COLOSSAL FORTUNE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21580, 26 August 1933, Page 2 (Supplement)

COLOSSAL FORTUNE

ESTATE WORTH 30 MILLIONS SIR JOHN ELLERMAN'S RICHES 1 f". ' MAN WITH TOUCH OF MIDAS The son of a poor German emigrant, who became one of the richest men in England; a man who could buy' a whole fleet of shipping with his pocket money. That was Sir John Ellerman, Bart., who' died in Dieppe on July 16, aged 71. His life was given up to one thing—the building of businesses. This he did so successfully that his fortune is estimated to bo at least £10,000,000/ sayß the Daily Express. .

Sir John controlled at one time eight shipping companies, with more than 200 vessels. His deals were done in millions of pounds. In 1901 he sold the Leyland Line to J. P. Morgan and made more than £2,-000,000 profit. In 1910 he bought the Wilson Line—and lost £1,000,000. He stood the loss himgelf—out of his own pocket. Publicity angered him. He refused to have his photograph published. He lived more mysteriously than Zaharoff. Sir John Ellerman, the man, was an unknown quantity. One incident gives a glimpse of the human side of* the shipping genius. It happened in 1926, a year after the closing of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. The Hull Corporation had invited a number of Dominion and colonial visitors to a banquet. They were to meet local industrial leaders. Sir John Ellerman was a native of Hull. He was wanted. He was too busy, he said. ' •* " Art Gallery Office The man in charge of the arrangements went to see Sir John in London. He found him in his office at the London branch of EUerman's Wilson Line. It was as spacious, as a museum room, and decorated like an art gallery, with a collection of firstclass modern paintings, the centre, dwarfed by the room, was a desk—and Sir John EUennan. • "You look surprised," he said. : ** Well, I spend two-thirds of my life here, so I try to make it beantiful." ' Sir John's decision not to attend the banquet remained unaltered. But he added his reason. He had bought the Wilson Line in 1916, when shipping was at its height, for x£5,000,000. Cargoes were plentiful, and prospects bright. Then came the slump. I lost, he said, " £1,250,000 on that deal. Trade has been so-'bad that I have to tak<* drastic measures. I have cut salaries from top to bottom more than once. It is no fault of theirs or mine. It has hurt me; I cannot go and face them." That was a side of Sir John Ellerman that* few people knew. Sir John's father went to Hull as a corn merchant, and married Miss Anne .Reeves, daughter of Mr. Timothy Reeves, of Hull, but died when his son was 11 years old. John Ellerman went to Birmingham, as an accountant's clerk, prospered, went ,to London, and started on his own. He continued to prosper. His gains went into investments. At the age of -27 jbe put his first pound into shipping. \ That was in 1889. In 1901 he was a millionaire. ' ~ '. .

. Newspaper Investments - In 1907 Sir; John joined Lord Northcliffe in the purchase of the Times, and obtained control of eight illitfttrated weekly newspapers as well. He sold them recently for nearly £3,000,000. ■ • . .... War brought out the most human -features' of Sir John's character. I' l the Boer War he- gave generously to charity, especially the Rod Cross •Society. He ran a military hospital costing £15,000 per year. He was at tho height of his power when peace came. He owned an eighth of the country s shipping. The assets of his lines included £11,000,000 cash. *Sir John bought £3,000,000 worth of land in the West End of London and the City, and sold it recently, it is said, at immense profits. He never wasted a penny. He enjoyed his wealth, as he enjoyed everything else in life —sparJust one house —a comparatively modest establishment in South Audley Street, London, sufficed for Sir Johns needs. He bought an estate or iAIU acres in Aberdeenshire, but spent so little time there that he put it.up for sale again. Ho gave up a Bmall houso on Eastbourne front,- where, at one time, he liked to sit on the verandah and watch tho channel shipping, because he wis disturbed by the passing motor traffic. Death Comes Suddenly .

Sir John Ellerman was a stocky, bearded man—not unlike King Edward —of portly, impressive appearance. Ha made a virtue of punctuality, and until recently he motored with clock-like regularity to his city office to discuss business. Good food, drink and cigars were his only hut ho was abstemious even as a gourmet, ana never over-stepped his rule of strict moderation. . Death came to Sir John BWiftly as swiftly as he had carried out many of the business deals for which ms life will he remembered. A quiet dinner, a sudden feeling of weariness, a long and restful night, an awakening on the Sunday morning with his vitality seemingly restored. A hath, and breakfast. And then the end —a sudden hemorrhage in the brain. Lady Kllerman found him senseless on the floor. A French doctor, hurriedly summoned, could not restore that wonderful brain to life, though he still breathed. Sir John never recovered consciousness. A Harley Street doctor who had been telephoned for arrived too late. Sir John had been dead an hour. He.had been on holiday with Lady Ellerman. On the Saturday evening he had been in the best of spirits, enjoying a champagne dinner. ■ " Immediately T saw Sir John I knew that, although the body lived on, the brain was already dead, and that the end could only be a matter of hours, said the doctor. 'VHe never 'recovered consciousness, ana never uttered another word." I

Sir John Ellerman's estate JinsS^eej l proved provisionally at £17,224,42;>, entirely in cash and Government securities. When other interests are assessed it is expected that the estate will exceed £30,000,000. More than £8,500.000 has been paid already in death duties.