The Gilded Age Children Inherited Millions Way Too Young

Fall asleep to the quiet story of the Gilded Age children who inherited great fortunes before they were old enough to hold them. In August 1912 the New York Times wrote that 20-year-old Vincent Astor, the new head of his family, was still an infant in the eyes of the law; his share of his father's estate came to $68,964,599. In the 1920s a New York court granted $4,000 a month from the income of baby Gloria Vanderbilt's own trust, Marshall Field's 1904 will made his grandson wait until age 50 for the principal, and Buck Duke's will told his executors to sell his 12-year-old daughter's homes at public auction. Every one of those fortunes waited in a guardian's or a trustee's ledger for a single birthday. Subscribe to the channel: @oldsocietynights In this video, we talk about how the law held a fortune for a child, including the Surrogate's Court and the guardian's bond at twice the value, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt's inheritance and the $6 million he offered his brother, the Venture coach on the Brighton road and his sons' trusts, Marshall Field's fifty-year trust, Vincent Astor's seven months as an infant heir, the Woolworth Building and Barbara Hutton as an infant co-owner, her 1930 debut and Winfield House, Huntington Hartford and the A&P one-generation trust, Doris Duke and the auction clause at Rough Point, and Gloria Vanderbilt, her nurse Dodo and the day her guardian's accounts were settled in 1945. 🔔 Subscribe so the next long night of Gilded Age history finds you without any searching. 💬 Comment where you're listening from, and tell me which of these seven children you think carried the heaviest inheritance. 📢 Share this with someone who loves the great old families and their houses, on Facebook, Reddit or in the group chat. Listeners like you are the reason this channel keeps going. Chapters: 00:00 Opening 15:53 A third son at The Breakers 36:00 A grandfather in Chicago 54:39 Seven months an infant 1:14:37 The infant co owner 1:34:23 Next door to Rough Point 1:54:06 A house kept as she left it 2:14:19 The twentieth of February, nineteen forty five Sources: Gregg Puff, The Origin, History and Jurisdiction of the Surrogate's Court in New York (Cornell Law, 1896) https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/c... The Lusitania Resource, Mr. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Mr. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Field v. Field, Illinois Supreme Court (1921) https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion... New York Times via Encyclopedia Titanica, Astor Bequests Have All Been Paid (1914) ASTOR BEQUESTS HAVE ALL BEEN PAID Duke v. Allen, Rhode Island Supreme Court https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion... Newport Restoration Foundation, Rough Point https://www.newportrestoration.org/pr... Bernard Ryan Jr., Gloria Vanderbilt Custody Trial: 1934 (Encyclopedia.com) Gloria Vanderbilt Custody Trial: 1934 | Encyclopedia.com DISCLAIMER: This video is based on real historical events and figures, drawn from the sources listed above alongside primary archives, biographies, court records, period press, and leading historical scholarship. While every video is heavily researched, occasional minor inaccuracies in dates, quotes, or specific details may occur — historical sources sometimes disagree, and interpretation is sometimes required where the historical record is silent. Any errors are unintentional. #OldSocietyNights #GildedAge #HistoryForSleep #SleepStory #BedtimeHistory #OldMoney #Vanderbilt #GloriaVanderbilt #AlfredVanderbilt #VincentAstor #AstorFamily #BarbaraHutton #Woolworth #DorisDuke #RoughPoint #MarshallField #HuntingtonHartford #TheBreakers #Newport #TrustFund #AmericanHistory #History #Documentary