Composition
The man with the greatest impact on the list was arguably Andrew W. Mellon, who had been dead for 20 years: the second category, covering the second to eighth richest individuals, included his son, daughter, niece and nephew. The list also included seven members of the Rockefeller family, five members of the Ford family, four members of the Du Pont family (and a non-family DuPont executive), and four General Motors executives.
Five separate categories divided the list based on the amount of the fortune: $75,000,000–$100,000,000; $100,000,000–$200,000,000; $200,000,000–$400,000,000; $400,000,000–$700,000,000; and $700,000,000–$1,000,000,000. Fortunes smaller than $75,000,000 were not considered worthy of inclusion in the list. For comparison, equivalent amounts in 2005 US dollars are given below each subheading; the presumed source of the wealth is enclosed in parentheses.
Read more about this topic: Wealthiest Americans (1957)
Famous quotes containing the word composition:
“The proposed Constitution ... is, in strictness, neither a national nor a federal constitution; but a composition of both.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)
“At painful times, when composition is impossible and reading is not enough, grammars and dictionaries are excellent for distraction.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)