- He was a most efficient young man. He has been invaluable." ...

Sir Basil was frowning into the'distance. Ihe captain did not press the matter further. .'---.:

According to oho French newspaper fair Basils full name is Zacharie'-Basile-/aharoff. According to "Le.Journal-de's; Hellenes he was born in Constantinople (Tatavia) in a fashionable Greek 'district; but other reports it that he was bOrh in Athens, and still others in Russia or in London. That his father ■was Russian and his-mother Greek all the reports sccin to agree; and further, that-he is naturalised a Frenchman, although educated principally in England. It is agreed, 100, that his parents were

poor, but reports vary as to whether he started his career in Paris with a stake of 5 francs, or in the Krupp plant in Germany as a labourer, or as an ployee in the Vickers : Maxim plant in England, of which he is now the head.

FAR-FLUNG FINANCIAL INTEBESTS.

According to "Le Journal dcs Hellenes," Sir* Basil is a Director , of the Credit Lyonnais and one of the largest depositors in the Banque de France; a councillor of the Societe Universelle dv Nickle, founded by the Kdthschilds; a director of the Barclay Bank in London; stockholder m numerous steamship lines,.grain elevators, and theatres, the owner of vast properties in the Near East, and half owner of the Monte Carlo Casino, aside from his important munitions interests. It seems certain that he was back of .the formation, in 1920, of an Anglo-French oil group,- as he had been the mainspring in the Anglo-Per-sian group a short while before; arid that he is the energising power behind the cdnstruction^of huge storage plants and refineries in French ports, to be used in competition with ; the Dutch Shell*and'Standard Oil groups. Sir Basil's special interest in the Near East is explained in some quarters on the ground of his great fondness for the land of his mother's birth. His gifts to Greece have been munificent. During the Balkan war'he is said to have made the nation an allowance of 2,500,000 dollars a year, and during the' World War of half that sum ;< and he is known to., have donated a huge radio station at "Venice, costing 500,000 dollars. He. paid for new : legations in European capitals-, lest his- beloved motherland seem shabby to strangers, and provides for their upkeep. He is credited with having financed the-rise of "Venizelos to power, and to have assisted him more than once in* crises during the World War; '■■.'":',

After the Greek throne was left vacant by the death from a monkey bite of King Alexander, a report became current in Paris that Prince Sixte of Bour-bon-Parma -was a candidate for the throne. The story went that he had appealed to Edmond and CamMe 'Blanc, who are connected witll the BourbonParmas .'through the Radziwills, and who are members pf one of the wealthy French banking families, to influence Zaharoff in his behalf, knowing very -welPhe couldn't have the. throne without Sir Basil's; approval. Camille Blanc is part-owner of the Monte Carlo Casino, and .Zaharoff maintains a home at the Hotel de Paris in the, Monaco resort. The story is that the matter was- taken ■up there, but that Camille Blanc 'made it- a condition (to which the Prince offered no objection) that he (M. Blanc) should be permitted to establish a licensed gaming house in Athens, if he woii Zaharoff's support. "One Monte Carlo," Sir Basil is said to have observed when the. details of the plan became apparent under his questioning, "is quite enough for the world."

■ And the Prince's dream of a Hellenic throne went glimmering. There-have been.reports that Zaharoff was behind the move of the late exEmperor Karl to Tegain the,throne of Austria, but there is. little to sliow that such reports are authentic. That the millionaire is close to Lloyd George is comhiohly supposed in London, and this was the indirect cause of the only statements he'seems ever to have given to the newspapers.

ATTACKS IN HOUSE OF COMMONS. .j On 16th August, 1921, Lieiitenant-Col-onel Walter Guinness, .in the course of a debate; said of-Sir Basil:—

• "The. voice behind the: throne, or, to be more.accurate, behind the Presidential chair, is.probably Sir Basil Zaharoff. He is undoubtedly., an able financier with. international interests in the munitions industry. Outside political circles his chief fame is that ho is understood to ;have boon a, controlling factor in the production o£ armaments in four or five different countries. Even more important from the British point of view is that,' although ho is British enough to be a G.B.E. and G.C.8., he is primarily a Greek, and, if "in foreign affairs we aro to have it Presidential system, the voice which the President hears should at least bo British and hiß interests should\ bo those of his own country arid of the Entente." In his reply to this attack Sir Basil authorised this statement:— " _ "I have not seen'Mr. Lloyd George since the spring of i 919, nor has any communication, verbal or otherwise, passed between us since then."

Nevertheless, a few months later, 'on 21st March, 1922, Aubrey Herbert revived the charges^ He asked Austen Chamberlain whether Sir Basil had been financially rewarded for his help and advice.

Mr. Chamberlain answered that ho did not Understand the question, and suggested that if Mr.: Herbert had any charge to foi'mulate he should express it ,in plain language. T. P. O'Connor interposed, asking -if a question was in order, .arid if it^'attributed sinister motives to' a man who had given ■ mostvaluable aiid disinterested services during the. war. The Speaker stated that he had struck out from the question all the, insinuations which it originally contained; -:.,--..

A few days later, on -27th March; 1922,. Mr. Herbert, in tho course of a debate, returned ■to the 'charge, cony plaining that the: Government had never sought on the Greek question the advice of,"proper -experts;'and declaring that Sir Basil was supposed to be the Premier's one counsellor. '

: This drew from Lotd Eustace Percy the retort: that it was -impossible to charge. ,Sir' Basjl -or anybody else with having inspired the Government's policy toward Greece, for it was palpable that the Government never had had a definite and. clear policy. - It was 17th July last that Mr. Herbert returned to the attack with his question about the distribution of honours; and it is possible/that even yet :the history of this singular man will be unfolded, in part,.at least, in the stodgy surroundings of the House of Commons.

It is-possible that Mr. Herbert knows more about Sir Basil, or has heard moro from original sources not easily tapped, than his questions indicate. Ho is a Coalition Unionist in the House, representing Yoeville,- in Somerset; but before the war he travelled, extensively in the Near East, aiid ho had' served in the diplomatic service at Constantinople. -He may have learned a good deal thei-e about Zaharoff, the "millionaire of mystery/.' as ho was called even in those days." Ho may even, it is reasonable to suppose, have'gleaned information never yet made public. . '

A STRANGE x STORY.

'It is, just possible, although European newspaper correspondents scout the notion', that Sii" Basil's fondness for mystery is_ but an eccentricity. For lie. is .eccentric. He,, boasts that lie has. never ridden in an automobile and will have nothing to' do with them (in Paris he -uses a three-horse troika); and he ,had hever.ridden in an airplane, de-' ;spite his 'gifts to the Cause of aviation. He ' abhors typewriters, and his correspondence is always written by his numerous secretaries in longhand, to be signed by Sir .Basil with an ink of a colour. But in his benefactions' he is sometimes even more odd. An instance in point came to light a year or two ago when Sir Basil took a walk ■ through the French Zoological 'Gardens. -. The animals t.horo were still suffering froni the effects of imperative war economies. - Concrete jvalls aud

floors were _ cracking, cages were unhealed, rations were at a minimum, and even Whisky, the lion-mascot of the Lafayette Escadrille, was suffering from rheumatism. But the animals" which seemed to feel their privations most acutely, were the monkeys. Standing in front of the monkey cage, Sir Basil took an attendant severely to task for what seemed to him neglect. The attendant replied that this was a matter better discussed with the director. '

"Well, call him," commanded Sir Basil; arid when he learned that the bad condition of the gardens was an after-effect of the war, he asked, what the cost of repairing them would be. Professor Mangin, director, although he was convinced that the man was a crank, replied curtly that the cost would be half a million francs. Thereupon Sir Basil wrote a cheque for the amount. Well, Professor Mangin couldn't decipher the signature on the cheq.ie, and he was certain he had been made the victim of a practical joke. So he thrust the cheque into his desk, swore softly at the crank who had wasted his time, and forgot it. Thus it 'was hot until months later, when the cheque was found m straightening out a drawer and sent along to the Ministry of Public Instruction as a matter of routine—or as a curiosity—that the manager of the Zoo found he was mistaken in thinking that this was "monkey money"— which is the French term for fool's gold

HIS MUNIFIOIENT GIFTS.

Basil gave 200,000 francs to Count Clary, president of the National Committee on Sports, to help finance the participation of-French athletes in the Olympic. Games in Antwerp; he supplied tho funds for the Interparliamentary Commission in-Paris, and once, soon after the war, when he was a .guest at Lloyd George's home during a' concert for a children's charity, he did a characteristic thing. Nellie Melba, prima, donna, and Miss Lillah M'Carthy, actress, were selling a book with photographs of. such celebrities as KinoGeorge, Lloyd. George,, arid President \Vilson._ The bidding ran to £250, but the fair, auctioneers demanded £1000 Melba sang twice "for £50 a song, and then as. things seemed hopeless, Sir Basil made-up the sum with a-oiffc of a round £650. ;

In 1909, Sir Basil - made ' a gift 'of 700,000 francs to the University of Paris for the foundation Of a' Chair of -Aviation,. ■ later adding a further 'halfmillion in order to bring the fund up to 1,200,000 francs ; while not very long ago he presented Oxford University with a cheque for 825,000 francs for the foundation of the Zaharoff Chair of French.

'In London and at Monte. Carlo Sir I Basil maintains hotel suites. ' About his homes m Athens, Constantinople", and Madrid, details are lacking; but his I Paris house, pleasantly, adorned with window boxes.after the English fashion, is furnished in Louis XV ; style and contams noteworthy objects of art.' A dinner set of hammered gold and soup; spoons 'inlaid with rare stones are described by overawed- persons who have been guests there. Sir Basil has two spinster sisters. . • After all. is said that can be said, not much has been told of this modern Croesus and international politician Is he a poseur? Or is there something he so wishes to keep hidden that he thinks safety lies m hiding much more? About his being the richest man in the world doubt may well arise; but about his power there can be no question. Huco Stmnes, Germany's post-war prodigy becomes insignificant beside this veiled titan of finance . and international' intrigue—or, if you will, statecraft A.s I glance back over what has been set. down here I-am almost tempted'sceptically to lay it asido as a hoax the gay imaginings over their wino of a group of European newspaper correspondents. 3ut there can be no myth about it. Against such a theory there stands the scant but solid twelve lines in the British "Who's Who," setting forth, with taciturn economy, the recent distinctions and achievements (so far as ho cares to htive them known) of Sh- Basil Zaharoff.