John Ellerman
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the father, the 1st baronet; see Sir John Ellerman, 2nd BaronetSir John Ellerman, 2nd BaronetSir John Reeves Ellerman, 2nd Baronet was an English shipowner, natural historian and philanthropist. The only son and heir of the English shipowner and investor John Ellerman, he was often said to be Britain's richest man...
for the son.
Sir John Reeves Ellerman, 1st Baronet, CH
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
(1862–1933) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
shipowner and investor. He was one of the most successful entrepreneurs in modern British history, and the only Briton of his generation whose wealth rivalled the leading plutocrats of America's gilded age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
. At his death his estate was assessed for probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
at almost three times the previous British probate record, yet he is now largely forgotten; a reflection in part of the obscurity he cultivated in his lifetime.
Early life
Ellerman was born in Kingston upon HullKingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, the only son of a Lutheran ship broker and corn merchant who has emigrated to England from Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1850, and an English mother. His father died when he was nine, leaving an estate of £600. Ellerman spent part of his childhood in France and briefly attended King Edward VI School
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. Ellerman didn't get on with his mother and lived independently from the age of fourteen, when he was articled to a Birmingham chartered accountant
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
. After passing his articles he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he turned down a partnership in one of the leading firms of the day to found his own practice, J. Ellerman & Co, in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
in 1886. He also one of the first important British businessmen with a professional qualification in accountancy
Accountancy
Accountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in...
. He was also one of the first businessmen to use modern accounting methods to identify underpriced companies that should be well suited for takeover.
From 1890 Ellerman began to create major business groups by buying up established businesses, typically ones which had a good product but were in managerial decline after the death of the founder. Most of these businesses flourished under his management. He raised funds from other investors where necessary, but held large stakes personally. The first of these groups was the Brewery and Commercial Investment Trust which appreciated by 1,300% in nine years.
Shipping
In 1892 Ellerman made his first move into shipping by leading a consortium which purchased the Leyland Line from the late Frederick Richards LeylandFrederick Richards Leyland
Frederick Richards Leyland was a Liverpool shipowner and art collector.-Career:Leyland served as an apprentice in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co, where he rose to become a partner. In 1867 he took on the tenancy of Speke Hall, Liverpool and in 1869 bought a house in London at 49 Princes Gate...
, one of the largest shipowners in Britain. In 1901 Ellerman sold this business to J.P. Morgan for £1.2 million, who immediately folded it into the International Mercantile Marine Co.
International Mercantile Marine Co.
The International Mercantile Marine Co., originally the International Navigation Co., was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. The end result was heavy losses for Morgan....
. Ellerman, however, immediately began to buy other shipping lines, and in 1902 he combined his interests into Ellerman Lines
Ellerman Lines
Ellerman Lines was a cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late nineteenth century, and continued to expand with the acquisition of smaller shipping lines until it became one of the largest shipping...
. He continued to expand the business, making inroads into the South African, Atlantic and Indian routes while buying rival lines on a regular basis. In 1916 he paid £4.1 million for Thomas Wilson Sons & Co.
Thomas Wilson Sons & Co.
Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. was founded in 1822 as a joint venture by merchants Thomas Wilson, his partner John Beckinton and two unrelated men both surnamed Hudson. None came from shipping backgrounds but were quick to see the opportunity of becoming involved in the industry. They acquired their...
of Hull, which had once been the largest privately owned shipping line in the world.
By 1917 Ellerman owned 1.5 million tons of shipping, equivalent to the entire French merchant navy. There is no obvious secret to success in shipping; there were other talented men in the shipping business, but Ellerman far surpassed them. He wasn't an innovator, but assets flourished under his management and he made many good decisions and exceptionally few bad ones.
Other business interests
At the same time Ellerman expanded his brewing interests and by 1918 he held shares in more than seventy breweries. In many cases he improved the financial performance of these businesses rapidly. From around 1904 he also invested in newspapers, owning stakes in the Financial TimesFinancial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
, Tatler
Tatler
Tatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
, The Sphere
The Sphere (newspaper)
The Sphere was a British newspaper, published weekly from 27 January 1900 until the closure of the paper on 27 June 1964; the first issue came out at the height of the Boer War and was no doubt a product of that conflict and the public appetite for images...
and other publications at various times. He sold most of his press interests in the 1920s.
Another field in which Ellerman was a major player was coal. In the 1920s he held shares in at least 22 collieries. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he also became a major owner of property in London. Aristocrats such as the Duke of Bedford
Duke of Bedford
thumb|right|240px|William Russell, 1st Duke of BedfordDuke of Bedford is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1414 in favour of Henry IV's third son, John, who later served as regent of France. He was made Earl of Kendal at the same time...
, Lord Howard de Walden and Earl Cadogan
Earl Cadogan
Earl Cadogan is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The Cadogan family descends from Major William Cadogan, a cavalry officer in Oliver Cromwell's army. His son Henry Cadogan was a barrister in Dublin. His eldest son William Cadogan was a noted soldier, politician...
were increasingly selling off slices of the freehold West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
estates which had been in their families for centuries and Ellerman was often the buyer.
Personal life
Ellerman had little interest in public recognition. He was made a baronetBaronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
in 1905 in appreciation of his contribution to British shipping needs during the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, but he could readily have obtained a higher honour if he had wanted one. His lifestyle was unostentatious. In 1916 he stated that he was worth £55 million (then US$275 million). This may well have been correct as he had no reputation for self aggrandizement. The following year a journalist estimated that his shipping interests alone were worth £35 million. At this time the Duke of Westminster
Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster GCVO DSO was the son of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor and Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, the daughter of the 9th Earl of Scarborough...
was generally reckoned to be the second richest man in the United Kingdom with a fortune of around £14 million pounds. When Ellerman died in 1933 his estate was assessed for probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
at £36.685 million. The previous record was £13.5 million left by Lord Iveagh of the Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
Brewery in 1927. Ellerman had negotiated the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
skillfully, but his wealth at death must have been well below its 1920s peak.
Ellerman lived a secretive life in Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
and Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. He never purchased a country estate and made no attempt to join high society or enter politics. One possible reason is that from the early 1890s he lived with a woman called Hannah Glover, and had a daughter by her in 1894, but did not marry her until 1908, the year before the birth of his only son, who was also called John Ellerman
Sir John Ellerman, 2nd Baronet
Sir John Reeves Ellerman, 2nd Baronet was an English shipowner, natural historian and philanthropist. The only son and heir of the English shipowner and investor John Ellerman, he was often said to be Britain's richest man...
.
Ellerman was appointed Companion of Honour (CH) in the 1921 New Year Honours. He was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery
Putney Vale Cemetery
Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium in London is surrounded by Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park, and is located within forty-seven acres of parkland. The cemetery was opened in 1891 and the crematorium in 1938...
.
Descendants
Ellerman's daughter Annie Winifred GloverBryher
Bryher was the pen name of the novelist, poet, memoirist, and magazine editor Annie Winifred Ellerman. She was born in September 1894 in Margate. Her father was the shipowner and financier John Ellerman, who at the time of his death in 1933, was the richest Englishman who had ever lived...
, later Annie Winifred Ellerman, was a published writer under the penname 'Bryher'. Her autobiography, The Heart to Artemis (1963), gives an account of her father. On his death in July 1933, Ellerman left about £900,000 to Bryer, but the majority of his wealth – around £20 million after death duties – was inherited by his only son John
Sir John Ellerman, 2nd Baronet
Sir John Reeves Ellerman, 2nd Baronet was an English shipowner, natural historian and philanthropist. The only son and heir of the English shipowner and investor John Ellerman, he was often said to be Britain's richest man...
.