How to lose a fortune: The Vanderbilt story

May the Goddess of Fortune shower her blessings on you.

And may you also be blessed abundantly with the sense to save some of the showers for a dry day. I just finished reading Fortune’s Children—a fascinating book about the House of Vanderbilt. At the turn of the century, they were the richest family on Earth. They could buy the two richest families in Europe without borrowing a paisa. Even more fascinating is that the descendants managed to blow the fortune in the next fifty years.

The book gives us an insight into not only the ways and means of the Founder —who made his fortune in shipping and railroad, which were the dominant themes when the American economy was in the build-up phase. The New York Grand Central station stands testimony. The readers also get a sense of the lives of the rich and famous and the social norms of those days. Needless to say, nothing much has changed in the last 100 years and I guess even after 100 years human beings will continue to function similarly across continents based on the stage of economic development. The song will remain the same, the tune and dancers will keep on changing.

The first generation that creates wealth is aggressive and not afraid of doing what it takes to succeed. The Commodore blatantly broke the rules in his quest to become a market-dominant player. Stock prices were manipulated and political patronage was bought. All was par for the course. One has to keep in mind that his actions had to be analysed in light of prevailing economic and political conditions.

The generations that follow, however talented they are, can never get the joy of creating the foundation of the fortune. The angst of Willie, who inherited the estate, is very nicely described in his own words—“first satisfaction and the greatest, that of building the foundation of a fortune, is denied him. He must labor, simply to add to an oversufficiency.”

What they do is to spend the fortune. They get down to building houses as big as monuments, collecting art, horses, yachts or whatever catches their fancy. They are also denied the pleasures of normal life, which the common man enjoys as they are always under the spotlight.

And then they want to be accepted by society’s jet set. There is an entire chapter devoted to the party thrown by Alva, which was covered in great length by all newspapers. The New York Times covered the party in a lead article on the front page—headlined—All Society in Costume. Page 3 was very much alive and kicking a hundred years ago. And the common men and women wanted to know more about the lifestyle of the rich. A crowd of millionaire watchers had gathered on Fifth Avenue to count the guests.

The concentration of wealth and disparity between the haves and have nots was an issue even then as it is now. Those days—wealth was concentrated in smokestacks, oil barrels and metal ingots. Those have given way to server stacks, terra bytes of data and platforms and brands. The concentration of power and wealth in hands of a few remains a debated issue.

What has not changed over the years is the fact that if expenses exceed income then it is just a matter of time before the fortune, however great, is destroyed. In the words of the Commodore—“Any fool can make a fortune, it takes a man of brains to hold on to it after it is made”. The Commodore never let his expenditures rise with his income. Andrew Carnegie spoke of shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.

I have kept the most interesting titbit for the end. Alva Vanderbilt who is more known for her parties on Fifth Avenue and her mansions has one big achievement that will outlive her forever. She put her money and energy behind voting rights for women and because of her, on August 26, 1920, the US Constitution was amended to allow women to vote. It is apt that 100 years later, Kamala Harris, will become the first woman and that too, coloured to become Vice President-Elect.

May fortune favour the brave!