Ellerman had little interest in public recognition. He was created a baronet of Connaught Square in the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington on 11 December 1905 in appreciation of his contribution to British shipping needs during the Boer War, 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)(equivalent to £ in ). 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 was generally reckoned to be the second-richest man in the United Kingdom with a fortune of around £14 million. When Ellerman died in 1933 his estate was assessed for probate in 1936 at £36,684,994 13s. 5d. (roughly equivalent to £ in ). The previous record was £13.5 million left by Lord Iveagh of the Guinness Brewery in 1927. Ellerman had negotiated the Great Depression skillfully, but his wealth at death must have been well below its 1920s peak.