Cornelius ("Commodore") Vanderbilt 1794-1877 When Cornelius Vanderbilt lay dying in his bed in his New York mansion in 1877 he was comforted in the knowledge that he was dying the richest man in the country. His whole life had been spent accumulating large amounts of money, first through shipping, then through railroad acquisitions. He was the first to admit of his obsession, which had driven him since he was a boy, "I've been insane on the …showed first 75 words of 1303 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1303 total…She was also responsible for getting him to donate $1,000,000 to what became Vanderbilt University (Vanderbilt, 1989, pgs.42-48). In May of 1876 he became very ill and lay bed ridden until his death on January 4, 1877. When he died he had a fortune of $105 million. He left $95 million of that to his son William who would become another railroad robber baron. The remainder of his wealth was to be divided up amongst family and relatives (Vanderbilt, 1989, pgs.48-54).