Why The Vanderbilt Family Got Evicted From Their Own Mansion

Рет қаралды 131,621

Күн бұрын

Recently, an ironic twist of fate saw the Vanderbilts quite literally evicted from one of their most magnificent creations.
Their ancestral abode - “The Breakers”, an estate grand enough to mirror the family’s colossal repute - fell to the hands of a local preservation society.
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Why New York’s Largest Mansion EVER Was Demolished (Cornelius Vanderbilt II House): • Why New York’s Largest...
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
1:08 Chapter 1: From Rags To Riches To Rags
4:16 Chapter 2: The Birth of Preservation Societies
7:04 Chapter 3: The Vanderbilt Family's Crossroads
8:51 Chapter 4: The Eviction of The Final Vanderbilts
12:15 Chapter 5: A New Chapter for The Breakers Mansion
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In this episode of Old Money Mansions, we delve into the compelling story of the Vanderbilt family, whose rise and fall epitomize the American dream and its potential pitfalls. Their story, intertwined with the nation's economic and architectural history, particularly during The Gilded Age, is a rich narrative of opulence, legacy, and eventual downfall.
We begin with Cornelius Vanderbilt, the patriarch who built a transportation empire, shifting from steamships to railroads, amassing a fortune that redefined American wealth. His influence extended beyond commerce to architecture, with the Biltmore Estate and The Breakers Mansion being prime examples of the family's lavish tastes.
The Breakers, a symbol of Vanderbilt grandeur in Newport, Rhode Island, represents more than just architectural magnificence; it encapsulates the family's rise to prominence. However, as the twentieth century dawned, the Vanderbilt wealth began to wane, and the family's hold on their empire weakened.
This episode also explores the birth of architectural preservation societies in the U.S., particularly The Preservation Society of Newport County, which played a pivotal role in the fate of The Breakers. Initially partnering with the Vanderbilts to maintain the mansion, this relationship eventually soured, leading to a historic eviction of the family from their ancestral home in 2018.
The final segment of our episode examines the transformation of The Breakers into a public museum, marking a new chapter in its history. This transformation, while preserving the mansion's legacy, has also led to legal disputes and public debate, reflecting the complexities of preserving history in the modern world.

Пікірлер: 215

@oldmoneymansions 6 ай бұрын

COMMENT: Have you ever been to The Breakers Mansion - or have visiting it on your “bucket list”?

@jaynegiampietro4134 6 ай бұрын

I have visited the Breakers mansion. It is impossible to describe how it feels to be inside it. A must visit for people who like opulence and beauty, and also history.

@sjwilloughby-greene8214 6 ай бұрын

I haven't had the pleasure to visit, but it is on my wish list. 🎄

@monkeygraborange 6 ай бұрын

I’ve visited twice. While I found the grounds beautiful. the house itself was gaudy and unusually cold. I imagine that over time it would be depressing to live in such a place, especially if your only involvement in its creation was to inherit it.

@susangillette7317 6 ай бұрын

Visited the Breakers in September, it was wonderful and on my bucket list for sure

@anthonymommer5720 6 ай бұрын

We visited in 1968 during my navy training. We did the cliff walk and visited this mansion and others. It was like being in an hotel far from home sweet home surroundings.

@diannenaworensky6698 6 ай бұрын

I watch these videos in AWE. Only one generation actually worked and built these magnificent homes. The rest of the generations lived off "OLD" money and never replaced it. Im glad the Historical society saved this place even if they didn't do it nicely

@LSTEdD1 6 ай бұрын

As a tour guide at The Breakers (summers) from 2000 - 2003 before audio guides I would see Gladys happily walking her dogs. It was delightful to give the tours to the visitors. I can assure you that there were over a million fascinated visitors each year and cultural events even then. We promoted all the positive aspects of the beautiful house and the family’s history.

@johnsnow145 5 ай бұрын

I bet I saw you as a kid! I actually live in one of the properties they owned in PA

@LSTEdD1 5 ай бұрын

@@johnsnow145 Could have! 😊

@kenkersey1479 5 ай бұрын

I have visited the breakers a couple of times. Extraordinary beauty. I find it shocking that the Preservation Society evicted the Vanderbilt descendants. Their presence and family connection to the estate makes a historical relevance and time continuity to the place. What a great shame.

@johnsnow145 5 ай бұрын

They didnt, its way more complicated. I Was there the last year the family had the right to use part of it as a summer home. Their right to do so expired. I thought it was kind of sad and wrong. I actually live in a property their family once owed

@robertpuleo1203 5 ай бұрын

I bet the Vanderbilts who had to work for there fortune would not have been so liberal to give it away, especially to jealous people who evicted the remaining family members.

@Ninjanimegamer 2 ай бұрын

@@robertpuleo1203the amount the family gets as a tax write off far exceeds what the house is worth and what they could make in a lifetime. It's actually beneficial and sad at the same time, but money is king and when they consider how much it takes to operate such a place, selling it makes a lot of cents. (Pun intended).

@CarolAnn-gh9fl 6 ай бұрын

When you realize the Commodore had over ten children then they had children and they had children etc. eventually if your not earning money you’re just spending someone else’s.

@YiddishMoment 6 ай бұрын

Countess Gladys held-on the mansion till the end! It was her heirs that sold it to the Preservation Society. George of Biltmore, Cornelius of 5th Ave and William Kissiam of 5th Ave all spend the majority of their fortunes during their lifetimes. George ran-out of money building Biltmore. Fred (the Silent Vandebilt) ran the family business and became the richest of that generation, building Rough Neck in Newport. The Commodore and his son William viewed William's children as fools, who would spend and throw-away the fortune. William built the Triple Palace on 5th Ave, wanting it to stand for eternity, but his children and grandchildren found a way to break his will and disregard his wishes, as they were in want of more and more money to finance their foolish and lavish lifestyles. Only in America, folks.

@LJB103 6 ай бұрын

Frederick built Rough Point in Newport. The disinherited Cornelius III died worth $105 million! Really? Only in America? How many British aristocratic fortunes were lost to gambling, overspending, etc.? Even with an American Dollar Princess as an ancestor, the 13th Duke of Manchester was charged with fraud in the US (passing a bad check) plus burglary in England where he spent 5 years in prison!

@jamesdellaneve9005 6 ай бұрын

Many British families did the same thing. They lost most of their mansions and estates after WWII. When Great Britain went socialist, those families couldn’t afford the taxes. They simply moved out and abandoned those huge estates.

@SpayAndNeuterChristians 6 ай бұрын

Praise invisible sky 💩! Amerikkka!

@la4828 6 ай бұрын

Not just America.. all over the world as long as humans exist, greed will be everywhere.

@bobbyspapercraft 3 ай бұрын

This is the real truth

@Katherine1DRMAKR Ай бұрын

I've been to the Breakers several times starting in 1980. I wanted to see the breathtaking interior by Richard Morris Hunt and was not only impressed but left in awe! I haven't been back for about 20 years and plan to visit again this fall. On my first visit I saw the framed blueprints of Biltmore House, the owner's son's property in NC and vowed to visit one day. I made that journey from Atlantic Canada in 2008, stayed for a week staying at the Inn on Biltmore Estate and enjoying different tours each day.

@314Thethirdeye08 6 ай бұрын

Want to see the Breakers… sad the Historical Society didn’t see the value of keeping remaining descendants in residence! Very short sighted, would have given even more incentive for visiting.

@Glenn-F-Rice 6 ай бұрын

Like the Royals in England.

@karenlehn2351 6 ай бұрын

So proud to experience the (Breakers) and more mansions of Newport,just this past October 2023 . It was truly a sight to behold,and a great experience back in time of the gilded era.

@jamesnorris9637 5 ай бұрын

It was a great experience for white people. The Gilded Age began 20 years after the end of slavery in America. There was no federal income tax at the time, so your earnings were all yours.

@LJB103 6 ай бұрын

I first toured the mansion in 1969. Tours went up and down the grand staircase and only 3 bedrooms on the second floor were open to the public then. Plus no one knew that the "silver leaf" in the morning room was really platinum. I want to slide down the main stairs on a silver waiter like Countess Szapary said she did.

@WomenofWealthLuxury 6 ай бұрын

The Breakers is absolutely stunning. The Newport Preservation Society has done a great job.

@kevingreen3923 6 ай бұрын

Anderson Cooper prefaced this in his book "Vanderbilt: the rise and fall of an American dynasty". Was really sad that they got evicted. Would love to see a video on the biltmore estate.

@leedavis3704 6 ай бұрын

I have been to the Biltmore and it is amazing the design is unbelievable they built floors between floors and going up the steps it seems impossible to figure out how the architect did that

@kevingreen3923 6 ай бұрын

@@leedavis3704 We went to the biltmore in August and loved every minute of it

@sandramarieroberts1172 6 ай бұрын

I’ve seen the Newport mansions briefly from the outside, but never toured them. I do have a connection though as the Vanderbilts and I share a common ancestor 10 generations back in New Amsterdam.

@Katherine1DRMAKR Ай бұрын

Why would anyone see the outside and not venture in???

@sandramarieroberts1172 Ай бұрын

@@Katherine1DRMAKR We were young poor students.

@suzyfarnham3165 5 ай бұрын

I have toured or photographed every Vanderbilt mansion still standing. Last on my list to see was Biltmore. It ,to me was the most stunning of all. I had to travel from Australia to do this and it took 12 years to visit all of them!! Biltmore was just beautiful. Such a shame the 5th Ave homes were torn down. That is what started my quest...I did a Vanderbilt walking tour while in NYC years ago and became obsessed. February 2020 also saw me visit the last of my Kennedy homes as well.Palm Beach was the last to do on my list.

@dhowe5180 6 ай бұрын

It’s actually the exception rather than the rule that the descendants of some gilded age family will inhabit a grand stately mansion even if they still own it. Even in England, descendants of aristocratic families will typically live in a smaller, more manageable house on their estate or inhabit just a fraction of their old stately home. The rest of the house will be used for tours and special events or just used for family gatherings at Christmas. To bring these houses up to code and with modern plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems is so prohibitively expensive and not really even desirable by 21st century owners. Smaller stately homes are commonly still used as residences but anything the size of The Breakers is just too big and unwieldy.

@TimothyCHenderson 6 ай бұрын

They also can't support themselves anymore off the land. In the past, farming and animal husbandry were a big part of aristocratic income prior to the industrial revolution. Once the middle class moved into manufacturing, agrarian production lost it's place as the heart of the economy. Many of the old English estates, manors and castles need tourism to provide the necessary upkeep for the buildings to remain viable.

@dawnlovedobermans 6 ай бұрын

@@TimothyCHendersonI think a lot of the aristocracy lost their land, too. I wish I could remember exactly, but it was around WWI or WWII. And taxes, death taxes were raised skyrocketed, so the Crown could raise money to pay for the wars.

@dw3403 6 ай бұрын

There is so much that goes into caring for a home like this. They had staff that took care of the grounds to housekeeping and cooking etc. And that doesn't include heating these huge things. Lack of heat does so much damage. They are truly huge beautiful money pits.

@user-lh2wj2cd8y 5 ай бұрын

These buildings were always testament to the insanity and greed/selfish grandiosity of its inhabitants....

@dhowe5180 5 ай бұрын

@@TimothyCHenderson more efficient ocean transportation played a big part as well. English and European consumers could rely on cheaper food products shipped from Canada, the US, Argentina and Australia. That caused an agricultural recession and a plummeting of land values in England. The dukes and earls no longer had the incomes to pay for their expensive homes. Thank goodness they found other revenue streams otherwise the estates would’ve been parceled out and the homes destroyed. Englands architectural heritage is richer for that.

@pmm3112 6 ай бұрын

I have visited and it’s beyond amazing! The guided tours are very informative as there are so many stories and aspects of the experience which needs to happen through a guided tour in order to fully grasp the history and appreciate the culture of the Guilded Age

@patrickwalker2357 6 ай бұрын

My grandmother knew the house in late teens and in the 1920s , unfortunately many upper American families , some rich and many not so well off , were heavily taxed in 1917 , and the devastating crash of 1929 ,was another blow to there way life, and one should remember many of these very expensive homes were built on one generation vanity, and most of the art work , was after giving to museums . My grandmother father had his own railroad car and one for the servants until 1930 , the staff were mostly African American , so wouldn’t be allowed to use , the other cars . I find it so interesting, this sudden fascination about the so called gilded age.

@kmt3614 5 ай бұрын

I don't know that it is "sudden fascination". I think people have always been interested in what the extremely wealthy have done. These houses have always been larger than life examples. Most people can't fathom having that kind of money. And of course all the daily living like the servant examples that you state - it was happening then and basically accepted, no matter where you were in the world. It's good to have this recorded history so that we learn to not repeat it.

@annabarr1304 5 ай бұрын

I wouldn't use the word "unfortunately", it was incredibly necessary!

@helenhern893 6 ай бұрын

My first visit to Newport and the breakers was back in 1991, more than 30 years ago! I was in my early 20’s and was totally amazed by it. I have visited a few more times in the 90s but have not been since. I adore Newport and hope to return one day soon! Though I’m sad to hear there are no longer regular tour guides.

@Gilded-girl 6 ай бұрын

We visited Blenheim in England one year. The tour guide asked if any of us wanted to see the private apartments while the Duke and duchess were in New York on vacation. So for 10$ more my mother and I , being huge Vanderbilt and especially Consuelo fans, got to see where she and now her descendants live . There were newspapers piled up on an ordinary couch in a palatial room with 20 foot ceiling with 3 feet crowned molding. Huge windows that looked out over the gardens that the 9th Duke of Marlborough built with Vanderbilt money. Since this was also the birthplace of Winston Churchill, it was funny to see a pack if Winston cigarettes in a frame on the mantle of the fireplace. A huge , life size, portrait of Consuelo , Duchess of Marlborough hung in the hallway lined with thick red carpet. And in one room was a huge fan pattern quilt in a glass case hung on the wall . It was said to have been made of the Duchess’s many ball gowns over the years. It was all just so fascinating and a pinch me moment for my mother and me. ❤

@Mjg503 5 ай бұрын

Sounds like your tour guide figured a way to side hussle while doing her 9-5 gig.😂😂😂 Good for her.

@jonnarobinson7541 5 ай бұрын

I live in California and we visited the homes in Newport several years ago. The Breakers was fabulous although we had to wait in a long line to enter the property. I also recommend the mansion where Robert Redford and Mia Farrow filmed the Great Gatsby. The mansion is featured extensively in the movie.

@marinedrive5484 6 ай бұрын

The fall of the Vanderbilts would have to be one of the most dramatic in American history. From the unparalleled wealth of the Commodore to the final humiliation of eviction from The Breakers. A tale of wealth squandered by subsequent generations.

@japanjack62 6 ай бұрын

They aren't as wealthy, but aren't hurting...

@warriorgirl8118 5 ай бұрын

@@japanjack62that is good to know because they shouldn’t have been evicted in the first place it is there family members legacy and it is history lived and as long as one heir is alive it is still there family history being lived and made and history is important it repeats itself we learn from it and grow from it ❤😊😊😊

@scottdonahue6660 6 ай бұрын

I first visited The Breakers on a family vacation when I was around 12 years old and it's magnificence has endured in my heart. In my 40s my husband and I moved to Rhode Island and visited as many of the mansions as we could. The Breakers will always remain Number One in my book! It is a National Treasure...one to be gently tended after forever.

@peggyh4805 6 ай бұрын

I have visited the mansion several times. It’s a must!

@jomama5186 6 ай бұрын

We must oreserve all homes left from these eras. They are our American history. They are our coloseums, pyramids, and ahould be protected by our state andnfederal govts. Before sending money overseas to other countries, we should make these places come first and be restored and protected for future generations. We won't see homes built like this ever again ! We could never afford them, or their craftsmanship today. Each home should receive state and federal monies that prospective owners should have access to, to save them. To watch them rot all over our country, or be tackily "remodeled", should be criminal. Architectural preservation funds. Now before any more are lost. Look at Lousiana and Mississippi, and even those up north. We will never see buildings like this built today. Its heartbreaking. 💔

@warriorgirl8118 5 ай бұрын

I agree with your entire statement I believe we need to preserve and keep these historic places so much new technology in building but they will never have the solid foundation and strength as these homes were built to last like our ancestors designed them to be when America 🇺🇸 protect our heritage and constitution and amendment our country was built by god fearing people who put on our money in god we trust not new technology but god almighty our creator who made us all so I believe that it is very important and valuable for us to protect and preserve our culture and architectural history and heritage and traditions because they were built on a solid foundation in god we trust ❤✝️🤶🎅🕎🧑‍🎄😇❄️✡️🎄☮️❤️👼🙏🇺🇸👍✝️☃️

@gfsrow 6 ай бұрын

I visited The Breakers in 2006 and was completely unaware that family relatives continued to live on the 3rd floor of the mansion.

@jennielynnjoy 6 ай бұрын

The family was right not to want a gaudy visitor center. The society evicting the family was horrible. They didn't honor the spirit of the original agreement.

@marthahoffmann8674 5 ай бұрын

After watching "The Great Gatsby " with Robert Radford, went to visit The Breakers, Rosecliff and Marble House. Thank you this video is very interesting.

@josephpiskac2781 6 ай бұрын

I toured the Breakers in the mid 2000s. I di not recall the gorgeous rooms you display. Of course I have little understanding of residing at the Breakers though it seemed on my tour to be a ridiculous uncomfortable place. What is shown as the application to public use is by far in my opinion to be the best age of the facilities.

@arbrimmer3813 6 ай бұрын

My wife and i have toured many of themansions inNewport but the breakers stands out as the most magnificent inNewport!

@susantescione8007 6 ай бұрын

I was stationed at Newport for OCS and toured most of the Newport mansions in 1979. Your photographs show it to be as beautiful as I remember it.

@sammitaylor3942 5 ай бұрын

I actually visited the Biltmore Mansion around Christmas of 2011 when I was 13. Even did a project on North Carolina where i learned about the mansion. It is beyond beautiful, has a indoor pool, indoor bowling alley and a vineyard and winery

@marjienicholson180 6 ай бұрын

I have been to it many times! EXTRAORDINARY!!!!

@josephsf2452 6 ай бұрын

I have ZERO respect for the Newport Preservation Society. I think it was an asset to have the decendants living on the top floor. They had every right to live in their grandparents home. This is what happens with an over zealous group of innane snobs

@user-le3es8fr4q 6 ай бұрын

this video is actually misleading. The Newport preservation society didn't evict them. the 3rd floor was lived in by Countess Sylvia Szapary who died in 1998. she had a lifetime tenancy. her kids continued to live on the 3rd floor for the remaining years, then in 2018 the lease was expired that allowed the Vanderbilt descendants to live in the house. Thier was no drama all it was a lease that expired that the Vanderbilts agreed on decades before. The visitor center drama was just an excuse for the Vanderbilts to stay in the house longer past the lease expiration date.

@PermenBoba-dq3jb 5 ай бұрын

@@user-le3es8fr4qthey should! it belongs to them and they sold it for a pittance to the preservation trust

@user-qm7nw7vd5s 6 ай бұрын

Nice vid, but it would have been better if you showed the before and after, of the disputed visitor center renovations…

@Rod-bp8ow 6 ай бұрын

"As creations are designed to emulate light, appreciate importance, accept grandeur, it is to commemorate life's standards in a registered society, designed to recognize, regain, and restore historical richness of time"

@margiejones870 6 ай бұрын

Never saw the Breakers, but can’t imagine it could compete with The Biltmore in Asheville , NC !

@SMtWalkerS 6 ай бұрын

I would love to see it and am so glad it was saved.

@sjwilloughby-greene8214 6 ай бұрын

I haven't had the opportunity to visit, but it is on my wish list along with a visit to Biltmore. 🎄❤️🎄

@ferraridan4883 6 ай бұрын

Greatest narrator on KZfaq !

@alienmoosestudios 6 ай бұрын

Another awesome video of history....thank you for sharing 😁 You should do a video on the illustrious Merrill Estate/Chandler Mansion in Andover, Maine.

@brucebeamon5460 6 ай бұрын

ASTONISHINGLY BEAUTIFUL ! Deceitful what those preservationist have done …. But at least it’s been saved from the recking ball !

@jameslong6329 6 ай бұрын

I was there the summer of 1984 when I visited New Port RI & went through it & other Mansions in the area! Just Beautiful!!!❤

@tenaguin1054 6 ай бұрын

We have to face it that some people just have pure luck in the financial department but that doesn't mean they are all long on brains.

@TheAwakenedTraveler 6 ай бұрын

I visited earlier this year, and it was magnificent! A must-see!

@richardmckrell4899 6 ай бұрын

Hard to believe they lasted until 2018.

@janeprescott980 4 ай бұрын

It indeed has a lot of marble. Loved the kitchen and learning veshesua was a favorite soup. Loved learning about the joyous music played at the dock house waiting for supply ships. It has a Statley situation precariously posed by the sea. Loved learning about Gloria and the slanderous villanry that befell her reputation. It was a marvelous escape from the dregs of actual life. I even bought a souvenir. It was a joy to behold and a fond memory of the past

@toddmo1 6 ай бұрын

Breathtaking!

@michaelmoore7337 6 ай бұрын

I was born in Newport. Mother took me to The Breakers. I don't remember it. I was an infant. But it's on my bucket list when I return to Newport.

@nans969 2 ай бұрын

I toured it when i visited Rhode Island summer 2019. Just before we went, i read about the visitor center controversy that ended the Vanderbilt occupation. I thought this was sad turn. Anderson cooper gave an interview a few years before about visiting his relatives there. He had fond memories. That visit was my 3rd since the late 90s. They used to have guided tours. I loved those. The audio tour is ok, you just do not get the personal touch i find is more entertaining. Btw, the only positive thing i liked about the visitor center was it has restrooms.

@WyomingGuy876 6 ай бұрын

Now I understand the foundations of the French Revolution.

@maggiesfarm7970 5 ай бұрын

I worked with a young man, nearly 50 years ago, who told me what it like for his family to live in a mere antebellum mansion that they rented before it was completely abandoned. He said that the living room was so large that the boys were able to play basketball in it. They thought it was great fun!

@JohnRobinson-sl9gk 6 ай бұрын

Was there a couple months ago! Very interesting!

@sha.elaine 6 ай бұрын

I have been there twice and enjoyed it immensely. I think sometimes administrators in types of organizations like "Historical Societies" get too hopped up with their power. I feel bad for the Szaparys'.

@edmcconnell2105 5 ай бұрын

Beautiful Building

@barbaralauritzen7101 20 күн бұрын

Toured The Breakers 2 weeks ago. Was told by a lady that waited on us in gift shop that the last of the Vanderbilt family had to leave third floor because of antiquated plumbing. Lol

@francymurphy2887 6 ай бұрын

The Breakers Mansion is my favorite ❤️

@freetobememe4358 6 ай бұрын

What an amazing regal palace.

@soledadmanibo66 5 ай бұрын

I'm so lucky to see this beautiful mansion The Breaker nice to see it again in the vedio 👍

@DaVinciCosmeticsUSA 5 ай бұрын

love history videos

@janthieme3024 5 ай бұрын

Yes I've been there and there are no words to describe how in awe you are when inside. Saw all of summer cottages of the rich and famous. Don't miss going to see how the other half lived.

@leafuller3153 6 ай бұрын

Many, many years ago, I visited the Breakers in Newport, RI. Just seemed like a big, old place.

@allenatkins2263 6 ай бұрын

I have visited Biltmore and I think members of the family still live in part of the mansion.

@steventhomas4871 18 күн бұрын

I have been inside the Breakers mansion and several others in the early 2000's and it was a must see 👀 thing to do if you can appreciate fine living at its best 👌.

@doloresduartes7505 6 ай бұрын

Yes I have very beautiful, fell in love with it. I was intrigued. ❤

@cathyfrederick5073 6 ай бұрын

I have never been to the Breakers, but have always wanted to..

@awesomedog01 5 ай бұрын

This being a very recent video, I worked at the Mansion when Gladys and her son lived on the 3rd floor. I never saw them once in my time there and there was an uneasy feeling when they left. It did feel as if they were being kicked out. For me, it seemed, it bruised that tenuous relationship for good.

@blacxmadonnabey 6 ай бұрын

Those families knew NOTHING close to what was needed to design such classy peace of American history

@wessebaggers 5 ай бұрын

I love this home ❤❤❤ been there plenty of time ❤❤❤

@aimeefriedman822 5 ай бұрын

I've been there many a time, from when Personal Tour Guides were around, thru the taped recordings you now walk around with. It was much more exciting with the tour guides, but the grandeur and history is still one of the most remarkable experiences of my love of history. I HATE what became of the Vanderbilt money situation. I'm a mere peasant compared to any of them, but I so admire their origins and place in an age and time. There was no need to evict them. There HAD to be another way.

@chrisbusch696 5 ай бұрын

I visited the Breakers several years prior to 2018. I can't remember the tour guide mentioning the fact that some of the family still lived there. In seeing this video now it makes sense. Why highlight the fact the relatives were on their way out; because by that time, I assume, they really didn't own the property anymore.

@YiddishMoment 6 ай бұрын

PS, guys: a fool and his money are soon parted, as the Commodore predicted of his descendants.

@kaywillard2437 5 ай бұрын

I purchased tickets at the Visitor Center. It appeared to me that is was constructed to not be a "sore thumb" and take away from the rhrill of walking up to the Breakers. It was a thrill of my lifetime.

@brandbryce 6 ай бұрын

bucket list: yest please :-)

@rickyt11 6 ай бұрын

Bucket list. 😁

@kd8opi 5 ай бұрын

The Vanderbilts still own Biltmore Mansion, which makes the Breakers look like a carriage house. They charge $100 a head to tour it, tens of thousands for weddings and events, and probably gross hundred of millions of dollars which all goes back to the family members.

@Ninjanimegamer 2 ай бұрын

When selling a historical mansion such as the breakers, the family usually gets a huge amount as a tax benefit. With that said, the Vanderbilt's only wanted to share the breakers, not completely sell it, but they needed the money to operate the place. A mansion that old and the that large takes hundreds of thousands to run a year. I had visited the breakers and the other summer cottages a few times and I miss the days of seeing the heirs walking around. It was comforting to know all was not lost to them. Unfortunately, the preservation society was looking out for the public, not the heirs. I was totally against the welcoming center, because it adds to the foot traffic and ruins the land. I had been very disappointed when they turned rosecliff into a wedding venue. Build a venue in the likeness of, but don't use the original. It's the same as adding a welcoming center. History is lost when it becomes modernized for today's uses.

@susanmitchell9257 4 ай бұрын

Been there many times over the years my favorite is the holidays. Very sad ending

@Kodakcompactdisc 6 ай бұрын

I still can’t believe this was built in 2 years.

@bethmartof1262 6 ай бұрын

That’s because it wasn’t. Our history is a lie, and that building was “founded”, not built. What does “founded” mean? How did they build something like that as well as countless other masterpieces in the horse and buggy days?

@Kodakcompactdisc 6 ай бұрын

@@bethmartof1262 because we live in a simulation run by Jupiter and he decides our faith.

@bethmartof1262 6 ай бұрын

@@Kodakcompactdisc good luck with that.

@Kodakcompactdisc 6 ай бұрын

@@bethmartof1262 I’ll be lucky if Jupiter favours me, which he usually does so I can’t complain.

@sexydirrtymoney 6 ай бұрын

What do you mean EVICTED??? They were NOT evicted..... Vanderbilt died from a cerebral hemorrhage caused by a stroke in 1899 at age 55, leaving The Breakers to his wife Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt. She outlived him by 35 years and died at the age of 89 in 1934. She left The Breakers to her youngest daughter Countess Gladys Széchenyi (1886-1965), essentially because Gladys lacked American property; in addition, none of her other children were interested in the property, while Gladys had always loved the estate. In 1948, Gladys leased the high-maintenance property to The Preservation Society of Newport County for $1 per year. The Preservation Society bought The Breakers and approximately 90% of its furnishings in 1972 for $365,000 ($2.6 million today) from Countess Sylvia Szapary, Gladys's daughter, although the agreement granted her life tenancy. Upon her death in 1998, The Preservation Society agreed to allow the family to continue to live on the third floor, which is not open to the public. This occupancy ended in 2018.

@paulmartin3258 5 ай бұрын

Having been to the Biltmore Estates as a personal pilgrimage many times in my life, I hope, someday, to again add my own pilgrimage to the Breakers and again to the Biltmore whilst staying at the wonderful Biltmore Inn. Perhaps someday, I will introduce another lady to my Biltmore mistress. 😉❤

@ceasarandrepont1243 6 ай бұрын

Sad, very sad for the descendants.

@byewhobayou8868 6 ай бұрын

It sounds, to me, that the historical society is more Vanderbilt than his descendants. He was a ruthless businessman that forced his competitors to bend to his will with underhanded trickery and sabotage.

@BlaineShire 6 ай бұрын

I was there in the early 1970s.

@auyoingco1708 6 ай бұрын

I visited the Breaker Mansion two times in the 2008 and 2012.

@discoblair938 5 ай бұрын

My grandmother always said: From shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations. The first makes it,the second spends it,and the third generation goes back to work.

@Glenn-F-Rice 6 ай бұрын

13:28 i wonder the value if this fireplace alone.

@davebeach4930 6 ай бұрын

Saw it in t he 70`s

@lindahall3546 5 ай бұрын

Yes. 26 years ago. Went on a guided tour. The tour was so rushed that you could hardly have time to look at everything

@texas1949 6 ай бұрын

Those Vanderbilts were really something, huh? 🎉

@thedavidjwschmidt 6 ай бұрын

Toured many times and visited the third floor where the Szaparys lived in the summers when I was a child. Played with Gladys and Paul Szapary as children, and there is much more to this story. Paul and Gladys should have moved out when their mother, Countess Sylvia Szapary, died in 1998. That was part of the terms of sale when the house was sold to the Preservations Society, but they were permitted to stay until the third floor needed much work, that's when they had to leave. The visitor's center dispute was just a faux fracas as they tried to stay longer. You, unfortunately are not an old Newporter and not privy to the real inside story.

@maryhale1566 6 ай бұрын

Have visited the mansion and was very impressed. The family made their own bed with extravagant spending and so Gloria taught her son, Anderson, to value his own career and make his own money. Bravo! 14:50

@mgmfan1 6 ай бұрын

I am not an old Newporter but know people who are and I also heard that they were only there until the society got around to renovating that floor. Thanks for letting everyone know.

@wdm5552 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for clarifying an misleading video.

@cardinaloflannagancr8929 6 ай бұрын

Not quite. The society argued the mansion was unsafe for residential use, ventilation, water and electrical. However employees who use all those same things daily are magically safe. If it was simply to be renovated they could have moved back in. The argument was it would need renovated to be safe, but it was deemed safe for museum use as it sits.@@mgmfan1

@lillianrowe4055 4 ай бұрын

We’ve been the Breakers!

@jenn.i5103 5 ай бұрын

No it’s gourgeous

@tenniekomar6683 6 ай бұрын

And when federal income tax came into being the big money was all over.

@DovZeev 6 ай бұрын

It's grand, but The Elms is more homey

@pjchapman9419 5 ай бұрын

Did Jackie Kennedy Onassis ' step-father own Hammersmith Farm?

@kuhtone 5 ай бұрын

yes

@maximhollandnederlandthene7640 6 ай бұрын

Belle époque, now all history and lots gone

@scubatrucker6806 6 ай бұрын

I didn't know they were evicted in 2018? Do they still live in Biltmore? Biltmore is my bucket list

@dhowe5180 6 ай бұрын

Vanderbilt family members own but do not live in biltmore.

@svjarahian 6 ай бұрын

Biltmore has been turned into a profitable business by that branch of the Vanderbilts!

@jamesparciak9765 6 ай бұрын

The owners of the Biltmore are blood relatives of the Vanderbilts they own the house, it is a living museum... open to the public and they live there full time.

@harrysamuppet6804 6 ай бұрын

I still don’t understand how a family which had such wealth and influence allowing them do build these palaces have lost it all. How can you possibly lose so much wealth. The surname alone screams money. What on earth went wrong?

@BlaineShire 6 ай бұрын

@@harrysamuppet6804 Very easy at the time the money, the 1st generation, was made there were no personal income taxes by the time the 2nd generation came along personal income taxes had started but they kept spending as if it would never run out. By the 3rd generation, the money was almost gone.

@evah5997 6 ай бұрын

They should have put money aside for the maintenance of the house and they should have had stipulations when inheriting the money.

@randalcook325 2 ай бұрын

I find it very disgusting that a historical society, perhaps better they should be called a HOA. Had the ability to evict the Vanderbilts heirs from their own home. Someone needs to temper the power of HOAs and i guess not " historical societies " disgusting