RICHEST MAN IN WORLD

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 252, 14 January 1928, Page 5

RICHEST MAN IN WORLD

ZAHAROFF TO RETIRE “MAN OF MYSTERY” The retirement of Sir Basil Zaharoff, reputed to be one of the richest men in the world, has been unofficially announced from London. Little is known of this man, who for many years has been one of the most powerful figures in high finance. The mystery that surrounded his personality is the result of his own dislike of publicity, but so widespread is his influence and so manifold are the ramifications of his dealings that his name has become synonymous with the power that vast wealth alone can command Without a Country A certain romance a.ttaches to his birth and lineage. Sir Basil Zaharoif is said to have been born in Constantinople, and consequently might be of Turkish nationality. His father, however, was a Russian from the Ukraine, and his mother was alleged to have been either Greek or Circassian. Although he bears an English title of knighthood, and has resided for many years in Paris and Monte Carlo, he is neither a French nor British citizen. Deprived by the war of his birth citizenship, he has become a man with out a country—or rather he may be called a citizen of the world. Listed in “Who’s Who” as a banker. Sir Basil is in reality the silent partner of some of the greatest international trusts in the world. fifty years he has been associated with the British house of Vickers, one of the largest arms and ammunition concerns in existence. At the age of 27 he was the agent in St. Petersburg of the Nordenfeldt steel firm, which was later absorbed into the firm of Maxim, the latter eventually being amalgamated with Vickers. For the Allies In South America, South AfricaChina and the Balkans, the tentacles of his influe' -* reach out. During the war the power of Sir Basil Zaharoff was with the Allies; after the war ho threw the weight of his influence to the Greeks against the Turks. He is said to have played his role in shaping the policies of Lloyd George. But he is not the arbiter of steel alone; oil has also shared his interest and attention, and the Anglo-Persian Petroleum Trust, in which the British Government is chief partner, is said to be his credtion. In 1924 Sir Basil married the Duquesa de Villafranca de« los Caballeros, widow of the cousin of the King of Spain. The marriage was celebrated privately in the Chateau of Retincourt, once occupied by King Leopold of Belgium. The death of his wife la3t year is said to be the reason for his retirement at the age of 77.