How the Astors Lost the Greatest Fortune America Ever Made

For most of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Astors were not just the richest family in America. They were the family that decided who counted. John Jacob Astor died in 1848 the wealthiest man in the country, a fortune equal to roughly one percent of the entire American economy, built on furs and then on Manhattan real estate. Two generations later, Mrs. Caroline Astor and her "400" ruled Gilded Age society, and an invitation from her was the line between belonging and not belonging in America. So how did that family vanish from the top completely, with no Astor on the rich list today, the Fifth Avenue mansions torn down, and the name surviving mostly on a hotel? In this documentary: how John Jacob Astor built the greatest fortune in America and the rent machine behind it; how his heirs traded empire-building for ballrooms; the feud that split the family across an ocean; the Titanic, the demolished palaces, and the childless heir; and the wealth-protection lesson proven by the one branch of the very same family, the British Astors, who did the opposite and are still worth a fortune today. If you have ever wondered where old American money really goes, this one is for you. Next: the family the Astors let into society, the Vanderbilts, who fell even harder. Subscribe for more forgotten fortunes:    / @fortunesgraveyt   Sources: Forbes and Wall Street Journal archives; probate and court records; period newspapers via the Library of Congress; and the standard biographies of the era. No "experts say." No guessing. Images are public-domain and archival materials (Library of Congress; Wikimedia Commons, non-restricted), used under fair use for commentary, criticism, and education per Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act. 0:00 The family that decided who counted 2:13 A German boy and a fortune in furs 5:28 He wanted Manhattan: the rent machine 7:14 The richest man dies, and the Landlord takes over 10:00 Mrs. Astor and the Four Hundred 13:46 The Vanderbilts crash the gates 16:00 The branch that fled to England 19:33 The Titanic and the great sell-off 22:43 The last steward dies childless 24:19 Why the greatest fortune vanished 27:35 The British Astors who did it right 32:32 The gatekeepers, locked out #documentary #gildedage #astor #oldmoney