The VANDERBILTS

The dead thread;

"Poor Little Gloria Vanderbilt Is Dead... WHO GETS THE MONEY?"

PR Shill Thread… no one here is buying Ms. Pooper’s book.

Ghost written

[quote]PR Shill Thread… no one here is buying Ms. Pooper’s book.

Nope. And, that might be true regarding people buying the book, R2.

I think that the Vanderbilts made fascinating history. Especially regarding the impact that they had upon architecture.

Parvenue upstarts.

R5 parvenu is an upstart, redundant much?

Gurl, this is fascinating. I'll def. be shelling out coin for this masterpiece!!!!

[quote] Written with a unique insider’s viewpoint, this is a rollicking, quintessentially American history as remarkable as the family it so vividly captures.

I don't know why people who are good at writing marketing copy are so poor at understanding when an audience doesn't want to read it. This is a straight-up sales pitch.

And it's not "by Anderson Cooper." Give the ghost writer who did the work the credit. Even Cooper gave her credit on Instagram.

It's really kind of funny. In this video, he focuses on the cover, the book jacket, the spine, interior photos. Entirely superficial, surface aspects of a book about his own family. No wonder he and Andy Cohen are peas in a pod.

I understand Anderson not wanting to capitalize on his family's name before now. But--ironically--this project seems like a money grab. I also thought his last book with his mum was a money grab, so what do I know. You do you, Anderson.

I loved Little Gloria, Happy at Last

Interviewed by the genial, endowed Mo Rocca

R11 did AC bottom for Mo?

R12 I doubt it, Mo may be a slightly swarthy Italian but Anderson loves his brown and black top boys.

[quote]But--ironically--this project seems like a money grab.

I actually don't think so, IMHO. My sense is that he is just as flummoxed by how a family (I believe the wealthiest in the world... at least the United States) could go from that to literally nothing. Of course, the answer is spending. But, one would think that someone would have said; "Hold on folks! There will be nothing left if you keep this up!"

I would think that on some level that it might be an embarrassment to have the Vanderbilt surname now given all of that wealth and now there is nothing. Imagine having to buy tickets to see your ancestors former residences?

He's STILL milking the Vanderbilt name?

What a shame he no longer has his mother to trot out for us.

My advice to Anderson: work on getting viewers to your show. No one is watching it.

[quote][R12] I doubt it, Mo may be a slightly swarthy Italian but Anderson loves his brown and black top boys.

OHHHHHH, yes honey! He SURE does! That's why I was sooooo surprised by the Ben episode.

[quote]I doubt it, Mo may be a slightly swarthy Italian but Anderson loves his brown and black top boys.

His long time BF is Italian American.

Isn't he bitter that he didn't get the huge inheritance he wanted? That would make sense of lazily exploiting the family legacy for personal profit, going as far (for a journalist) as hiring a ghost writer as if it were a book 'by' a Bravo housewife.

[quote]Isn't he bitter that he didn't get the huge inheritance he wanted?

I don't think so. He knew that Gloria's money was LONG gone. Even the money that she made on her own. If you listen to the interview he was the one that was basically controlling the finances. Anderson has made his own money. But, he hails from a family that has a rich and lasting history.

[quote]Isn't he bitter that he didn't get the huge inheritance he wanted?

How do we know he didn't?

Off-shore accounts and all kinds of investments. The rich know how to protect their fortunes.

Trouble in paradise? Why didn’t he publish with Andy Cohen Books?

[quote]How do we know he didn't?

He did get it. Gloria left him everything she had which was just a little more than $1MM. There was no money. All he has (which is historically valuable) are news clippings and artifacts.

Hmmm R20 he did go to Monaco for 60 Minutes and pal around with the king, showing off all the unattainable luxuries beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. He was most likely doing personal business there, too.

Cooper has rarely "milked the Vanderbilt name". He's got to be the most famous living Vanderbilt and he knows how to tell stories, why not team produce this book, or miniseries, or documentary, whatever permutations it can take. People are fascinated so he's a natural guide. I will say that I doubt he takes a political economy (social justice) perspective when discussing Robber Baron capitalism and income disparity. And today is the right moment to do that. This is a new guided age and people should understand that historically and maybe wake up and put some limits on it. Internationally. It's horrifying. The rich getting richer.

"gilded"

I have a special kind of blackhearted resentment reserved for filthy rich trust fund babies who consider themselves self-made.

The Vanderbilt fortune was dwindling by the third generation after Cornelius Vanderbilt, who had built the fortune. The fortune was built by the railways. Cornelius wanted the family wealth to pass in bulk to one relative, but it was split, then split again in the next generation, and so on. The later generations did not build their inherited fortunes at all but spent it. Some of the money went toward maintaining lavish lifestyles and huge properties, some of it went to charity and educational institutions, including Vanderbilt University.

William Kissam Vanderbilt, who I think was Cornelius's grandson, was quoted as saying, "Inherited wealth is a real handicap to happiness . . . It has left me with nothing to hope for, with nothing definite to seek or strive for." By Gloria's time, the family fortune had significantly dwindled. She still inherited $4.3 million in the 1950s, which would be the equivalent of just under $49 million today.

I'm still a bit confused about Gloria's money. I've seen estimates that her fortune was worth $200 million but she wasn't leaving Anderson Cooper much, to he got most of it.

[quote]Cooper has rarely "milked the Vanderbilt name".

I agree. Besides, what is there to "milk"? I believe that he helped keep the Vanderbilt mysticism alive because of his mother. She bore the surname Vanderbilt and its history along with her own history. Why make a tragic story even more of a tragedy by allowing it to be known that Gloria died penniless?

This business that Gloria didn't "leave him anything".

Who knows what was transferred to him while she was still living.

And how could anyone know how much money she really had. She sold her brand for multiple millions 20 years ago.

I just don't believe the money was not put into solid investments.

The "I didn't receive anything" story is great PR...but none of us know the truth.

[quote]I'm still a bit confused about Gloria's money. I've seen estimates that her fortune was worth $200 million

Maybe in Gloria's mind. Her $5MM inheritance was long gone. She was swindled out of the money that she had made from her business and would never see again. But, she was a Vanderbilt and raised as a Vanderbilt of yore when you never asked about, talked about, or concerned yourself about money, because it was always there. Those habits die hard--if ever. From the interview, Cooper speaks about teaching his mother about savings accounts, etc.

Jake Tapper interviewed Anderson on Friday.

You could tell Tapper was a little jealous of him. Anderson acted like everyone was born millionaires!

All I know about her is that her name was on jeans, and she appeared on his ill-fated talk show a lot and showed off her art and talked in gruesome detail about her son's suicide, and she seemed intellectually limited. Something just seemed a little off. Maybe she wasn't educated well as an heiress or something because others did everything for her like the queen of England or something?

New details about the estate of Gloria Vanderbilt, who died recently of stomach cancer, reveal how the heiress decided to divvy up her remaining assets among her sons. Vanderbilt’s estate planning is a reminder of the issues that many families must face and the importance of getting affairs in order when faced with a difficult diagnosis.

News reports reveal that $1.5 million was left to Vanderbilt’s youngest son, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, and her oldest son Leopold “Stan” Stokowski, was given his late mother’s New York City co-op. Vanderbilt did not leave anything to her estranged middle son, Chris Stokowski.

The figure “$1.5 million” comes as a surprise to those who previously estimated that Vanderbilt’s fortune was well over 200 times that amount. But it seems to come as less of a surprise to Cooper himself, who told Howard Stern in 2014, “I don’t believe in inheriting money… I think it’s an initiative sucker. I think it’s a curse. Who’s inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in their life? From the time I was growing up, if I felt like there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know if I would have been so motivated.”

Published Jul 8, 2019

SurvivorNet Staff

He's scrapbooking, and why not when the scraps are that fabulous. He's getting older, his mom died a few years ago, he's raising a son. Why shouldn't he look back at his fascinating lineage? He has a far more interesting history than any of you jelly old bitches.

Anderson claims he partly wrote this book so Wyatt will someday be able to read about his family.

But, has it ever been confirmed that Wyatt was conceived using Anderson's sperm, making him a true Cooper/Vanderbilt?

[quote] I don’t believe in inheriting money… I think it’s an initiative sucker. I think it’s a curse. Who’s inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in their life? From the time I was growing up, if I felt like there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know if I would have been so motivated. Instead, I have toiled and labored like any red-blooded working-class American. My God, I've talked in front of CNN cameras for millions. I've talked in front of syndicated talk show cameras for millions. I even talked in front of the camera on The Mole for millions! I am proud of the work I put in. Labor Day was practically made for me.

Is it true that Andy and Anderson ejaculated into the same cup and stirred up their juices so that they'd share parentage of one another's kids?

[quote]But, has it ever been confirmed that Wyatt was conceived using Anderson's sperm, making him a true Cooper/Vanderbilt?

Why even question that? Anderson has more than enough money to make it happen whether it be legally or illegally.

He has his father's eyes.

Anderson's ½ Mississippian -- guess he'll come to terms with that heritage next.

[quote]From the time I was growing up, if I felt like there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know if I would have been so motivated. Instead, I have toiled and labored like any red-blooded working-class American.

But, here's the difference, IMHO; He has the luxury of exposure. Whether there was money or not, he had a mother who knew the right schools. Who knew the places to travel. Who knew how to intermingle with high society. All of that and plus is valuable knowledge. How many of us can say that we spent the night at the Breakers--even if his family no longer owns it?

R42 How dare you! He was admitted to Yale on MERIT ALONE, and hired for television shows ONLY because of his outstanding television hosting skills that he developed through years of hard work and definitely not because of any familial connections.

What about the slaves and Trans Womyn of Color that the Vanderbilts owned?

Teeeheeee, heeee heeeeee teeeeheeeee

R44 PBS redeemed him. His evil ancestor was vanquished by a slave.

The Vanderbilt family in one sentence: My house is bigger than your house.

Anderson in a sentence: Tee hee!

OH! I'm not saying that the "Vanderbilt" name didn't have cache that opened doors for him, R43. All that I'm saying is that even without money he had the luxury of exposure. Many of us do regardless of socio-economic backgrounds. If you have (had) a parent that was a... chef, let's say, you could learn about food, cooking, running a kitchen, how to plan a meal, etc. Anderson, had to the exposure and education of what it is like to be filthy rich.

I'd rather have Anderson on our side than this rotted crotch fruit.

[quote]The Vanderbilt family in one sentence: My house is bigger than your house.

And, the winner is....

GEORGE VANDERBILT!

Worth watching!

The winner is Consuelo Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, whose dowery saved Blenheim palace from ruin. So she was the Vanderbilt with the biggest house, until the divorce!

^ But, of course...

"He has his father's eyes."

And translucent skin!

Blenheim never belonged to Consuelo, which is why she gladly left it behind when she divorced him and married Jacques Balsan in 1921.

George is still undisputed champ of the Vanderbilt "My House is Bigger than Your House" competition.

Anderson Cooper makes $11 million a year and although his mother may not have left him much she gave him a name and legacy that obviously opened doors for him his whole life. Anderson will be just fine

I wonder how many more ghostwritten family scrapbooks attributed to Anderson will become NYT bestsellers.

I wonder how many times a week he reminds Andy Cohen that his ancestors didn't pass through Ellis Island.

I wonder how many times a week Andy Cohen delivers him baggies of cocaine and begs to suck his dick.

^ They're sisters, they don't engage

Why would you think Anderson is a coke whore?

Andy Cohen is the brother Anderson Cooper never had who didn't jump out of a window

And if Anderson wants party drugs, his ex-partnr and current BFF and coparent of his child, handsome huge cocked Ben, who owned bars, thus has a million connections, can get them drugs.

Rich people never have problems getting drugs

[quote]who didn't jump out of a window

It was a BALCONY!

For the life of me, I cannot understand why a mother and her surviving son would sit in front of cameras for a national television show that profits one of them to discuss all these details of their son's/brother's suicide. It just doesn't compute to me. It seems really disturbed.

I am a little surprised a major movie chronicling the Vanderbilts was never made, yes I do know that a movie was made about Gloria and lots of documentaries were made, but no major movie something like The Great Gatsby or even a TV mini series when there was such a thing. It is spicy enough.

The reason one has not been made is that them being the richest was the only great achievement. They were not plagued by scandal or celebrated for great careers and accomplishments. After the Commodore's son doubled the fortune almost overnight, then croaked, the heirs lived lives of pleasure and deep consumption and superficiality.

A few questions that I have about the family;

-How much did Richard Morris Hunt personally make off of the Vanderbilts?

-Why did the family choose Staten Island (of all places) for the family Mausoleum? I believe that Gloria is buried there.

-What benefits does the Vanderbilt name have for today's living descendants?

The Commodore was from Staten Island.

I think that the only other Vanderbilt that might have a good salacious story is Alva Vanderbilt. She has great stories. They wouldn't sell her an opera box and so she built the Metropolitan Opera House. She sold her daughter into marriage. She wanted the largest yacht built and had it down. Her houses. Her work with the women's movement.

Alva Vanderbilt should have been the name of Katharine Hepburn's character in Suddenly, Last Summer.

Kathy Bates (in her prime) would have been an excellent casting choice to portray Alva.

If you want to see tours of many of the Vanderbilt/Newport mansios, search out and old 1990s A&E television program called "America's Castles"

R68 Gloria believed her son jumped due to side effects of the anti-allergy medication Proventil he was taking. He had just awoke from a nap and he was acting confused and delusional like he was still in a dream or high. I believe it because my cousin was on the same medication around that time and he was acting bizarre when he was on it and according to my aunt he would wake up very confused like he didn't know where he was and calling out for his dead sister. That all stopped when he stopped taking Proventil.

Lol imagine being this kid in school and having a friend over.

"Uh yeah, so this is my dad. DAD, THIS IS MY FRIEND. FRIEND, NOT BLEND, FRIEND. So uhh, he was famous back in the day and- *sniff* ugh, nurse, Dad needs a fresh diaper"

Meant to quote R40

This saddens me. And, I know it's me. But, I feel the family's descendants should have some type of access to these properties that were built by their ancestors. Alas... I guess you just have to look at it as a sale of a house. Once the closing happens that's it.

Although, Biltmore is still owned by the family.

Fun fact: George Vanderbilt was Gloria Vanderbilt's great uncle, making Anderson Cooper his great, great nephew.

Thank The Commodore if you've been on the Staten Island Ferry. He also built a railroad, today's SIR (Staten Island Railway ) running 14 miles from St. George ferry terminal to Tottenville. The Vanderbilts have a private area of Moravian Cemetery, where a large mausoleum was built in 1885. Gloria is the most-recent addition.

Oh! So, the gay gene goes all the way to the Commodore. His second son was... well...

I suppose this is another scene for "The Vanderbilts--The Movie"

Well, that's a good story. It was before all the ostentatious wealth display and social climbing so not sure it would attract producer's interest for a movie.

What is interesting to me now is that apparently the Commodore loved to fuck. He had 13 children. Of the 13 only 3 were boys. He left 95% of his estate to the eldest son. The girls only received a few $100K here and there. That sucks! Imagine if you're a descendent of one his girls?

That's 2.5 million per daughter in today's dollars. Those kids did not grow up in immense luxury and social status. It was his grandchildren who lived all that.

If I had a 2.5 million dollar inheritance today, but my brother got 2 billion, I would be pissed but still I would never be poor.

Fun fact: Gertrude may have been trans…or non binary.

Anderson has two half-brothers from Gloria's marriage to Stokowski, which he seems to have forgotten.

Gertrude's art studio survives.

And its completely ridiculous for that wiki entry to claim this about Gertrude:

"Elements of Gertrude's early life hinted at lesbian or perhaps what would now be termed non-binary or trans identity"

Oh no, Gertrude was not TRANS. She was not non-binary! Its very simple. Like Eleanor Roosevelt, Gertrude was bi, and quite less bi than Eleanor. There isn't any record of adult Gertrude having female lovers.

People like to try different things, R92. Gloria herself admitted to have a lesbian fling. She also liked chocolate too! She and Gordon Parks had a long-term affair.

Is there a hidden little mixed race Vanderbilt baby out there somewhere?

Oh! I know my other question;

I wonder (given the interest in her life) did Gloria ever sit down and watch the many documentaries and movies about her life? Ya know... when no one is watching and no one would know, did she sit and watch "Little Gloria, Happy at Last" and made mental notes about what "they" got right and what was wrong. She definitely kept a history of her life.

I always wondered that about Jackie Kennedy-Onassis too. She was another one who believed in keeping everything (as much as possible) for the sake of history.