RICH MEN.
AN American author is, it is stated, about to publish a sort of "golden book" of the aristocracy of wealth. At the price of 2250, or some such figure, a work is to be issued—by subscription, we presume—which will contain a full and particular account of all the millionaires of the world, beginning witt the Rothschilds, and going down, we suppose, to the petite 4oblesse of trade and finance,—persons like the late Mr. Lea of Worcester sauce fame, whose will of over a million sterling was proved last week. Unquestionably, a book of the kind we have indicated should prove very curious and interesting reading. It would probably show the world that its rich men are not, as is often supposed, confined to a few areas, but are scattered about in all the five continents, and appear also in places which are generally supposed not to contain examples of the species. For example, Germany is not generally regarded as a land of rich men, and yet the golden book should have a very large section devoted to Germany and Austria-Hungary. It is true that most of the names would have Prince before them, but being of Royal blood does not alter the fact of wealth. Without counting the private properties of the Sovereigns, who ought not to be included, there are a dozen or so Teutonic Highnesses whose wealth, not merely in lands but in money, is enormous. For example, that of the father of the present Prince of Bulgaria was counted by many millions sterling. Many of the dethroned Monarchs, again, are very rich, for roi en exil has ceased to be a synonym for poverty. No one of course knows the exact wealth of the Orleans family, but it is very great, and even the Bourbons are well off. Don Carlos, in spite of the money he has spent on Spanish and other adventures, is a millionaire. The Russian Empire would also make a good show, for although the great landed proprietors have suffered of late years, many of the merchants and financiers have done exceedingly well. If rumour is to be trusted, some of the officials are also very rich. Fabulous sums are attri- buted to one in particular. The millionaires of Africa would, we suppose, be confined to Kimberley and the Rand, but possibly there are some large fortunes in Cairo among the Levantine colony. Asia will probably make a very respect- able show in the American golden book. It is true that in the Turkish and Persian Empires millionaires are never long- lived, and this facts tends to their non-existence ; but for all that some of the Smyrna Greeks and Damascus Jews ought to be able to gain admission. India, on the other hand, if the native Princes who do not possess sovereign rights are counted, as they must be, contains,a great number of extremely rich men. Not only are there merchants in the great cities who are worth several millions in personal property, but there are also four or five great Zemindars who have incomes which represent the interest on two or three millions sterling. The reaction against thinking of India as a place of wealth has, in fact, been carried too far, and we are apt to forget that princely fortunes are still made and kept there. The truth about the Chinese fortunes would be most curious if it could be dis- covered. Unfortunately, it is the land of the crypto-millionaires, of the men who live in little low houses and hoard gold ingots in the shape of Naples biscuits. It is known, however, that the Empress-Dowager is among the richest, if not the richest person, alive ; while Li Hung Chang, unless he has lately been plundered, which is unlikely, must also have vast wealth. Outside China the Chinese are often very rich, and dare to show their wealth. For example, it is always said, and as far as we know with truth, that several of the Chinese merchants of.Singapore are men of enormous riches. With the American millionaire it is hardly necessary to deal. What place is not full of the report of his dollars P It should, however, be noted that though one or two of the American fortunes are beyond the dreams of avarice, the number of "warm men" 183 In proportion to population, not so great as it is here. There are, that is, not so many great, but far more small, millionaires in England. The man who reaches the five million dollars is apt either to lose it all again, or else to turn it into fifty or a hundred million dollars. Spanish South America is not as a rule regarded as a place for rich men, yet as a matter of fact, Chili, Mexico, Brazil, and the Argentine have all within the last thirty years produced fortunes on the great scale, and not very long ago the greatest heiress in the World was said to be the only daughter of a South American millionaire.
We have written thus of the millionaire without apology, acting on the assumption that he and his millions are of universal interest to the world. The fact, indeed, is so plain as to need no proof or comment. What does require comment is the explanation for this universal interest in the million- aire. Why should people be so keenly interested in the existence of exceptional riches P We believe that the interest excited by rich men is derived from the fact that money is power. The man who has command of millions, disguise it as we will, has immense potential authority and influence over his fellows,—and an authority and influence which can be exercised with the minimum of friction. Physical power and legal power may be obeyed, but they are obeyed always without pleasure or enthusiasm, and generally with indignation and disgust. The power of the purse as a rule produces a cheerful and ready obedience. If a man is made to do a thing, he does it grudgingly and without. enthusiasm. If he is paid to do it, and thinks he may get another order and another payment, he is happy and full of alacrity. No doubt this fact must not be pressed too far, but it undoubtedly does affect the question. If the feudal superior of a town orders the townspeople to make him a lake, which is to supply the town with water, they only obey out of fear. If a millionaire orders the reservoir to be made, and only pays for the labour at market rates, he is regarded as a great benefactor, and if more favours are expected he can exercise as complete a control over all the proceedings of the town as if he had a legal right of veto. A millionaire's power increases with each million in a rapidly increasing ratio. A man with two or three great houses and establish- ments, and a yacht and a pack of hounds, may possibly spend the interest of three millions without any great diffi- culty. At present rates of interest it is only some 290,000 a. year. It is when he has a couple of millions beyond, or, say, 260,000 of extra money every year, that his power becomes obvious and real. The fact that he can at any moment throw away 260,000 without pinching himself in the least, diminishing his capital by a sixpence, or altering a single item in his establishment, is the fact that makes the man powerful. However rich a man may be, he is not really powerful if his money is all 'booked," all ear-marked for servants, yachts, and racers. It is the free margin in which the source of power is to be found.
But though the ability to spend largely at any moment without feeling it confers so vast a power, it cannot be denied that practically no millionaires avail themselves of their opportunities. Millionaires are, in truth, envied and wondered at for possessing powers which they never dream of using. Mr. Rhodes, as far as we know, is the only millionaire who has ever tried to realise in action the fact that money is power. He has, no doubt, tried to use the power of the purse for political and Imperial ends. It is true his handling of that power has been extremely clumsy and unsuccessful ; but, nevertheless, he has used it. It is not, we think, possible to name any other millionaire of modern times who has said: 'I will use directly the power over men which my money brings me.' We suppose the explana- tion is that to wield power one requires imagination, and that the acquisition and retention of money destroy the imagination. A millionaire with imagination is, as all will admit, a contradiction in terms. He is never original, never apparently has the slightest desire to have a "run for his money." His object, when the desire for soft living and show is satisfied, is to make his heap bigger, or at any rate to guard it from waste. We note the fact, but we do not regret it. On the contrary, we believe that society gains a great deal from the fact that millionaires are so unimaginative and so unambitious. Were they what one might expect them to be, instead of what they are, they would trouble the State, instead of, as now, acting as quiet reservoirs of cash. Imagine the mischief a group of millionaires might do if they all agreed to jump and splash and raise waves together. As it is, though the fattest, they are also the quietest of all the birds on the duck-pond.
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