MILLIONS VANISH

Hokitika Guardian, 13 April 1932, Page 6

MILLIONS VANISH

EFFECT OF WOULD SLUMP

(United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.)

LONDON, April 12

More than one hundred men who three wears ago were millionaires have to-day lost the right to that title. There were about 490 oi them, worth £1,000,000,000, but in the world slump their fortunes have dropped in val-.e In- £300,000,000,, and only 385 are still millionaires.

One man reputed a few years ago to be - the richest man in Britain, with £40,000,000, is believed to be worth •£10,000,000. A famous shipping peer, whose fortune stood at 03,000,000 in 1927, now has £500,000. Another peer who had £7,000,000, is Worth £3,000,000. The losses millionaires have suffer'd are strikingly shown in recent wills: Mr Solly .Joel was estimated to possess £12,000,000 .in 1925. When he died last May he left £1,000,000. Lord Melehett, said to have £">,- 000,000 before the slump, died with only £193,000 (net personalty) in December, 1930.

Mrs H. Stewart Hornby Lewis whose estate had been put at £2.000,000, left £002,000. The £4,900,000 left by Mr Bernhard Baron, the tobacco millionaire philantrophist, declined by £1,325,000 the drop in share prices in live months between his death in August, 1929, and January, 1930. An additional £2,269,000 was absorbed by death duties, leaving an estate of £1,350yy 000. ’ %

In 1928 and 1929 twenty-nine persons died leaving £1.000,000 or over. Only twenty-five estates touched the million mark in 1930 and 1931.

Surprising facts about millionaires and their money in the crisis were given recently to the “Sunday Express” by Mr Donald Staples, editor of “Taxation.” “There are millionaires who did not earn a penny last year,” he said. “Many others did not receive enough income even to pav their tax! I know one man who was worth more than £1,000,000 before the world slump. Ho now has a quarter of that.”