MAX PAUL FRIES

San Francisco County

Biographies

MAX PAUL FRIES

Manufacturer and Exporter of Borax, San Francisco, California, was born at Hamburg, Germany, November 17, 1881, the son of Julius Fries and Fanny (Gabriel) Fries. He married Rose Helen Ehrlick at San Francisco, California, May 29, 1910. He is a member of a prominent German family, his grandfather, Louis Fries, having been a public man in Hamburg, owner of a large amount of real estate and a stockholder in the Hamburg-American Steamship Company.

Mr. Fries received his early education in his native city and was graduated from College of Altona, Germany, in 1899. Following this, he took the government examination for military service and because of his exceptional ability as a linguist was called upon to serve only one year in the army.

His first position in the business, world, upon the conclusion of his military service, was with H. H. Jansen & Co., a large shipping firm of Hamburg, with whom he remained for about a year. He began in a minor capacity with the firm, but, despite his youth, was promoted rapidly, and ultimately was placed in charge of the company’s freight department as supervisor. He made up his mind to go to American, however, and in 1903 resigned and sailed for New York.

Upon his arrival in the United States, Mr. Fries was employed by Daniel S. Loughran, a wealthy iron founder and banker of Brooklyn, New York, as private secretary. In company with his employer he traveled to various parts of the world, and for two years was on tour.

In 1906, he determined to go into business for himself and opened brokerage offices in Kansas City, Missouri. He dealt in stocks and bonds there for about four years, when extensive interests on the Coast, which developed in the meantime brought about the necessity of establishing a Pacific Coast branch house, which he did in San Francisco.

With the establishment of his offices in San Francisco, Mr. Fries moved his residence there and remained in the Bay City until October, 1911, at which time he secured control of the United States Borax Company, a corporation capitalized by $2,000,000, and he then transferred his headquarters to Los Angeles, where he resided a time, but in December, 1912, he returned to San Francisco.

In less than six months after obtaining control of the United States Company, Mr. Fries followed the original company with the National Borax Company, with the result that he has become one of the principal producers and exporters of that substance in the United States.

With mines, stated to be of almost unlimited possibilities, in Ventura County, California, Mr. Fries has established manufacturing plants in various parts of the United States and Europe, particularly Germany and France. These were started on a small scale, but in 1912 Mr. Fries and his associates undertook the improvement and enlargement of their plants along modern lines, expending more than $200,000 on the work of putting in large electric power plants, which will more than double their capacity.

The future plans of Mr. Fries’ companies include the building of a railroad fifty miles in length to connect their mines with a shipping point near the town of Bakersfield, California. It is estimated that this road will cost about one million dollars by the time it is completed.

Since getting control of the borax deposits of Southern California, Mr. Fries, by his operations, has attracted the attention of financiers in all parts of the United States and was asked to sell his holdings at various times for sums which would have doubled his investment, but preferred to retain his properties and carry out the plan of development which he has mapped out.

Aside from his activities in extensive business affairs, Mr. Fries has attained prominence as a patron of the arts, and is today the possessor of a small private gallery containing several valuable paintings, He has always taken a great deal of interest in the work of the masters and also is a student of literature and the languages, speaking seven different tongues with equal fluency and as naturally as he uses his native language.

Mr. Fries is not a clubman, but devotes most of his time outside of business to his home and close friends. However, he is an enthusiastic motorist and the owner of several high-powered automobiles. His only fraternal affiliation is the Knights of Pythias.

Transcribed by Pat Seabolt.

Source: Press Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 880, International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta. 1913.

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