MILLIONAIRES AND THEIR MILLIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14345, 15 April 1910, Page 3

MILLIONAIRES AND THEIR MILLIONS.

ENORMOUS SUMS GIVEN AWAY. That Mr. Rockefeller is planning a most stupendous charity (writes the New York correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph) is widely realised hero* but the charter asked of Congress is general in its terms, and for that reason, perhaps, editorial comment is conspicuously rare. So far as I can gather from a close perusal of the Rill and careful inquiry, Mr. Rockefeller's plans for the foundation are almost as stupendous philanthropically as tn<Standard Oil Company is stupendous commercially. His great fortune will apparently be divided into three parts, one for education, one for the new Rockefeller Foundation, and the third and smallest for the Rockefeller family. But whether the Oil King's fortune consists of £100,000,000, which I. am assured is the absolute minimum, or £200.00 C,OOO, which is by no means irr. possible, and what proportion ot these millions will be divided into the three parts, there is at present no possibility of saying. It is certain, however, that the benefaction will be placed under tha direct supervision of tho United States Government, that the board of control will never number less than five members, and that annual reports must be made, and I am able to add, on the authority of Mr. Rockefeller's counsel, that while the promotion, well-being, and advancement of the people of the United States is the primary object, still the money ma" be used to meet all the needs of mankind due to fire, flood, pestilence, or earthquake. It is recalled that Mr. Rockefeller lately pretested to an interviewer that he did not mind being misunderstood, or what people said about him. "1 know, and some day they will know me better than they do now, perhaps ;;ftor J am dead, but they will understand me and respect me, it. may be even love me. I can wait." DONATIONS OF £58,000,000. Mr. Rockefeller's known gifts total about £25.000,000, including about £15,000,000 for purposes of education. Occasionally he has handed out £100,000 or £200,000 for miscellaneous objects. One of the most recent donations was £200,000 to investigate the disease known as hookworm in the Southern States. Mr. Rockefeller's list, by the side of the Carnegie gifts, is, however, trivial. Mr. Carnegie is regardod by Americans as comparatively poor by the side of the Oil King, but Mr. Carnegie's donations, nevertheless, are computed as follows: — £. Libraries 10,400.000 Carnegie Institute at. Pittsburg ... 2,000,000 Carnegie Institute at Washington 2,400,000 I'enßion funds ... 3.000,000 Hero funds... 101,0,000 Scottish universities 3,000,000 Dunfermline endowment ,300,000 The Hague Peace Temple ... ... 350,000 Allied Engineers'- Society ... ... 210.000 French hero fund £(."0.000 Peace propaganda ... 200,000 To fight pellagra ... 200,000 Peace Temple of the Central American Republics ... IsOCOO County of Cambria, Pennsylvania 120,000 King Edward's hospital fund ... :30,j00 Tradesmen's Association 50.000 Costa Rica Peace Temple O.'-OO Berea College, Kentucky ' ... ... 10 000 Philadelphia College of Physicians. 20.000 Yale University ■ S.OOtl Princeton University ... .;.- ... 20,000 Other colleges, schools and societies 4,200,000 Miscellaneous (estimated) 5.000.000 Total £33,188.000