How Did He Hijack the Vanderbilt Fortune?

[@LJB103]

No matter how rich other families were before or since, there's never been one generation of a single family like this for building: 1 W 57th Street and the Breakers; 660 5th Avenue, Marble house and Idle Hour; Elm Court; Shelburne Farms and the 144,000 acre Nehasane (Adirondack camp); Woodlea; Florham; Hyde Park and Rough Point; and - saving the biggest for last - Biltmore. Excellent video.

[@kenj.8897]

Yup they were sure big but beautiful, now they are big and look like warehouses

[@LJB103]

@@kenj.8897 If warehouses looked like these inside and out, I'd live in a warehouse. I'd say they were white elephants, but we're back to having people with the obscene amounts of spare cash to live in something like one of these if they only had any taste.

[@mrbutch308]

Other magnificent Gilded Age mansions include Whitemarsh Hall (now gone), Lynwood Hall, Whitehall, Vizcaya, Ca'd'Zan, and several others.

[@LJB103]

@@mrbutch308 Very true, but the ones I mentioned were all built by the children of William Henry Vanderbilt: just one generation of a family. My list did not include W.H.'s triple palaces or Eagle's Nest, the Long Island mansion of Willie K. Jr. that were the estates of other generations. Three other huge mansions were Shadow Brook (Anson Phelps-Stokes and later where Andrew Carnegie died), Shadow Lawn (Hubert Parson - president of Woolworth and used in the original Annie as Daddy Warbucks' mansion); and Arden Hall (E.H. Harriman)

[@jilledmondson6894]

Beautiful house and I am glad it is still used by members of the country club..

[@butterfly06830]

Fabulous introduction to Sleep Hollow Country club... use to be home away from home for me.. Great building .. great parties ...........

[@andrewbrendan1579]

The whole place is great but I especially liked the staircase area with that huge stained glass window.

[@karenryder6317]

Me too! The huge understated, leaded window is an architectural treasure. It's positioning by the grand staircase was a work of genius. I tend not to like the clutter that was popular in the Victorian excess era, but pared down of these, that structure will always stun the viewer regardless of the taste of the day.

[@christopherkraft1327]

Elliott was a real piece of work, in the end he never got to enjoy his palace so he got what he deserved!! Thanks for sharing another magnificent mansion!!! 👍👍🎃

[@mrbutch308]

Karma!

[@marthawagner6630]

@@mrbutch308 I thought the same thing.

[@carolynnixon7095]

The entry and grand staircase give a great first impression. Daddy should have let it be known to Elliott that Maggie would be cut out of the will if they married. That weasel would have run away so fast.

[@Emily_Paris]

So upsetting when a person takes advantage of another person like Elliott did with his wife.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

In my book Elliott is male but not a man. He was the antithesis of what a husband should be.

[@cherylbusch6236]

Call to memory the movie: “The Heiress”….. To Ms. Vanderbilt, it wasn’t about money-she had more than enough. It was about finding “love” and if that included a large expenditure, on her part, I doubt she cared. Somebody was better than nobody. Personally, I’d rather have a husband who spent my money, and I was happy with, rather than a notorious philander. Hope that was true in this case. Heaven help the woman, when it’s both. As for the house-amazing. Glad to know it still exists and is being used in “all its’ glory.”

[@andrewbrendan1579]

@@cherylbusch6236 Terrific comparison to "The Heiress". I found the novel dry and unmemorable but the movie....wow!

[@sharksport01]

Wait, he used half her money and they say it's stolen but the next owners wife spent most of his money and no one says a word.

[@Abetek2410]

@@sharksport01 thought that was interesting too. The Vanderbilt’s seemed like they were both getting what they wanted ,where the second family seemed more like stealing😂

[@Tim1963-u6n]

I've often heard prostitution was the oldest profession but I think it may have been con men thanks for the video Ken

[@stevepalko1945]

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[@stevepalko1945]

9999999oo999o98999999

[@heatherjones6647]

I loved my stay here. Was up on the third floor. Quite the climb at the end of a long day!

[@nailadee]

This story should serve as a warning, women need to make sure they know about their finances. Love is truly blind!

[@StamperWendy]

What a great story! I hope this means that some furniture and artwork survive and are inside, so cool... Thanks, Ken!

[@thomasbassett5028]

Spent much of my youth there. It has retained the original rooms. The accommodations for the Country Club were added without adversely affecting the original building.

[@DocMyers]

Always learning something new!

[@111Phoenix777]

Beautiful homes.

[@cassandraralph5906]

The staircase was my favorite part of this beautiful house. 😍

[@esleyhamilton4056]

Pronunciation: Wood-lee. I've wondered about this house for years, so thanks for the good work.

[@windronner1]

Thanks for the remarkable expose. I actually live ifurther South in Westchester from this house. Great story.

[@larryhobbs2998]

All your house videoa are so interesting! I love your commentary!

[@kerrydruck9036]

Great article!😊

[@jimwiskus8862]

What a scoundrel he turned out to be. I am amazed that a woman of her means Miss Vanderbilt didn’t have someone assigned to her to help her manage her money. I guess “Instant Karma” got him. Once again it’s difficult to pick anyone room. All magnificent!

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

Surprised her father didn't "manage" the wealth, too. One way would be to include trusted advisors you've dealt with for years. Or maybe she was just a little "slow" or isolated? In law in those days, the male (husband, father) pretty much had all the legal rights. (up until about the early sixties). Once in charge, he may have just dismissed all the help, esp. the financial help.

[@bronwynj5194]

Daddy knew his character 😏

[@jillkoop5682]

So nice one of these beautiful homes was not demolished and was used for an appropriate cause.

[@workoutmom2b1g]

I love the color of this house! I can't imagine having to clean it. lol

[@tamieckert4548]

Adding,.She even gave to charity.Then the property became in use in the present time now.💖💐

[@jadeblatz]

Hi would you ever consider doing a video on the Max Busch House - 160 S San Rafael in Pasadena, it was one of the filming locations for Clue The Movie and several other movies and tv shows over the years and sadly was burned down in 2005. I'd love to learn more about this house thank-you and I love your videos!

[@janavenue650]

love the library

[@alanblanes2876]

Glad it avoided demolition...

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

It reminds me of golf courses in my area: the golf courses went "organic", stopped using a lot of chemicals, and the duck ponds, and swampy areas were saved. If that had been housing or commercial, all that natural habitat would have disappeared. But GOLF COURSES saved it!!! And added cash flow.

[@karlkee]

Did you know that the "Palladian window" in reality is called "Serliana window"? Palladio loved Serlio treatise so much he used it in his architecture and copied by British architects, but no one in Italy call it that. Also Raphaelle was the one to use it first in the Renaissance era.

[@esteban1487]

It's the American Way! 🤣

[@cynthiabotsko2449]

My favorite is always the Library❤️♾️❤️ I plan on having my own one day😁😎🌠

[@AmosAmerica]

This house is basically flawless. Sad situation behind it tho

[@Glenn-F-Rice]

It would have been amazing to help build a home like this.

[@jrgnc1]

A clueless, uninvolved, too trusting woman...that was on her.

[@ropeburnsrussell]

No man is really happy with a son in law.

[@marthawagner6630]

No mother is happy with their daughter in law either.,. facts and experience..

[@cooperwesley1536]

Watching videos on the Vanderbilt's family history is always intriguing in that it typically leads me to think "most of these people weren't very bright, were they?" Unlike other Gilded Age families, the Vanderbilt's vast fortune is mostly gone, is it not? At this point, only Anderson Cooper seems in a position to revive it... 🙂.

[@spurmarks]

Ken, I would doubt there were 65 bedrooms. Maybe 65 rooms in a 70K sq ft home. Buckingham Palace has only 52 bedrooms! 😃

[@georgesofield4596]

Great story!

[@thatweirdoamanda9502]

“Arguably, this is the only thing he had going for him.” 😂😂😂 (true… but still) Yikes. Glad he’s already passed away, otherwise that burn would probably sting.

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

Know a few stories like that! One guy had hidden six million in stock control from his wife (a friend). He dropped dead at age 43 dating a 17 year old. It was either that, or the crack. Everything went to PROBATE and Disclosure after that. HER OWN LADY LAYWER in a top downtown firm knew full well money was hidden. But dead, she and her two kids (on the edge of being turfed from her house and living in her 600. dollar car), got ALL OF IT.

[@04straw]

Stunning staircase!

[@crescentmoonchild4031]

So scamming didn’t really work for these guys did it? Well, Maggie is the only one who did well and she was the one everyone thought was manipulated. Maybe not.

[@sharksport01]

Poor Maggie, I feel so sad for her I could just laugh.

[@bronwynj5194]

But to practically give away the mansion makes her seem as spendthrift as her late husband 🙄

[@tamaramcrae4037]

Sometimes parents are always right lol

[@esteban1487]

I too grew up "adlacent" to high society but was never part of it. lol

[@mitchchabot8042]

Same here :)

[@elijahrivers2431]

😢

[@111Phoenix777]

I wonder how many people Elliott Shephard really fooled? I'd be surprised if his wife was really in the dark about it, and I'm pretty sure not that many others were either. People are so crazy about their ego, they can't admit they're not good at something. Why the pretense? Can you imagine going through your whole life trying to pretend you're something that you're not, and trying to convince other people, including your wife, the same?

[@kenj.8897]

Kind of sounds like Joe Biden and his voters

[@111Phoenix777]

@@kenj.8897 I was thinking Mr. Lebowski from "The Big Lebowski". 😁

[@andrewbrendan1579]

I had the experience some years back of having to be professionally involved with someone who turned out to be a pathological liar. I found out that for him, conning people and lying was just natural and was simply who and what he was and probably still is. This man didn't seem to have any trouble going through life deceiving or trying to deceive people. Maybe he even believed his lies while he was lying. I don't understand it--- or want to understand it.

[@bronwynj5194]

Divorce would have been a black mark on Maggie Vanderbilt

[@bronwynj5194]

@@andrewbrendan1579 Desiderata-'exercise caution in your business affairs because the world is full of trickery'...anon

[@tommywolfe2706]

3:11 Maybe I missed something in the lay out, but the plans shown only indicate that there is a single bathroom on the first floor. Well, half bathroom, its only labeled "toilet". Over 100,000 sq/ft and 3 stories and a single bathroom on the ground floor? Maybe I missed something, if not, that seems a huge oversight.

[@mobrules29]

This video only showed the first floor plan, but there are at least 7 bathrooms on the 2nd floor as per an original plan, and likely many on the 3rd floor. There are a couple of smaller rooms on the first floor that are unlabeled, so perhaps there are more.

[@adrianh.callais7565]

Another masterpiece by McKim Mead and White

[@esteban1487]

Swoon!

[@jasperdilincoln2341]

Beautiful place, but Window Air Conditioners make it look tacky.

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

Let's see: New York, 100 degrees F. with 100% HUMIDITY. These buildings were not constructed with central heating and it's brick and granite: hard to upgrade unless you win the Lotto .

[@tamieckert4548]

So She didn’t asses the mathematics of value,about the estate but she still did well e

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

didn't say how old she was (or she could have had non-linear mental health issues). Had a friends mom own a house clear title on a short waterfront road in West Vancouver. Sold it to a young real estate "friend" who was always just "dropping by". My friend, her daughter, was working six days a week and busy raising her son. you DON'T SELL BELLVUE, she screamed to me. That's like owning real estate on Rodeo Drive. No you don't.

[@whigparty6180]

What a sad and dreary tale. Beautiful house though.

[@Porsche996driver]

Back when women were “not allowed” to manage or even understand finances. Crazy timing too as the old man passed.

[@Heretoslayyy]

It would take a lot of energy just to get up in the morning and leave the house or just general moving around in the house wttfffffff😄😳

[@curiousworld7912]

The library. :)

[@detroitpistons4095]

The only person who can blow your cover mysteriously dies and no one investigates into a multimillionaire dollar 💵💰 will

[@firecracker3911]

So sad.

[@lours6993]

Seems like all of these characters deserved each other. How money and the lust for it corrupts.

[@ronniedelahoussayechauvin6717]

Sounds like CRIMES

[@UncaDave]

For look at what life was like with these people read “Maverick in Mauve”.

[@doctruth9402]

If you got the money honey I've got the time !

[@3602go]

Can you imagine spending $400 million today, why not just live a nice lifestyle with the same amount.

[@JavierGonzalez-he9gy]

65 bedrooms wtf? I don’t think so

[@asylumlover]

AT LEAST IT'S STILL THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ANOTHER NON-DEMOLITION FOR SURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@davidnevett5880]

Reading about him, and what he left, doesn't seem he was that bad..

[@MrMigueldelaO]

where is this???

[@donnabradshaw5200]

My goodness! He sounds just like trump.

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

Sometime, you CAN fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you FOCUS on.

[@zbreel1232]

In Maggie's day & time women had little rights. Their inheritance was controlled by her parents until marriage, then, was controlled by her husband. Such were the times! Even English aristocracy practiced the same bamboozle. A man with title but little money often married into wealth to save himself from poverty. English aristocrat men did not exactly work. They relied on their title & name, but many were heavy gamblers, spenders, & drinkers. Then when the money was gone, they'd look for the high society rich girl to marry & control her inheritance. Maybe Maggie knew what her husband was doing, & ignored for love. Its too sad to think that a woman, even in her time, would not have a clue about her finances. I wonder if these women ever thought, hmm, I wonder if he's only marrying me for my $.

[@Addictedtoyoutube9]

Archibald was the real con woman

[@MagdaleneDivine]

Well the Vanderbilt fortune was made by being robber barons and making their fortunes by underpaying and abusing the people around them. Karma's a bitch. And serves them right

[@Coffeendonuts]

Are fortunes made any other way? Nope

[@solotraveller888]

Right? And now the Vanderbilts have got no more fortune to build mansions, unlike the Astors ( Caroline’s descendants) who are part of English aristocracies and still own a palatial house.

[@philipmark3343]

65 bedrooms? You sure about that?

[@mariakettlehut7399]

Window air conditioners? Must not be very profitable as a country club.

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

All these places were built just before central heating came around. Craigderrich castle in Victoria, BC is like that: the Portland Arch. firm got the thing built just as central heating became a thing. It's very expensive to upgrade properly.

[@MagdaleneDivine]

The Vanderbilts were evil

[@walteranthony6435]

A truly stupid statement.

[@anthonypopola5773]

Ok Comrade…..

[@MagdaleneDivine]

@@anthonypopola5773 no problem capitalist pig

[@MagdaleneDivine]

Gee you think these are the same stupid Anthony's trying to upvote his own comments just to piss on someone else?

[@sharksport01]

They still are.

[@lynne0528]

How many wealthy Vanderbilt families were there?

[@lauramcgowan3740]

Husbands controlled everything ? It was tradition, unless another man would step in ?

[@sharonsparks900]

Trumpian behavior.

[@garyv2196]

None

[@carolyn8271]

Such a con man!

[@maxbear215]

Is the mansion open for tours?

[@seymourwrasse3321]

cool mustache