BRITAIN’S MILLIONAIRES

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 29 December 1928, Page 11

BRITAIN’S MILLIONAIRES

nnHE fortune of £10,000,000 left by the late Sir George Wills, whose will has just been proved, is a reminder of the great increase of wealth in Great Britain in recent years.

According to the latest official returns of the income-tax authorities, there were at the beginning of this year 562 millionaires living in Great Britain. In 1906 there were only 19. These tiro the people given in the official list as those in receipt of an income of more than £50,000 a year. Assuming the average yield of capital to be '5 per cent., each one of these must haivo been worth at least £1,000,000. A still more remarkable comparison is afforded by the fact that in 1900 there were only 291?. people in Great Britain with incomes of £2OOO a. year or more; now there are 92,685.

Great Britain’s 562 millionaires last year had a combined income of £55,812,673 —more than £99,000 a year each on the average. Many of them individually were, much richer. No. fewer than 138 of them had incomes of more than £IOO,000 a year, and must therefore havebeen worth at least £2,000,000 each. Thecombined income of these multi-million-aires was £27,812,673 and the average £127,000 a year each. There had for several years been a, steady rise until the peak total o>f 584,

REMARKABLE COMPARISON

which showed the effects of the postwar trade boom. Similarly the fall now occurring is undoubtedly the effect of the trade depression following the coal strike.

Banking, landed estates, shipping, coal, tobacco, spirits, beer, oil, artificial silk, cotton, chemicals, meat, and groceries have all laid the foundations of vast fortunes, and -of these artificial silk is to-day the most prolific. In Leicester alone there axe said to be at least eight millionaires whose names are little known to the genera”! public.

The Wills, Goats, Rothschild and Joci families all include more than one millionaire, and in the Peerage there are at least a score of theme with wellknown names.

Four notable women possess at least £1,009,000 —Lady Rhondda, who inherited most of her fortune from her father, Lady Houston' and Lady Dalziel, whose fortunes were left by their husbands, and Lady Louis Mountbatten, who received a fortune on the death of her grandfather, Sir Ernest Casse.l. Lady Rhondda is still active in the management of the business in which her father made his money. In the Government there arc four reputed millionaires —Sir Samuel Hoare and Sir Phillip Sassoon, Secretary and Under-Secretary for Air respectively, both of whom derive their fortunes from banking; Mr Wilfrid Ashley, the

Minister of Transport, whise money is similarly derived; and the Duke of Sutherland, who represents the Scottish Office in the House of Lords.

The Dukes of Westminster, Northumberland and Portland are all millionaires by inheritance. So, too, among ifcell-known Peers, aro the Earl o-l Derby and the Marquess of Bute. Millionaire M.P.’s include, in addition to the Ministers already mentioned, Mr Samuel Samuel, who made his money out of Shell oil; Major J. S. Comta.uld (artificial silk), Mr Edward Grcnfelf (banking), and Co-lone Grctton (Bass’ beer).

Banking has made millionaires of Lord Reveßtoke, the head of Baring Brothers, and of Lord Rothschild, ana four other members of his family. Lord Glen dyne; is a successful broker. -Gold and diamond mines were '-the foundations of the fortunes of the Joel brothers—Mr Jack Barnato Joel and Mr So.l-omou Barnato- Joel.

Shipping -lias made millionaires of several men, of whom the: best known a-re Lord Ivylsant, Lord Incliea.pe and Sir John. Eller-man.

Whisky lias made fortunes for Lord Dewar <ind Lord Woolavington (Formerly Sir J. Buchanan), and Guinness stout for Lord Iveagh.

Lord Glentanar is the head of the millionaire Coats family, whose:, fortune has -been-made in a hundred years out of cotton thread. The fortune of Sir George Wills, of the Wills family, was obtained -from the tobacco- trade. Another tobacco millionaire is Mr Bernhard Baron.

Commerce also lias its representative millionaires in Lord Bearsted (oil), Lord Vestoy (frozen meat and ship- ' ping), and Lord Melehett (formerly Sir Alfred Mo-nd (c-hemi-caGs).