

"A fascinating picture of a social and financial struggle in New York a hundred years ago . . . a truly fascinating book.”
—Brooke Astor
Set against a backdrop of monumental Fifth Avenue mansions, sprawling country estates, oceangoing yachts, private railroad cars, fleets of Rolls-Royces, and squads of maroon-liveried servants, Fortune's Children is a riveting account of a bygone world of privilege, money, power, and self-indulgence.
This irresistible narrative follows the creation of the first great American industrial fortune by Cornelius Vanderbilt through its dissipation by the family who spent their vast inheritance in a fabled golden era.

William K. Vanderbilt Mansion, 660 Fifth Avenue, New York City—A French Renaissance-style château designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt.

Biltmore, Asheville, NC—A 250-room winter retreat turned family home, built on 146,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Marble House, Newport, RI—Alva Vanderbilt chose a temple of white marble for her summer cottage.

The Breakers, Newport, RI—A seaside palace modeled after the sixteenth-century palace of a Genoese merchant prince.

Florham, Madison, NJ—A grand estate with working farm created as "an earthly paradise" for the owner's children.
CONTENTS
​
The Commodore (1794–1877)
​
The Blatherskite (1877–1883)
​
Alva (1875–1883)
​
Consuelo (1883–1895)
​
Alice of the Breakers (1895–1899)
​
The Court Jesters (1895–1912)
​
Biltmore (1895–1933)
​
The Kingfisher (1899–1931)
​
Reggie (1901–1934)
​
Mrs. Vanderbilt (1934–1955)
​
PRAISE FOR FORTUNE'S CHILDREN
A financial fairy tale so bizarre it dwarfs the antics of modern Midases such as Malcolm Forbes and Donald Trump.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Witty, entertaining ... merits a prize for the writer.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A spellbinding tale of how money really does change everything.
KANSAS CITY SUN
Fortune's Children is a monument to the mesmerizing power of money. . . . The author has been assiduous in combing memoirs, biographies, and private papers and in raiding the social columnists of the period. He has an eye for a memorable quotation.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW