GERMANY’S RICHEST MAN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2278, 19 May 1921, Page 4

GERMANY’S RICHEST MAN.

HERR HUGO STINNES,

The Kaiser, Hindcnburg, Ludcndorff, have each successfully played their parts as the heroes of the German people, and have disappeared from the stage. The place that they fdled has now been taken byHerr Hugo Stinnes, a mail of comparative humble birth, whose only part in the war was that of prolitcer. He is now the wealthiest, and most influential, man in Germany, but is'described by his enemies as the world's greatest war profiteer. He is a coal merchant and colliery owner, steel manufacturer, shipowner, the head of a vast ncwspapoi trust, the proprietor of the most luxurirous hotel in Berlin, and a merchant in oils, paper, skius, jute, peat, and manufactured goods of all descriptions. He is a Deputy in the Reichstag, but his voice is seldom heard there; he is the proprietor of over GO newspapers, but his name is seldom mentioned in any of them. But secretly he plays an influential part in shaping the destinies of Germany. He is regarded as a powerful force, and the German people look up to him as the foremost figure in Germany. His plans and intentions are Hie subject of widespread gossip. Will lie'throw in bis lot with the militarist party and attempt to restore the monarchy in German kingdoms, or will he support the Republican Government? He was a member of the Gerhlhn delegation summoned to meet the Allied statesmen at Spa. in 1920, but he was so obstinate in his determination not to accede to the demand of the Allies with respect to the indemnity that he did the German cause more harm than good, and ultimately his colleagues on the delegation found it necessary to repudiate his views and act-in defiance of his determined obstinacy.

Hugo Stinnes, who is now 50 years of age, is the son of a coal merchant, and at the age of 23 had established himself in business in the German coal trade. He became the proprietor of several coal mines and several ships engaged in carrying coal to European ports. His fleet, of ships increased, and when the war broke out lie had extended his operations in the coal trade to the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea. He was then estimated to be worth £2,000,000. The war gave him the opportunity to increase bis fortune ten or twenty fold. He made enormous profits by carrying coal to Scandinavian countries, and when Getrnian troops occupied Belgium and Northern France, lie made advantageous contracts with the German military authorities at the ex-p-use of the Belgian and French owners of tire coal mines in these districts. lie extended his operations into other commercial fields, and when a commercial and industrial collapse followed the armistice and the revolution in Germany, he secured many business undertakings at bargain prices. He bought motor factories, warehouses, hotels newspapers, and iron and stee: mills.

A correspondent of tlie limes, who has been visiting Germany, writes of this German millionaire:— “All publicity and notoriety are alien to him. His role is to be the secret cause, rather than to acknowledge' himself the direct originator and leader ot his countless enterprises. As a Deputy in the Reichstag, he is one of the most silent members, and prefers to speak through one of his henchmen. hi\a! newspapers publish from lime .to time particulars of some fresh coup which Stiunes has broujjthl aft in Germany, in Scandinavia, in Spain, in North nr South America, hut the numerous newspapers which he controls mentions hip name but rarely. There is nothing in bis appearance to reveal the man of genius. Just 00 years old, medium height, and sturdily built, with Idack hair and beard that show up strongly against ; t rattier sallow complexion, Hugo Staines is an inconspicuous figure ns he slips in and out of the Hotel Adlon, his bowler bat slightly tilted on one side, one hand in his pocket, and one or two secretaries following hard on the heels of then: chief, in his worn black coat and black bow tie. lie stops to speak to no one. He has no time for small talk in the lounge with other guests. When lie eats in the restaurant of the hotel, he leaves his place without ceremony, and goes straight from his meals to his suite, or to the wailing motor car outside. A relentless, efficient, cool, human calculating machine.”