MULTI-MILLIONAIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 20, 11 June 1914, Page 5

MULTI-MILLIONAIRE.

AND NO ONE KNEW IT. MAN WHO OWNED AN AREA AS LARGE AS ENGLAND.

New York, April 5. Mr. Frederick Weyerhaeuser, America's secret millionaire, who died yesterday at Pasadena, California, of pneumonia, was worth, according to various estimates, from £50,000,000 to £IOO,- j 000,000, all made in the timber trade. Mr. Weyerhaeuser owned outright, or held a controlling interest in 50,000 square miles of. timber land—an area nearly equal to that of England. It is estimated that his land has 15,000,000,000 feet of standing pine. This modest millionaire was unknown outside the timber trade, despite his enormous wealth, until nine years ago, when the Government started an antitrust investigation into his timber holdings. Then it was revealed that America had overlooked one of its greatest multi-millioiiaires. Since then many efforts have been made to supply the public with details of his life, ibut without success. His entire life work was based on the idea of secrecy, and very little is known of his personality. He came to America from Germany when he was 18 years old, and began life as a workman in a sawmill. Be soon realised the wealth of the American North-West in timber, and, starting with small purchases, he rose to 'be America's wealthy "lumber king." One of the very few sayings credited to him is: "I tljink I have succeeded because I care more for my credit than for my clothes." His associates say that this is true, and they attribute his initial successes to 'bis ability to gain and keep the trust of everybody with whom he came in contact. Mr. Weyerhaeuser was uncultured, and read very little, but he worked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and knew intimately two things—timber and men. He was not interested in philanthrophy as far as is known, and this, coupled with his inten'jo avers/ion from publicity, get him apart from other American millionaires.