"Fortune's Children" tells the dramatic story of all the amazingly colorful spenders who dissipated such a vast inheritance. This is very readable, interesting, ironic, funny and page turning.
I have seen the Newport Mansions and the Biltmore and the former Florham mansion (now FDU) I would love to go back to see it all now after reading the pages of history! Oh yeah.
Focusing on the first four generations of Vanderbilts, it has all the detail and critical acumen of Wendy Burden's more recent account, and none of the venom. I love non fiction, it is almost always a page burner, and this family is no exception. Yet, less than fifty years after the Commodore's death, one of his direct descendants died penniless, and no Vanderbilt was counted among the world's richest people. GET WEEKLY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Email Address Subscribe Tweet. Vanderbilt: The very name is synonymous with the Gilded Age. Welcome back. I never realized that the Vanderbilt fortune was completely used up within three generations due to massive greed and overspending. The first chapter, obligatorily about the Commodore, is a tale often told, most recently in I applied for (and got) a job working at the Biltmore in Guest Relations at The House. The family patriarch, "the Commodore," built up a fortune that made him the world's richest man by 1877. The family patriarch, "the Commodore," built up a fortune that made him the world's richest man by 1877. I was captivated from beginning to end.
Proceed at your own risk!
He wanted to keep his wealth concentrated in one generation, similar to primogeniture.Reading this book reminded me of a game of Monopoly. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. Advertisement . I love seeing the rags to untold riches, a family dynasty and legacy spread out open for us to glimpse or glare. This is the fifth CD in the Orlando Consort series of works by Guillaume de Machaut (c1300-1377), and it maintains their strong standards. GET WEEKLY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Email Address Subscribe. Vanderbilt: the very name signifies wealth. Each branch of the family tried to outdo the others and it became a race to see who could have the biggest, the best, and the most. By fair means and foul, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt built a fortune of $105 million in the mid-nineteenth century. Yet, less than fifty years after the Commodore's death, one of his direct descendants died penniless, and no Vanderbilt was counted among the world's richest people. Edmund Morris has nothing on this author, Arthur T. Vanderbilt II (and a lawyer by training), who recounts pages + pages of dialogue "verbatim," recounting conversations 100 years old. Touring the mansions, it felt like I had like an inside scoop on the history of the families and some of the events that transpired there. It was very dry and, although I did learn why their fortune was squandered, it was simply because they spent it all! It is a fascinating account of some of the most interesting family members from the Commodore himself to fashion designer Gloria. Wall Street Journal Bestseller. This is the history of the rise and fall of the Vanderbilt dynasty and the absolutely idiotic squandering of money just because they had it.
Fortune's Children: the Fall of the House of Vanderbilt
Owen. “For the Vanderbilts lived in a day when flaunting one’s money was not only accepted but celebrated. Based on extraordinary research: a major reassessment of Ronald Reagan's lifelong crusade to dismantle the ""Within thirty years after the death of Commodore Vanderbilt in 1877, no member of his family was among the richest in the United States, have been supplanted by such new titans as Rockefeller, Carnegie, Frick and Ford...When 120 of the Commodore's decedents gathered at Vanderbilt University in 1973 for the first family reunion, there was not a millionaire among them. I must say there was one thought I came away with, his vast fortunes came before income taxes, what you made was 100% yours, if only we could have that luxury offered to all citizens say over sixty, the chance to pay ZERO taxes for three years, we could all retire wealthy!Arthur Vanderbilt II (yes, he's a descendant) takes us through the rise and fall of the Vanderbilts.
Submit your email address to receive Barnes & Noble offers & updates. Jennifer Ryan’s New York Times bestselling McBrides of Fallbrook are back with reformed bad boy ... FORTUNE'S CHILDREN The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt. If that sounds boring, you've never been to Biltmore. It is very interesting and also disturbing to learn of the excessive wealth and excessive spending of the time. In Fortune's Children ... Read full review