Fortune's Children - Arthur T. Vanderbilt II

Fortune's Children

By Arthur T. Vanderbilt II

  • Release Date: 2013-04-16
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 132 Ratings

Description

Vanderbilt: the very name signifies wealth. The family patriarch, "the Commodore," built up a fortune that made him the world's richest man by 1877. 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. Fortune's Children tells the dramatic story of all the amazingly colorful spenders who dissipated such a vast inheritance.

Reviews

  • Fortune’s Children

    4
    By Readingbythesea
    Interesting read, going East in the spring planning on a visit to Newport and seeing all the homes mentioned.
  • Eye opening-Page Turner!

    5
    By Lezavb
    Fabulous in so many ways!
  • Easy Come Easy Go

    4
    By Fpiano
    The book is well written. The author doesn't shy away from the unpleasant aspects of his family's history. It is a little hard to justify spending the time to read about these people. They are almost entirely frivolous, spendthrift characters after generation two. It is a window into a different time and society, and pretty disgusting really. So basically, a lot of money was made by a few Vanderbilt's and it was wasted and almost entirely gone in 5 or 6 generations.