AMERICA'S GREATEST MILLIONAIRE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10908, 12 November 1898, Page 7 (Supplement)

AMERICA'S GREATEST MILLIONAIRE.

RUSSELL Sage is now 82 years old, and, according to an account given of him on his birthday anniversary by the New York Journal, worth 75,000,000 dollars. His years, however, trouble him much greater than his dollars. He believes in the Scriptural saying, that " to him that hath shall be given." and is, therefore, as light-hearted as if his worldly goods were not worth 75 dollars. Congratulations poured in upon the aged financier, but the good wishes he prised most were those contained iii a letter signed " William McKinley." The same journal is responsible for the following curious statements: —Mr. Sage gets out of bed at seven o'clock every morning. This is iiis invariable custom. His Ural thought is to look to the welfare of two Maltese kittens, which lie has instructed to lead as regular a life as he docs himself. These kittens go to bed at ten o'clock and rise at seven. They breakfast with Mr. Sage. When he leaves his country home at Lawrence, L.1., for hie office, the kittens buy and sell dummy stocks and study a toy ticker until the Stock Exchange closes. Then they figure up the day's transactions and prepare a report for Mr. Safe's scrutiny on his return. Tltis report is set forth in bread and milk cypher, the key of which is hold by Air. Sage alone. Next to the kittens in Mr. Sage's affections, are a pair of super-intelligent ponies. The ponies draw dividends as well as Mr. Sage's carnage, and these dividends are invested for them by their master in a superior quality of oats and numerous other dainties. Mr. Sage began to operate in Wall-street in 1861, and in 37 years he has never spent a business day out of his office if he could help it. He earns at least 10,000 dollars a year by attending directors' meetings of the corporations in which he is interested. He is as active in the street at 82 as the youngest and most ambitious operator in it. He is at the present time negotiating one of the biggest deals in the history of the Street in the Manhattan Elevated. Mr. Sage's daily loans average about 8,000,000 dollars, He has plenty of ready cash, and always keeps at 3 least 3.000, dollars in gold on deposit in the safe deposit vaults of the Mercantile Trust Company. Mr. Sage is very religious. He and Mrs. Sage are members and regular attendants of the West Presbyterian Church, of which the eloquent Kev. Dr. John It. Paxton was formerly pastor. Mr. Sage prefers Moody and banker's hymns to all other music, and invariably attends a Moody revival.