Vanderbilt family

The Vanderbilt family rose to prominence in the United States during the Gilded Age. Their fortune began with Cornelius Vanderbilt, who built a vast shipping and railroad empire. Over time, the family expanded into other industries and philanthropy. At one point, the Vanderbilts were the wealthiest family in the country. Their influence lasted until the mid-20th century, when many of their grand homes were demolished or sold, a decline often called the "Fall of the House of Vanderbilt."

Cornelius Vanderbilt was the richest American until his death in 1877. His son, William Henry Vanderbilt, inherited the fortune and became the richest American until his own death in 1885. The family constructed opulent residences, including grand mansions on Fifth Avenue in New York City, luxurious "summer cottages" in Newport, Rhode Island, the massive Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, and Berkshire cottages in western Massachusetts, such as Elm Court in Lenox and Stockbridge.

The family's origins trace back to Jan Aertszoon, a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt in Utrecht, Netherlands, who emigrated to New Netherland as an indentured servant in 1650. His surname evolved from "Van der Bilt" to "Vanderbilt" under English rule. Cornelius Vanderbilt, his great-great-great-grandson, was the fourth of nine children from a modest Staten Island family. He left school at age 11 and built a shipping and railroad empire, becoming one of the world's wealthiest men. He earned the nickname "Commodore" after competing with Robert Fulton for control of New York waterways. Vanderbilt flouted Fulton's monopoly by operating from New Jersey under a flag reading "New Jersey Must Be Free!" and won a Supreme Court case argued by Daniel Webster, establishing early interstate commerce laws.

Cornelius Vanderbilt remained a member of the Moravian Church until his death, though many family members joined the Episcopal Church. The family lived on Staten Island until the mid-1800s, when the Commodore built a modest home on Washington Place in Greenwich Village. Shortly before his death in 1877, he donated $1 million to found Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He left most of his fortune to his eldest son, William Henry Vanderbilt, who doubled the wealth by expanding the New York Central Railroad and built the first grand Vanderbilt mansion on Fifth Avenue at 640 Fifth Avenue. William Henry appointed his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, as the next head of the family.

Cornelius II built the largest private home in New York at 1 West 57th Street, with about 154 rooms, designed by George B. Post. He also built The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island. His brother, William Kissam Vanderbilt, built a Fifth Avenue mansion and became a major architectural patron of the Gilded Age, hiring architects for the third and surviving Grand Central Terminal. He also built Marble House in Newport. George Washington Vanderbilt II, the youngest son of William Henry, hired architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to construct Biltmore Estate on 125,000 acres near Asheville, North Carolina. The 250-room mansion, with 175,856 square feet of floor space, remains the largest house in the United States.

Some descendants gained fame outside business. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt died as a passenger on the RMS Lusitania in 1915. His eldest son from his first marriage was William Henry Vanderbilt III. Contemporary descendants include art historian John Wilmerding, journalist Anderson Cooper (son of Gloria Vanderbilt), actor Timothy Olyphant, musician John P. Hammond, screenwriter James Vanderbilt, and the Duke of Marlborough, James Spencer-Churchill. Branches of the family still live on the United States East Coast.