between 1809 and 1879, 88% of british millionaires had been landowners; between 1880 and 1914 this figure dropped to 33% and fell further after the first world war. during the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century, the british landed aristocracy were the wealthiest class in the world's richest country. in 1882 charles george milnes gaskell wrote that "the vast increase in the carrying power of ships, the facilities of intercourse with foreign countries, [and] the further cheapening of cereals and meat" meant that economically and politically the old landed class were no longer lords of the earth. the new wealthy elite were no longer british aristocrats but american businessmen, such as henry ford, john d. rockefeller and andrew w. mellon, who made their wealth from industry rather than land. by the late nineteenth century, british manufacturers eclipsed the aristocracy as the richest class in the nation. as arthur balfour stated in 1909: "the bulk of the great fortunes are now in a highly liquid state...they do not consist of huge landed estates, vast parks and castles, and all the rest of it".