In 1877, Cornelius Vanderbilt died the richest man in America. In 1973, 120 of his descendants gathered for a family reunion — and not one of them was a millionaire.

This is the story of how the greatest fortune in American history disappeared: the ferry boy who built it, the "fool" who doubled it, the ball that humbled Mrs. Astor, the heiress traded to a duke, the palaces that swallowed millions, and the courtroom battle over a ten-year-old girl.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open: the Lusitania, 1915
3:21 Part I · The Ferry Boy
6:21 Part II · The Railroad King
9:03 Part III · The Fool Who Doubled It
12:20 Part IV · The Queen of Society
15:37 Part V · The Duke
18:00 Part VI · A War of Houses
21:46 Part VII · The Math Turns Brutal
22:49 Part VIII · The Poor Little Rich Girl
23:42 Part IX · The Fall
25:25 Part X · The Inheritance

SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Arthur T. Vanderbilt II, "Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt" (1989)
T. J. Stiles, "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt" (2009)
The Lusitania Resource (rmslusitania.info) — Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt
Wikipedia: Vanderbilt family; William Henry Vanderbilt; The Breakers; Marble House; Biltmore Estate
Dollar conversions are approximate (price-level estimates; share-of-economy figures are noted as such).

IMAGE CREDITS
Archival photographs, engravings and paintings: Library of Congress, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library, National Archives, Historic American Buildings Survey and Wikimedia Commons. 175 images are public domain or CC0.
Creative Commons images used:
"Cornelius Vanderbilt 1846" by Nathaniel Jocelyn, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"The Breakers Newport" by UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"The Breakers, exterior" by xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"The Breakers, Newport, RI, balcony" by NateBergin, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"The Breakers viewed from the Cliff Walk" by Pi3.124, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"The Breakers. Newport, RI. Library. 20210723 (50)" by Renata3, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Entrance Gate at The Breakers Mansion, Newport (9820248826)" by Bob from Allentown, Pennsylvania, United Staes of America, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Marble House (Newport) at night" by Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Marble House (Newport) at Dusk" by Rhonda McCloughan (Pr41799), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Marble House, Newport, Rhode Island edit1" by Photograph taken by Daderot, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Marble House Newport RI" by Likeaboss4, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Biltmore Estate, 2012" by Blake Lewis, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina" by 24dupontchevy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Biltmore Tapestries are Old! - Biltmore Estate, Asheville" by vanhookc, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Biltmore Estate (Western Wall)" by Dima Sergiyenko; Please attribute this image as the work of "DiscoverWithDima.", CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Blenheim Palace south view 2016" by DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Blenheim Palace from the Water Terraces October 2016" by DeFacto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
"Blenheim Palace Exterior & Gardens" by Drew de F Fawkes, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

MUSIC
Rachmaninoff – Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2 (public-domain recording, Wikimedia Commons)
Chopin – Nocturnes Op. 48 No. 1 & No. 2, performed by Luke Faulkner (CC0 / public domain)
Grieg – Peer Gynt: Morning Mood, The Death of Åse, In the Hall of the Mountain King (Musopen Symphony, public domain)
Saint-Saëns – Danse macabre, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra (public-domain recording)
Beethoven – Piano Sonata Op. 31 No. 2 'Tempest', I. (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Chopin – Ballade No. 1, performed by Frank Levy (public domain)
Scott Joplin – Elite Syncopations (1902, public domain)
Chopin – Prelude Op. 28 No. 20 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0)
Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake, Waltz (public-domain recording)
Liszt – Funérailles (public-domain recording)
J. Strauss II – The Blue Danube, U.S. Marine Band (public domain, U.S. government work)
Debussy – Clair de lune (1905 piano solo, public domain)
Mendelssohn – Wedding March, European Archive (public domain)
Dvořák – 'Goin' Home', U.S. Air Force Band (public domain, U.S. government work)
Elgar – Nimrod (public-domain recording)