Inside the Estates of the Vanderbilts

This is the Vanderbilt "Breakers" house bought by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1885. As you can see it has been kept in pristine condition.

This house is one of the most famous Vanderbilt houses in the Newport area.

This house is called The Elms. It was originally a summer house for the Vanderbilts. It is located in New Port, Rhode Island.

This is the Marble House built by William K. Vanderbilt. You can see the lavish spending styles of the Vanderbilt family.

The most famous Vanderbilt estate, obviously the Biltmore Estates, now owned my the government, and open for public viewing.

The Infamous Vanderbilts

The Vanderbilts are one of the most well-known families around the world. Their history has deep roots in American history. They also are ranked the 6th most wealthy families in United States history. So what makes them so famous, and intriguing? I looked into this mysterious family to find some answers. In this blog I will give you all of the blood related Vanderbilts. In future blogs I will uncover some of the mysteries of this family.

• William Henry Vanderbilt (1821–1885)
• George Washington Vanderbilt (1839–1864)
• Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843–1877)
• William Kissam Vanderbilt (1849–1920)
• Florence Vanderbilt (1854–1952)
• Frederick William Vanderbilt (1856–1938)
• George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862–1914)
• William Henry Vanderbilt II (1870–1892)
• Cornelius Vanderbilt III (1873–1942)
• Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942)
• Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt (1877–1915)
• Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877–1964)
• William Kissam ("Willie K") Vanderbilt II (1878–1944)
• Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt (1880–1925)
• Countess Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi (1886–1965)
• Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884–1970)
• John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough (1897–1972)
• Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898–1956)
• Nancy Vanderbilt Abood
• Molly K Vanderbilt(1960-)
• Ronald A Vanderbilt(1962-)
• Cornelius Vanderbilt IV (1898–1974)
• William Henry Vanderbilt III (1901–1981)
• Frederick Vanderbilt Field (1905–2000)
• Amy Vanderbilt (1908–1974)
• Alfred G. Vanderbilt II (1912–1999)
• George Washington Vanderbilt III (1914–1961)
• Gloria Vanderbilt (1924–)
• George Henry Vanderbilt Cecil (1925–)
• William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil (1928–)
• Alfred Vanderbilt (1943–)
• Robert Thomas Vanderbilt (1948–)
• Michael D Vanderbilt (1950-)
• Thomas A Vanderbilt (1954-)
• Karenn Wahl (1956-)
• Baron Andrew de Rothschild (1957-)
• Victoria Emerson Vanderbilt (1959–)
• Cynthia Ann Elizabeth Smith-Vanderbilt (1964-)
• Carter Cooper (1965–1988)
• Anderson Cooper (1967–)
• Thomas Percy Cornelius Vanderbilt (1971–)
• Josiah Hornblower (1975) [2]
• Michael D Vanderbilt II (1976-)
• Nikolas Vanderbilt (1976-)
• Jillian Leigh Vanderbilt-Humphrey (1981-)
• Caitlin Ginn Weiss (1983–)
• Aurora Stokowski (1983–)
• Sasha Virginia Weiss (1985–)
• Lorenzo Vanderbilt-Gould (1986-)
• Abra Stokowski (1986–)
• Ryan J Vanderbilt(1986-)
• Sebastian Vanderbilt Eide (1987-)
• Markus Taylor Rivas-Vanderbilt (1987-)
• Matthew Robert Calin Vanderbilt (1987-)
• James Cole Francis Vanderbilt-Humphrey (1988-)
• Madam Webbigail Vanderbilt (1988-)
• John Vanderbilt (1988-)
• Parker Whitney (1989-)

Madeliene Catherine Vanderbilt (1990-)

• Jordan Albert Vanderbilt (1990-)
• Rosaline Vanderbilt (1992-)
• Lillian Vanderbilt (1994–)
• David Colby (1994-)
• Curtis Vanderbilt (-1991)
• Devon Pickering (1991-)
• Andrew Colby (1997-)
• Peter Cecil Vanderbilt Sinnott (1991-)
• Cory D Vanderbilt(1994-)
• Myles Stokowski (1998-)
• Grant Carlton Vanderbilt (2007-)

The Duke Family

The Duke Family is another very wealthy American family, listing on the top 60 most wealthy families in United States history. But this family is far from perfect. The earliest traceable ancestor is Washington Duke, whom the university in North Carolina is named after. (There is a statue of him on the East campus.) He was married twice in only sixteen years and had two sons: Benjamin Newton Duke; and James Buchanan Duke. While James proved to be a worthy son by continuing his father's legacy as a philanthropist in the tobacco industry; Benjamin seemed to sit back and let his brother take control of their industry. While his name was on the American Tobacco Company, his brother clearly was the ambitious one in the family. They created a monopoly over the cigarette industry. In 1924, James established the Duke endowment, a $40 million trust fund. When James died he left $100 billion dollars to his twelve year old daughter Doris. This obviously was a ridiculous decision on James' part. Doris wasted thousands of dollars on lavish vacations around the world. She wrote for the magazine "Harper's Bizarre." In 1966 Doris was responsible for crushing a man with her car, and killing him. She wasted money on well over eight lavish homes. Doris was rumored to have multiple relationships, and was married twice. At the age of seventy-nine Doris decided to have a face-lift. (not that it could really do much at that age) She died a year later of a heart attack. While alive, Doris gave birth to one child, Arden Cromwell, who died soon after birth. Doris believed that Chandi Heffner was the reincarnated version of her son, so she adopted the young lady. The women had many disagreements which led to Doris deciding that she wished that Chandi did not receive a dime of her families money.   The above picture is Doris with Chandi.

Troubles in the McKinley Family

The McKinley family seemed unstoppable and seemed like the perfect family on the outside, but why were they so concerned with staying out of the media? I found some disturbing evidence of legal abuse that has been a prominent factor of the families success in the economic world. First I found that the family has had well over 50 traffic tickets combined. None of these were paid, or brought to court. The only explanation of these misdemeanors was the family name served for itself. Did Paris Hilton get excused from the law when having a D.U.I? What about Michael Vick when he used dog-fighting for enjoyment? How can the law be below this family? I believe this shows the corruption in our present day society. Did the McKinley's offer money to the state to get a "free ride?" We can not stand for such injustices. Just recently, Cathrine McKinley was caught buying 200 liters of vodka from Legacy Imports. Her case was dismissed. Maybe a cause for these acts of rebellion come from the neglect from the parents many years ago. More to come in future blogs.

The McKinley Family part 2

   After Kyle and Heather had their son Jason, they moved to Kentucky and bought a fifty acre ranch. A few years later they had their daughter, Cathrine. As Kyle was building up his business, Heather continued traveling for modeling, leaving their children to the care of a nanny. This was an early sign of neglect in the McKinley kids' lives. After making his business world known, Kyle decided to move his family to Nashville, Tennessee. He bought a floor in a scraper in downtown Nashville and sought out to build his "empire" if you will. Jason soon realized that he too would become a part of this empire, so he started working with his father, learning how to manage the family business. Jason realized his business talent when his first major business success came with buying a large piece of Jaguar car company. The details of this purchase remain disclosed but it is clear that over the last year alone Jason McKinley has bought approximately 12 different business corporations and has sold over 20. Jason will be only a senior in high school this year and has already made enough money to last his family a generation. More to come in future blogs.

The McKinley Family

The McKinley family is making quite a mark on American society, but why are they so secretive? The family is extremely wealthy, making well over 2 billion every year, but have made tremendous efforts to stay out of the media. Why? I looked into this family, doing research to find out what secrets they have. What I have uncovered is extraordinary.
There are five members in the McKinley family. The head of the McKinley Corporations and household: Kyle Alexander McKinley; married to Heather Elizabeth McKinley; first son Jason Kyle Edward McKinley, 18 years old; Cathrine Adelyn Elizabeth McKinley, 15 years old; and Zala Hope McKinley, 2 years old. Kyle and his son Jason run their company in Nashville, Tennessee as well as in Los Angeles, California. The family is currently living in Nashville, but have well over 8 houses globally. While it is unclear how Kyle managed to start his own company and gain as much success as he has, the numbers do not lie. The family is one of the most independently richest families in United States history. From the information I have gathered, Kyle grew up in a very poor household in a small town outside of London, England. His parents did not have college educations and did not ever hold steady jobs. He moved to the United States when he was eighteen and attended Harvard University to study law and business. After receiving his masters in business he started his first business selling coffee to big corporations on the east coast. After three successful years of distributing coffee, he moved to New York City and started building up his business to buy out small coffee companies in the area. His business kept growing and it was while he was in New York that he met his wife Heather. Heather was a model for elite model and was traveling the world for work. They met and got married in the Hamptons. Soon after they had their first son Jason. Kyle's company grew more and more and soon he reached millions in income. Some speculate that not all of his business was legal, but there is no substantial proof to these allegations. More to come in future blogs about the mysterious McKinley family. (Above is the new house Kyle bought for his parents in London)