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Writer's pictureDon Schueler

Where did all the money go?

Updated: Jun 28, 2023




The Flagler and the Harkness fortunes combined were very significant. After all, they represented approximately 32% of the whole of Standard Oil along with other investments. So if that's the case where did the money go?


Henry Flagler - A large portion of Henry's money ended up in Florida. Building a railroad from Jacksonville all the way down to Key West is a pricey endeavor. Add to that all the magnificent hotels and supporting churches and other buildings and you can see where such of his money went. He is quoted as saying "I would have been a rich man if it wasn't for Florida". Henry's only child to survive him was his son Harry. He once said:


"I do not expect, during my lifetime, to get any monetary gain from the vast expenditure of time, money and thought that I am making in Florida. If I am spared long enough to carry out my plans I shall be satisfied. I have been singularly blessed in my business career and I feel that where a man has been blessed with more than usual success he will be held responsible to his maker for the use of that money he's put to. Others have built churches, libraries and schools. These will pass away with time and the givers will be forgotten. But the building of the Florida East Coast Railroad and the opening of the wilderness will not be effaced by time but will rather grow in value as the years go by and as people come in and possess the land. I am confident that the railroad I am building will in time become the most valuable railroad property in the world." - Henry Flagler


Henry was estranged from Harry and only left him a small portion of his estate. The largest part of Henry's fortune was left with Mary Lily Kenan and she and Henry had no children together. Henry died in 1913 and Mary Lily married Robert Worth Bingham in 1919. Mary Lily died just a year later in 1917. Robert Bingham received $5 Million but the rest of the Flagler fortune went to Mary Lily’s family. William R. Kenan Jr. and Mary Lily's sisters Jessie Kenan Wise and Sarah Graham Kenan and niece Louise Wise, were all recipients of her will’s largess.


Stephen V. Harkness - His fortune went to his wife and children and much was ultimately given to philanthropic purposes by his children. Edward Harkness and his mother Anna did a great job of giving away the family fortunes. Many of their philanthropic efforts still stand or function to this day. None of Stephen's children, other than Lamon, had children of their own. Lamon's son Harry Harkness died young and did not have children. His two daughters, Lela and Myrtle, survived him. Myrtle and Kingsley Macomber had a daughter, Priscilla Amelia, who unfortunately passed away at the age of 9 months. Lela had 3 children, daughters Martha, Lela, and a son Harkness. Lamon's estate and property including Walnut Hall passed through to his heirs.


Daniel M. Harkness - Daniel had only one surviving child, William L. Harkness. Will then had two children, Louise Hale Harkness (1898-1978) and William Hale Harkness (1900–1954). Bill had only one child, Edith, and that was with Rebekah. Rebekah spent most of what she inherited from Bill and Edith never married and only lived two months after her mother Rebekah passed away. Louise Hale Harkness married David Sinton Ingalls. Louise and David's philanthropic and charitable work is still functioning today as well.


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