12 Most POWERFUL FAMILIES of the GILDED AGE

the Gilded Age an age of robber Baron's industrialization and extravagant wealth throughout this prosperous era of the late 1800s we witnessed the rising of an extremely rich class of families coming into money as well as those who'd had it for Generations together these families are known to have played an influential role in defining the Gilded Age as they took center stage in Industry society and all the Fanfare welcome to schmann C the place where we talk all things Rich exclusive and fancy schmancy today we are taking you back to the Gilded Age so you can meet the big names the families and the individuals who helped shape this fascinating era these are the captains of industry the ladies and gents of high society and those whose contributions continue to make an impact in today's modern world so without further Ado here are the 12 most powerful families of the Gilded Age number one the Vanderbilts since this is the first family that usually comes to mind when we think of the Gilded Age we might as well just get them out of the way so who put this family on the map it was Cornelius Vanderbilt otherwise known as The Commodore who built the family's fortune in the railroad and shipping industries of the mid-1800s after his death in 1877 his eldest son William Henry Vanderbilt received 95 of the family fortune estimated to be worth around 105 million dollars at the time he in turn shared his newly inherited wealth with his four Sons and the remaining five percent of Cornelius commodore's wealth was divided among his second wife and his other children of which by the standards of 1877 still made them extremely wealthy however all of the well-known Vanderbilt multi-millionaires descend through Cornelius commodore's eldest son William and his wife the same ones who went on to build grand mansions on New York's Fifth Avenue luxurious summer cottages in Newport and of course Biltmore Estate quite unlike the Commodore and his son William their descendants were big show-offs who quite obviously enjoyed spending money more than making it and so today instead of being the multi-billionaire family that they could have been their descendants have to resort to working for crappy news networks and singing and acting [Music] number two the duponts this family made its fortune in the gunpowder industry by eluteria Rene Dupont a French immigrant of noble descent his company elutherian Mills was founded on the banks of the Brandywine River near Wilmington Delaware in 1802 over time the company grew into a vast Empire and by the early 1900s it rebranded as the DuPont Corporation and the family expanded its wealth through the chemical as well as Automotive Industries many of elutes descendants went on to lead the company up until the 1960s they also went on to build the many of the popular Estates open to the public within the Brandywine Valley today the company with an estimated worth of 130 billion dollars is considered to be one of the world's largest chemical companies and though the family is no longer involved in its day-to-day operations their trusts still own a substantial amount of the company's stock meaning they never have to work a day in their life [Music] number three The Rockefellers this family Dynasty got its start with the brothers John D Rockefeller and William a Rockefeller descendants of German immigrants and co-founders of Standard Oil known as the largest petroleum company in the world its success made this family one of the wealthiest of all time Standard Oil was the predecessor of Exxon Mobil and Chevron so big oil money continued pouring in even after the company's dissolution in 1911. descendants of the Rockefeller Brothers went on to become prominent Bankers philanthropists politicians and real estate developers no one really knows just how much the family is worth today as their financial archives are closed to researchers however it's quite apparent that everyone does quite well living off dividends from Diversified Investments as well as the family's considerable real estate holdings number four the Asters the wealth of the Astor family originated in fur trading and partly on the smuggling of opium into China the founder of the family's Fortune was John Jacob Astor the first a German immigrant who emigrated to America in the early 1800s and used the profits from his business dealings to invest in highly sought after New York real estate by the time of his death in 1848 he became America's first multi-millionaire his grandchildren and great-grandchildren would become the Asters of the Gilded Age with the most prominent figures Being John III William Waldorf and William Jr married to the infamous Mrs Astor William Waldorf established the Waldorf Hotel in 1895. he later merged it with his cousin John Jacob Astor the fourth Astoria Hotel in 1897. thus establishing New York's first Waldorf Astoria after some failed attempts at U.S politics and feuding for several years with Mrs Astor in regards to her unauthorized title William Waldorf became disillusioned and moved his side of the family to England where he and his descendants achieved High prominence as Aristocrats and members of parliament through today though the number of American Asters have severely declined throughout the 20th century their legacy lives on in their many public works such as the New York Public Library foreign the carnegies this tiny family established its wealth after Scottish immigrant Andrew Carnegie worked his way out of poverty into massive riches by building the Carnegie Steel Corporation and growing it into the largest steel manufacturing company in the world in 1901 he sold the company to JP Morgan for 480 million dollars and retired from business to turn to a life of philanthropy with a goal to distribute 90 of his wealth before he died he wrote the Gospel of wealth which articulated his view of the rich as those who should live without extravagance provide a dignified living for their families and use their riches to help others he is best known for being a champion for International Peace and erecting the peace Palace of the hay he is also known for his gifts of free public libraries as well as establishing numerous colleges museums and Foundations throughout the world and for his support of the Arts he gifted thousands of pipe organs to community churches and built Carnegie Hall in New York City his colossal mansion on New York's Upper East Side was later donated to the Smithsonian and is now the Cooper Hewitt Museum Carnegie was succeeded by his only daughter Margaret who received a small trust from her father as the remainder of his fortune was given away barely anything is left of the Carnegie Fortune today the descendants of his daughter do not bear the Carnegie name and they choose to live their regular lives out of the Limelight number six the Goulds this family was put on the map by Jay Gould a railroad magnet and financial Speculator hailing from New York and known for his unscrupulous business practices as the president of the Erie Railroad Company he was well connected and had a masterful knack for the manipulation of people stocks and gold this made him one of the richest men of the Gilded Age as well as one of the most highly unpopular which eventually cost him the company in the 1870s he nevertheless prevailed and built other railroad companies out west further increasing his fortune Jay Gould ended up dying of tuberculosis in 1892 at the age of 56. he left the entirety of his 77 million Fortune to his six children though much of it was used to pay off his creditors in the end his family received only 5 million dollars from his estate to split amongst themselves however some of the ghoul children were successful in establishing businesses overseas While others married into European nobility the family's popular Lyndhurst mansion on New York's Hudson River is now a national landmark it was donated as a museum by his youngest daughter to the National Trust for historic preservation [Music] number seven the melons hailing from Pittsburgh this influential family's wealth originated with melon Bank founded in 1869 by Thomas Mellon under the direction of his sons Andrew Mellon and Richard Mellon as well as their heirs the melons became the principal investors and majority owners of countless corporations over the years their vast portfolio includes Gulf oil Alcoa New York shipbuilding h.j Hines Newsweek Union Steel U.S steel General Motors and much more the family are also founders of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and also patrons to multiple top universities including Carnegie Mellon which Andrew Mellon founded with close friend Andrew Carnegie Andrew Mellon also served as the Secretary of Treasury from 1921 to 1933. never deviating from their venture capitalist roots today the melons are still a hefty clan of investors and continue to be one of America's richest families with a combined net worth of over 12 billion dollars number eight the Morgans this banking family became prominent in the U.S and throughout the world in the late 19th century and early 20th century members of this dynasty amassed an immense Fortune over three generations primarily through the noted work of John Pierpont Morgan otherwise known as JP Morgan J.P Morgan became exposed to his father's multinational Merchant banking firm at an early age and worked his way up until eventually becoming a partner the Father and Son team grew their banking house into a transatlantic Financial Empire serving mainly governments large corporations and Rich individuals with firms in London New York Philadelphia and Paris after his father retired in 1890 JP teamed up with his son jack Morgan and together they established J.P Morgan and Company JP also had a vast art collection displayed in his personal Library which he donated to the public as the Morgan library in New York City today many of JP Morgan's descendants have made their own careers outside of banking as for the family fortune it did diminish during the Great Depression and through philanthropy though they're not the billionaires you would expect him to be many are multi-millionaires living happily ever after number nine the Dukes this family's colossal Fortune of what was over 5 billion in today's money was created by Brothers James Buchanan Duke and Benjamin Newton Duke both tobacco textile and energy magnets out of North Carolina these are the same Brothers known for their massive endowments to Duke University as well as establishing the American Tobacco Company in 1890 and later on Duke Energy which continues to provide electricity to millions in the southern states even today the most infamous areas from this family is Doris Duke James Duke's one and only child who inherited more than half his fortune when he died in 1925. making her the world's richest girl at the age of 13. she's known for multiple scandals throughout the 20th century those of many books movies and documentaries and one whose story is well worth researching never having had any children of her own her estate now worth billions is controlled by the Board of Trustees of the Doris Duke charitable Foundation other Duke heirs on Benjamin Duke's side have kept their great great grandfather's fortune in the family till this day and in true old money fashion they have also kept a much lower profile [Music] number 10. the Roosevelts this is a political family from New York whose members have included two U.S presidents a famous first lady and various Merchants Bankers inventors clergyman artists and socialites with roots dating back to the Dutch colonial days of the 1600s when New York was at the time New Amsterdam this family of Dutch descent is the real deal when it comes to old money throughout colonial times and the industrial period various Roosevelt family branches grew Rich through the industries of New York City as well as their investments in railroads their wealth never Rose to rob a baron proportions however it was enough to welcome them into New York High Society of the Gilded Age two distantly related branches of the family Rose to National prominence with the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt from Oyster Bay in 1901 and Franklin D Roosevelt from Hyde Park in 1933. the two presidents were fifth cousins and Eleanor Roosevelt wife to Franklin Roosevelt was actually Theodore's niece making Roosevelt her maiden name as well as her married name talk about keeping the money in the family with other family members marrying into the Dupont family as well as the Asters the delanos the whitneys and many other prominent families the Roosevelts today are very much a blended group with wealth still leading the way many have gone on to hold prominent positions in Academia finance and economics while remaining somewhat low-key [Music] number 11. the whitneys with roots dating back to the British colonial days of the 1600s when Massachusetts was at the time a part of British America this family of British descent made their Fortune through various Innovations and business enterprises similar to the Roosevelts the Whitney family created their wealth Generations prior to the Gilded Age and by the late 1800s there were multiple branches one notable member of this family was Eli Whitney the guy who invented the cotton gin for the cotton plantations of the South another notable Whitney was Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney obviously a Vanderbilt who married into the Whitney family and founder of the Whitney Museum her husband Harry Payne Whitney was an equestrian Enthusiast and an heir to Fortunes in oil and tobacco their son Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney a crossbreed between the two powerful families made his own fortune when he co-founded Pan-American Airways in 1927. in recent years Heirs of this prominent family known for their wealth and philanthropy have been found on the board of the Whitney Museum and the racetracks of Saratoga Springs as they continue to inherit substantial fortunes and last we have number 12 the hearsts though Rich before striking gold in the publishing industry this family was heralded by William Randolph Hearst a businessman newspaper publisher and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and Media company feel free to call this San Francisco native the father of mainstream media because his methods of yellow journalism are really not so different from what we get in the media today Hearst had a knack for using sensationalism to influence readers ultimately owning a chain of over 40 newspapers and magazines and dominating the popular media of the late 1800s as a politician he was twice elected into the House of Representatives well known for his extensive Hearst Castle in the mountains of San Simeon California and notorious for scandals his personal life was filled with stories that his own Publications could have used as fodder at the time of his death in 1951 hurst's net worth was equal to 30 billion dollars in today's money in 1974 his granddaughter Patty Hearst was the subject of a high-profile kidnapping and yet another interesting story We highly recommend you research hurst's grandson William Randolph Hearst III currently chairs Hearst corporation headquartered in a massive New York City skyscraper while the great grandchildren are best known as socialites today the company owns more than 360 businesses which include popular brands like ESPN Fitch group and Cosmopolitan magazine surely everyone is still doing quite well and that's it for the top 12 most powerful families of the Gilded Age so which of these families fascinated you the most are there any others you feel should have made this list anyway if there's anything else you would like to mention about this topic feel free to share it with us in the comments below furthermore if you got any value out of this video be sure to like subscribe and click on the Bell icon so you never miss out on another video with that said we'd like to thank you for watching and we'll see each other next time [Music]

Channel: Schmancy

Views: 429,283

Keywords: gilded age society, new york high society, gilded age families, robber barrons, jay gould, cornelius vanderbilt, mrs. astor, caroline astor, william waldorf astor, waldorf-astoria, andrew carnegie, carnegie family, schmancy33, john d. rockefeller, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, the duponts, andrew mellon, James B. Duke, Benjamin Newton Duke, Doris Duke, pierpont morgan, William Randolph Hearst, hearst family, duke family, jp morgan, Vanderbilt Whitney, roosevelt family

Id: eyue82o5LSg

Length: 15min 49sec (949 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 30 2022