One of the mansions which struck me was called "The Breakers" (owned by the Vanderbilt Family). According to our tour guide, this mansion was built in 1895 to the tune of USD7M. And if you were to translate the cost of the mansion to today's equivalent, he said, the figure would be around USD350M. That's more than Php16 Billion! Whoa...
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| The Breakers - summer home of the Vanderbilts |
The mansion is called "The Breakers" because the mansion is by the sea, facing the Atlantic Ocean. From the balcony of the mansion, you could see and hear the waves hitting the breakwater.
At that time, I wasn't familiar with the ancestry of the Vanderbilt family so even if the tour guide rattled off all the names of the people who lived there, I was totally clueless. Haha... But what I clearly remember was we went to a room of one of the Vanderbilt children who lived there and the tour guide said that he is Anderson Cooper's grandfather (Cooper is a 6th generation Vanderbilt). At least I recognized one but the funny thing is, I never knew Cooper was a Vanderbilt until that time! Haha....
Anyway, my photo above doesn't really show how big the mansion is but here are photos I got online -
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| Aerial view of The Breakers (Source) |
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| Source |
- The house covers 1 acre out of the 13-acre estate!
- It has 5 floors totaling about 175,000 sqm in floor area.
- It has 27 fireplaces and 70+ rooms - 33 rooms of which are for servants alone. (Our tour guide said, at the time the owners lived there, they had 40 servants. Twenty servants for indoor and twenty servants for outdoor. During the tour, I actually asked more questions about the servants than the owners. I was interested to know more about their lives because I could relate better to them. Haha...)
- It was built by 2,000 laborers, artisans and artists, working during the day and at night, for 3 years.
Other memorable things I saw inside the house -
- There's a separate room in the kitchen that is dedicated for plating the food.
- There's also a special section in the kitchen just for cutting and arranging flowers as the servants needed to supply the rooms with fresh flowers everyday.
- There's a vault in the kitchen - as big as a bank's vault - where silverware is stored.
- There are 2 sets of taps in bath tubs - 1 for freshwater and 1 for saltwater.
- Lights are dual-powered - by electricity and gas because power outages were common at that time.
And the interiors were just, as I said, opulent. Some sections of the mansion have 22 carat gold embossing. Most of the installations, furniture and fixtures in The Breakers were taken from palaces and chateaus in Europe. Check out these photos I got online -
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| Inside The Breakers (Source) |
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| The Hallway (Source) |
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| The State Dining Room (Source) |
The book talks about the rise and fall of the Vanderbilt family starting from its patriarch, Cornelius Vanderbilt (aka The Commodore), up to his great-grandchildren. I'll write more about the core of the book when I have the time, but for this post, I'll zero in on The Breakers. Reading it gave me a richer history of the house and the family who lived in it.
The Breakers is owned by The Commodore's favorite grandson who was named after the Commodore himself - Cornelius Vanderbilt II. Cornelius II is the eldest son of William, the eldest son of the Commodore, which makes him the head of House of the Vanderbilts after his grandfather and father passed away. He was married to Alice Claypool Gwynne.
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| Cornelius II and Alice Vanderbilt (Source) |
Cornelius II and Alice had 7 kids - Alice (who passed away when she was 5), William Henry “Bill” (who died of typhoon fever while a junior at Yale University in 1892), Neily (Cornelius III), Gertrude, Alfred, Reginald and Gladys.
In 1895, the same year when The Breakers was completed, Cornelius and Alice threw a coming-out party for their daughter, Gertrude, on her 21st birthday. It was held in the mansion, attended by 300 pax. Her parents wanted to find a suitable partner for Gertrude and even invited reporters to the event. A feature story on Gertrude came out which read -
Miss Gertrude Vanderbilt, the richest prospective heiress in America, is still a girl in skirts to her shoe tops. Her father’s fabulous wealth is estimated at $150,000,000…. Her portion of the estate will hardly be less than $20,000,000. It must be a pleasant sensation to live in a $7,000,000 house and to have most of the good things of life without even the trouble of wishing for them. This is the goodly heritage of Miss Gertrude Vanderbilt.
If the journalist thought it was a pleasant sensation to live in a USD7M house, it surely wasn't a pleasant sensation to be talked about that way. :(
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| Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney for Vogue (Source) |
Since the book is peppered with excerpts from the diaries of Vanderbilt members, you'll get an idea of their thoughts and feelings. I actually love how raw and honest their journal entries were. Here's one from Gertrude's journals -
"...There were lots of things I could not do simply because I was Miss Vanderbilt. That I should have to go through life being pointed at, having my actions talked about, seemed too hard. That I should be courted and made a friend of simply because I was who I was, was unbearable to me. I longed to be someone else, to be liked only for myself, to live quietly and happily without the burden that goes with riches. Of course time made all this easier to bear, and when I was eighteen I felt as if I could hold my head up under it, and that I would act my part well for God had put me there, just where I was, and if He had not meant me to have strength to go through He would never have put me where I was..."
If the parents worked hard to entice Gertrude to getting married, they exerted all efforts to stop Gertrude’s older brother, Neily (Cornelius III), from marrying Grace Wilson, whom they thought wasn't suitable for their son.
On the morning of the wedding of Neily and Grace, on June 18, 1896, Neily had an attack of acute rheumatism. The doctors sent a certification to the newspapers that he is confined to his bed and cannot safely leave his room. The wedding was postponed since the groom can’t make it.
Cornelius and Neily continued to argue; if Neily marries Grace, Cornelius threatened to disinherit him. Much later that day, when the doctor went to the house to discuss Neily’s rheumatism with Cornelius, the doctor thought that Cornelius himself looked sick. Cornelius suddenly collapsed and suffered a massive stroke. He was completely paralyzed on his right side, unable to speak. (I remember the tour guide mentioning that that patriarch of the family who owns The Breakers got to enjoy the mansion for 1 year only before he suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed).
Anyway, against his dad's wishes and even after his dad's stroke, Neily still married Grace. But not a member of the immediate Vanderbilt family came to the wedding.
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| Neily and Grace Vanderbilt (Source) |
Back at The Breakers, a wedding did take place there that same year - on August 25, 1896 - that of Neily’s younger brother, Alfred. All were invited except for Neily and Grace.
Three years later, on Sept 11, 1899, Cornelius felt better about his health and decided to leave The Breakers for New York with the intention of attending board meetings of their various railroad companies. The next morning in New York, Cornelius suffered a massive heart attack and passed away due to cerebral hemorrhage. He was 55.
When it was time to read Cornelius’ will, the family assembled at the great stone fireplace in the library of The Breakers. The fireplace came from a 16th century chateau in France that cost USD75,000 in 1895 (about USD82.6M in today's money).
The fireplace had an inscription in archaic French which translates to:
Little do I care for riches, and do not miss them, since only wisdom prevails in the end.
(I remember our tour guide pointing to the inscription on the white marble during the tour and she even made a comment on how ironic it was for a last to be read in that spot.)
(I remember our tour guide pointing to the inscription on the white marble during the tour and she even made a comment on how ironic it was for a last to be read in that spot.)
In his last will, Cornelius left The Breakers with Alice, plus 2 other family mansions in New York (one of which is where Bergdorf Goodman now stands in New York).
Gertrude, Alfred, Reginald and Gladys shared a USD20M trust fund (about USD17.6B in today's money), and each of them received USD5M outright (about USD4.4B in today's money).
Neily, for going against his father’s will in marrying Grace, got the least with a trust of USD1 million (about USD880M in today's money), and USD500,000 outright (about USD440M in today's money). It looks small compared to his siblings but hey, that’s still over USD1B in today’s money!
Gertrude, Alfred, Reginald and Gladys shared a USD20M trust fund (about USD17.6B in today's money), and each of them received USD5M outright (about USD4.4B in today's money).
Neily, for going against his father’s will in marrying Grace, got the least with a trust of USD1 million (about USD880M in today's money), and USD500,000 outright (about USD440M in today's money). It looks small compared to his siblings but hey, that’s still over USD1B in today’s money!
(Btw, the will of Cornelius was dated June 18, 1896 - the date of Neily and Grace's wedding and the day the father and son argued. It's heartbreaking that the father-son relationship was strained because they didn't mutually agree on something. Based on the book, the two were never able to patch things up until the death of Cornelius. Sigh...)
Usually in Vanderbilt wills, the eldest son gets the most because the residuary estate goes to him. But in this case, Cornelius gave the residuary estate to Alfred (not to Neily, the eldest son) which was worth over USD42M (about USD37B in today's money). Alfred also inherited the Commodore’s portrait, bust and gold congressional medal which are always passed on to the new head of the House of Vanderbilt, officially making Alfred the new head of the dynasty.
Unfortunately, Alfred died on May 7, 1915, at age 37. He was aboard RMS Lusitania bound for Liverpool when it got torpedoed and sank. He and his valet helped passengers to get into lifeboats. Alfred promised a young mother with a baby that he would look for an extra life vest for her but there wasn’t any life vest available so he offered his own life vest even if he knew he couldn’t swim. Alfred died a hero. :)
Because of Alfred's tragic death, Reggie, the youngest son of Cornelius and Alice, became the new head of the House of Vanderbilt.
Reggie got married in 1912, divorced in 1919, and in 1922, at age 42, met 17-year old Gloria Morgan. Four days after they had met, Reggie asked Gloria to marry him. Reggie disclosed to Gloria that he had already squandered all his fortune totaling USD13Million (about USD3.04B in today's money). He didn't have any big house, yacht, art collection ... nothing.
Here’s what Reggie told Gloria:
“Most of the inheritance left to me outright by my father has long since gone. I now derive my income from a five-million-dollar trust, which, after my death, must go to Cathleen and any other children I might have. And there may well not be other children. The chances are you would be a Mrs. Vanderbilt with no money. Do you understand exactly what I am saying to you?”
“As my wife, you will have a big name but little money to live up to it. I’ve spent every cent of my personal fortune…. As long as I live, you will be taken care of, but I am an ill man. Should I die, the $5,000,000 trust fund goes to my daughter by my former wife, Cathleen. Your only chance of financial security in the future would be to have a child who would then share the trust fund with Cathleen. Your chance of having a child by me is one of those 100 to 1 shots, for my doctor doubts that I can become a father again.”
But Gloria still married Reginald. And in 1924, Gloria gave birth to their daughter whom they named Gloria or who was known as "Little Gloria" when she was a child. Little Gloria happens to be Anderson Cooper’s mom. Still alive today at age 91. :)
I did further reading online on what happened to The Breakers and apparently, when Alice, the matriarch passed away in 1934, she passed on The Breakers to Gladys Vanderbilt Szaparys, her youngest daughter. In 1948, Gladys leased The Breakers to The Preservation Society of Newport County for USD1/year but continued to maintain an apartment in the 3rd floor of The Breakers until her death in 1965.
Anyway, if you're visiting New Jersey and you have a day to spare, make sure to include Rhode Island in your itinerary. Some mansions are open on certain days only so make sure to check the schedule of the mansions you want to visit. Here's the official website - http://www.newportmansions.org/
(P.S. In computing the equivalent USD figures of the Vanderbilt's wealth in today's money, I used the calculator at measuringworth.com.)
Usually in Vanderbilt wills, the eldest son gets the most because the residuary estate goes to him. But in this case, Cornelius gave the residuary estate to Alfred (not to Neily, the eldest son) which was worth over USD42M (about USD37B in today's money). Alfred also inherited the Commodore’s portrait, bust and gold congressional medal which are always passed on to the new head of the House of Vanderbilt, officially making Alfred the new head of the dynasty.
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| Alfred Vanderbilt (Source) |
Unfortunately, Alfred died on May 7, 1915, at age 37. He was aboard RMS Lusitania bound for Liverpool when it got torpedoed and sank. He and his valet helped passengers to get into lifeboats. Alfred promised a young mother with a baby that he would look for an extra life vest for her but there wasn’t any life vest available so he offered his own life vest even if he knew he couldn’t swim. Alfred died a hero. :)
Because of Alfred's tragic death, Reggie, the youngest son of Cornelius and Alice, became the new head of the House of Vanderbilt.
Reggie got married in 1912, divorced in 1919, and in 1922, at age 42, met 17-year old Gloria Morgan. Four days after they had met, Reggie asked Gloria to marry him. Reggie disclosed to Gloria that he had already squandered all his fortune totaling USD13Million (about USD3.04B in today's money). He didn't have any big house, yacht, art collection ... nothing.
Here’s what Reggie told Gloria:
“Most of the inheritance left to me outright by my father has long since gone. I now derive my income from a five-million-dollar trust, which, after my death, must go to Cathleen and any other children I might have. And there may well not be other children. The chances are you would be a Mrs. Vanderbilt with no money. Do you understand exactly what I am saying to you?”
“As my wife, you will have a big name but little money to live up to it. I’ve spent every cent of my personal fortune…. As long as I live, you will be taken care of, but I am an ill man. Should I die, the $5,000,000 trust fund goes to my daughter by my former wife, Cathleen. Your only chance of financial security in the future would be to have a child who would then share the trust fund with Cathleen. Your chance of having a child by me is one of those 100 to 1 shots, for my doctor doubts that I can become a father again.”
But Gloria still married Reginald. And in 1924, Gloria gave birth to their daughter whom they named Gloria or who was known as "Little Gloria" when she was a child. Little Gloria happens to be Anderson Cooper’s mom. Still alive today at age 91. :)
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| Gloria and Reggie Vanderbilt with Little Gloria (Source) |
I did further reading online on what happened to The Breakers and apparently, when Alice, the matriarch passed away in 1934, she passed on The Breakers to Gladys Vanderbilt Szaparys, her youngest daughter. In 1948, Gladys leased The Breakers to The Preservation Society of Newport County for USD1/year but continued to maintain an apartment in the 3rd floor of The Breakers until her death in 1965.
In 1972, The Preservation Society of Newport County purchased The Breakers for USD365,000 (about USD4.94M in today's money) from Glady's heirs, but two of Gladys' children, Gladys (named after after her) and Paul, still maintains an apartment at the 3rd floor of The Breakers. I do recall our tour guide mentioning that the tour only covers the first 2 floors because some of the great-grandchildren still use a section in the upper floors during the summer.
The latest news I could dig up about The Breakers is dated June 2015 from New York Post. It talks about a feud between the The Preservation Society and the Vanderbilt heirs over The Preservation Society's plan to build a visitor center within the The Breakers grounds which the Vanderbilts and preservationists are strongly against.
I like how one of Cornelius and Alice's great-grandchildren, Paul, who still lives at The Breakers, said in the New York Post article -
"The Breakers was a house. It's not just a mansion, a museum. Children played there. People got sick there. All the things that families undergo happened there. We think that people who visit there are interested in that aspect."
I do hope the feud gets peacefully settled. :)
After finishing the book, I am now interested to know more about (Little) Gloria Vanderbilt's life story (Anderson's mom). It's one interesting story on its own - when she was a child, she was fought over. Her custody trial was one of the most sensationalized in the US. But more than the litigation, I am more interested to know how she was able recover from the trauma of her difficult childhood, successfully carve a name for herself as an artist, fashion designer and author, and gracefully dealt with his son's suicide (Anderson's older brother).
I saw in Amazon that Gloria and Anderson will launch a book next year (to be released on May 3, 2016) entitled "The Rainbow Comes and Goes: And Other Life Lessons I Learned from My Mom". I already pre-ordered. :)
I saw in Amazon that Gloria and Anderson will launch a book next year (to be released on May 3, 2016) entitled "The Rainbow Comes and Goes: And Other Life Lessons I Learned from My Mom". I already pre-ordered. :)
Anyway, if you're visiting New Jersey and you have a day to spare, make sure to include Rhode Island in your itinerary. Some mansions are open on certain days only so make sure to check the schedule of the mansions you want to visit. Here's the official website - http://www.newportmansions.org/
(P.S. In computing the equivalent USD figures of the Vanderbilt's wealth in today's money, I used the calculator at measuringworth.com.)
