Over the years, many famous, men, women, and even families have reigned. An example of such families is the Vanderbilt family. The Vanderbilt family is an American family who originates from Dutch background that rose to prominence during the Gilded age. This family is considered to be one of the richest families in the United States of America.
You could say that the family has a similarity to the Rothschild family in the United Kingdom. The success of the family began with Cornelius Vanderbilt, a successful businessman who was involved in the shipping and railroad industries. Later on, the family progressed to other industries and even philanthropy.
The Vanderbilts was once the wealthiest family in America. They were known for their grand mansions on Fifth Avenue in New York, luxurious summer cottages in Newport, Rhode Island, the palatial Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, and so many others.
Cornelius Vanderbilt was the richest American during his time until his death, after his demise, his son followed suit, he inherited his father’s wealth and was also the richest American during his time until his death. They reigned until the mid-20th century when their mansions in New York were torn down and other properties were converted to museums. It was referred to as the “Fall of the House of Vanderbilt”.
Well, how well do you know about the Vanderbilt family? If not much, we have compiled all you need to know about Vanderbilt family’s net worth in 2021, wiki and complete details. Well, if you’re all set, here is what we know about Vanderbilt family to date.
Inception
The Vanderbilt family has a very rich history. The roots of this family go back all the way to the 17th century. The oldest known ancestor of this family is Jan Aertszoon or Aertson (1620-1705). The man was a Dutch farmer from the village of De Bilt in Utrecht, Netherlands. He traveled from the Netherlands to the United States of America and settled in the Dutch colony of New Netherlands.
Here, he was forced to work under a contract by the Van Kouwenhoven family in 1650. While he was working here, his name was changed, they added the name “Van” (from) to the name of his village to form the name, Van der Bilt. Later on, the named simply became Vanderbilt after the English took control of New Amsterdam (now Manhattan).
The birth of the Vanderbilt empire began with Jan’s great-great-great-grandson, Cornelius Vanderbilt. He was the fourth born of the nine children born in a family of simple means in Staten Island. He was a descendant of Jan Janszoon, the president of the Republic of Salé, and his son, Anthony Janszoon Van Salee. This connection was made through Cornelius’s great-great-grandmother, Abigail Southard.
They were one of the earliest arrivals to 17th-century New Amsterdam, where Anthony was described as mulatto because his mother was of Berber origin from Cartagena in the kingdom of Murcia. Cornelius Vanderbilt left school at the age of 11 and began building his shipping and railroad empire. He began with a single boat and as he grew, he built a fleet until he was competing with Robert Fulton for dominance of the New York waterways.
He earned the nickname “Commodore” for his energy and eagerness to become successful. The title was derived from the United States Navy, which was given to the captain of a small task force. Fulton had established a monopoly trade at the New York harbor while Vanderbilt was based in New Jersey.
Vanderbilt was flouting the law because he steamed in and out of the New York harbor under a flag that read, “New Jersey must be free!” He hired Daniel Webster (attorney) to argue his case with the United States Supreme Court, where he won and set a precedent for America’s first laws on interstate commerce.
Evolution
The Vanderbilt family lived in Staten Island until the mid-1800s, when the Commodore built a house on Washington Place (now Greenwich village). Cornelius always occupied a modest home, but his family would use their wealth to build magnificent mansions. Cornelius left most of his fortune to his eldest son, William Henry Vanderbilt, who increased the reach of the New York Central Railroad and doubled the Vanderbilt wealth.
He built the first of the magnificent Vanderbilt mansions on Fifth Avenue, at 640 Fifth Avenue. Some of the Vanderbilt descendants also gained fame in other areas such; Anderson Cooper (Award-winning journalist), Gloria Vanderbilt (artist, designer, actress and author), Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (sculptor, art patron and collector) and many others.
Awards & Achievements
The Vanderbilt family has a very rich history and has also had a considerable amount of wealth over the years. The family’s prominence in business took them to incredible heights of success. The family was also involved in a lot of philanthropic work of helping the less fortunate. However, despite how much we know about the Vanderbilt family and what they have accomplished, the family has not received any awards over the years.
Net Worth & Earnings of Vanderbilt family in 2021
The story of the Vanderbilt family is unlike no other. The incredible rise to prominence of the family made them the wealthiest family in USA at some point in time. Their influences in shipping, railroads and other industries earned them a considerable amount of wealth. At the moment, the net worth of the family is difficult to figure out because of how vast the family has become, but it was estimated that if Cornelius Vanderbilt was alive today, his net worth would have been $185 billion as of 2021.
The Vanderbilt family is truly a tremendous spectacle with roots dating back as far as 400 years ago. Honestly, very few people can trace back their family tree that far behind. A lot of appreciation goes out to the family for the philanthropic work they’ve done, it truly shows the kind of human beings they are.