The gratification of personal wants is only a minor element in the lives of the rich. After they have secured the things desired, they strive for the power that will give them control over their fellows.
The possession of things, is, in itself, a narrow field. The control over productive machinery gives him who exercises it the power to enjoy those things which the workers with machinery produce. The control over public affairs and over the forces that shape public opinion give him who exercises it the power to direct the thoughts and lives of the people. It is for these reasons that the keen, self-assertive, ambitious men who have come to the top in the rough and tumble of the business struggle have steadily extended their ownership and their control.
2. The Wealth of the United States
The bulk of American wealth, which consists for the most part of land and buildings, is concentrated in the centers of commerce and industry—in the regions of supreme business power.
The last detailed estimate of the wealth of the United States was made by the Census Bureau for the year 1912. At that time, the total wealth of the country was placed at $187,739,000,000. (The estimate for 1920 is $500,000,000,000.) Roughly speaking, this represented an estimate of exchangeable values. The figures, at best, are rough approximations. Their importance lies, not in their accuracy, but in the picture which they give of relationships.
The Total Wealth of the United States, Classified by
Groups, with the Percentage of the Total
Wealth in Each Group[39]
| Total Estimated Wealth | ||
| Wealth Groups | Amount (000,000 Omitted) | Per Cent of Total |
| 1. Real Property (land and buildings) | $110,676 | 59 |
| 2. Public Utilities (railroads, street railways, telegraph, telephone, electric light, etc.) | 26,415 | 14 |
| 3. Live Stock and Machinery (live stock, farm implements and man- ufacturing machinery | 13,697 | 7 |
| 4. Raw Materials, Manufactured Prod- ucts, Merchandise (including gold and silver bullion) | 24,193 | 13 |
| 5. Personal Possessions (clothing, personal adornments, furniture, carriages, etc.) | 12,758 | 7 |
| ———— | —— | |
| Total of all groups | $187,739 | 100 |
The bulk of the exchangeable wealth of the United States consists of "productive" or "investment" property. If, to the total of 110 billions given by the Census as the value of real property, are added the real property values of the public utilities, the total will probably exceed three quarters of the total wealth of the United States. If, in addition, account is taken of the fact that much of the wealth classed as "raw materials, etc.," is the immediate product of the land (coal, ore, timber), some idea may be obtained of the extent to which the estimated wealth of the country is in the form of land, its immediate products, and buildings. Furthermore, it must be remembered that great quantities of ore lands, timber lands, waterpower sites, etc., are assessed at only a fraction of their total present value.