The Vanderbilt family is an American family of railroad notability who became socially prominent during the first half of the nineteenth-century. The family's fortune was established by the shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, and eventually expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy through the 20th century. Cornelius Vanderbilt's son and heir, William Henry Vanderbilt, expanded the fortune, becoming the richest man in the world by the time of his death in 1877. His descendants built great mansions in New York, Newport, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Vermont, Massachusetts and various other exclusive homes. The family's prominence lasted until the late 20th century. Most of the family's Fifth Avenue mansions were torn down, and other Vanderbilt homes have been sold or turned into museums. Collectively, the Vanderbilts are the seventh wealthiest family in history. The family surname is of Dutch origin.
Branches of the family are found on the East Coast of the United States as well as in the United Kingdom.
Read more about Vanderbilt Family: History, Family Connection (listed By Ancestry/generation), Family Connection (chronological Listing)
Famous quotes containing the words vanderbilt and/or family:
“We must learn which ceremonies may be breached occasionally at our convenience and which ones may never be if we are to live pleasantly with our fellow man.”
—Amy Vanderbilt (1908–1974)
“The law is equal before all of us; but we are not all equal before the law. Virtually there is one law for the rich and another for the poor, one law for the cunning and another for the simple, one law for the forceful and another for the feeble, one law for the ignorant and another for the learned, one law for the brave and another for the timid, and within family limits one law for the parent and no law at all for the child.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)