Vanderbilt, George Washington

Extract

Vanderbilt, George Washington (14 November 1862–06 March 1914), agriculturalist and philanthropist, was born at New Dorp, Staten Island, New York, the youngest of the eight children of William Henry Vanderbilt and Maria Louisa Kissam. His father, the son of “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt, inherited most of the Commodore's fortune, including railroads, and became president of the New York Central Railroad. Upon his grandfather's death in 1877, George Washington Vanderbilt received a bequest of $1 million. When George turned twenty-one, his father gave him another million. When his father died in 1885, young Vanderbilt inherited $5 million more and controlled the income from a $5 million trust fund. While his three brothers—...