On April 20, 1875, Vanderbilt married his first wife,
Alva Erskine Smith, daughter of
Murray Forbes Smith and Phoebe Ann Desha. Together, they had three children: Alva divorced Vanderbilt in March 1895, at a time when divorce was rare among the elite, and received a large financial settlement reported to be in excess of $10 million (equal to about $ million today). The grounds for divorce were adultery, allegedly including with the
Duchess of Manchester. Alva remarried to one of their old family friends,
Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, on January 11, 1896. They had no children together. She was a widow to sportsman Samuel Stevens Sands Jr. and to
Lewis Morris Rutherfurd Jr. Residences on Fifth Avenue, New York City Like other prominent Vanderbilts, he built magnificent
houses. His residences included
Idle Hour (1900) on
Long Island and
Marble House (1892), designed by
Richard Morris Hunt, in
Newport, Rhode Island. Hunt also designed Vanderbilt's
660 Fifth Avenue mansion (1883). In 1907, Vanderbilt and his second wife built Château Vanderbilt, a Louis XIII-style manor house along with three thoroughbred race tracks in
Carrières-sous-Poissy, an hour outside
Paris and on the route to
Deauville, famous for its horse racing. Vanderbilt was a co-owner of the yacht
Defender, which won the 1895
America's Cup and briefly owned the large steam yacht
Consuelo. Vanderbilt was a founder and president of the
New Theatre. Vanderbilt made significant charitable contributions to
Vanderbilt University, a private university in
Nashville, Tennessee, named for his grandfather.
Death and legacy Vanderbilt died in Paris on July 22, 1920. Vanderbilt's portrait, painted by F. W. Wright from an original painting by Richard Hall between 1911 and 1921, was donated to Vanderbilt University in 1921; it is hung in Kirkland Hall. Vanderbilt was a founding member of the
Jekyll Island Club also known as the Millionaires Club, on Jekyll Island, Georgia.
Estate Following his death, Vanderbilt's gross estate was valued at $54,530,966.59; after deductions for debts, administrative costs, attorney’s fees, the net value of the estate was appraised at $50,222,842.23, from which $1,934,571.73 in New York State estate tax and $11,459,290.16 in federal estate tax was payable. Prior to his death, Vanderbilt had made financial provisions for several members of his family, including: • $2,250,000 in
New York Central Railroad Bonds placed in trust for the benefit of his second wife on 1 May 1917, which was increased to $8,250,000 in 1918; • 15,000 shares each (valued at approximately $1.1 million each) in shares in the
New York Central Railway which he transferred to his sons William K. Vanderbilt Jr and Harold S. Vanderbilt in 1918-19; • A $5,000,000 marriage settlement for his daughter Consuelo in 1895, consisting of • A $2,500,000 Trust for the benefit of the 9th Duke of Marlborough and his descendants; and, • A $100,000 annual allowance for the benefit of Consuelo during her father's lifetime, with a covenant to pay $2,500,000 from his estate following his death. • An additional $5,000,000 Trust fund settled on Consuelo and her descendants in 1912; and • A further $450,000 transferred to his sons in 1919 to hold upon Trust for Consuelo and her descendants.
1920: Will and estate Vanderbilt's will bequeathed the bulk of his estate to his two sons;
William Kissam Vanderbilt II received $21,252,757.38, and
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt received $21,739,867.38. His will also established a separate $2,500,000 trust for her benefit, administered by her brothers, with income payable for life and the principal to vest in her children upon her death. Surviving records from the Dane County Probate Court in Wisconsin confirm that Vanderbilt's property in the State of Wisconsin (some $2,297,000 from a total fortune of $56,091,000) was distributed in accordance with the provisions of his Will in the following proportions: • 3.33% to Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough • 2.90% each to Vanderbilt's grandsons Lord Blandford and Lord Ivor Churchill • 2.02% to his grandson William K. Vanderbilt III • 0.51% to Vanderbilt University • 43.9% each to his sons William K. Vanderbilt Jr and Harold S. Vanderbilt Additional records disclosed in 1926 revealed that in 1912, William created a $5,000,000 trust using New York Central and Hudson River Railroad bonds, granting Consuelo a life interest with remainder to her sons. In 1919, he transferred a further $450,000 in liberty bonds to her brothers, instructing that they be held in trust for her benefit. Contemporary newspaper reports speculated that, in addition to these confirmed transfers, William may have gifted a further $15,000,000 in cash and securities to Consuelo and $1,000,000 each to her sons,
the Marquess of Blandford and Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill, in the months before and after his death, although no official probate filings substantiated these claims. • '''Consuelo Vanderbilt's Marriage Settlement:''' a covenant to pay $100,000 to Consuelo Vanderbilt annually during William Vanderbilt's lifetime, which formed part of her 1895 marriage settlement, and following his death to transfer $2,500,000 to her Trustees; •
Sunderland House, London: approximately $2,500,000 spent between 1895 and 1902 to acquire land on Curzon Street and construct and furnish
Sunderland House as a London residence for Consuelo and the Duke (real estate and capital improvement, inter vivos expenditure); •
William Henry Vanderbilt I Trust Fund: following his death in 1885, William Henry Vanderbilt I provided each of his children with a $5,000,000 Trust fund; as the Will of William Kissam Vanderbilt I did not appoint a specific beneficiary of this trust, under the terms of his father's Will the Trust was split equally between William K. Vanderbilt's children; Consuelo received a third-share amounting to $1,667,000; In the later 20th century, following the death of
Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt (widow of
Harold Stirling Vanderbilt) in 1978, a portion of her wealth was bequeathed to Consuelo’s grandchildren, including: • $100,000 outright and a $400,000 Trust Fund Consuelo’s grandson
John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough; • A Trust Fund of $1,000,000 to Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill; • $100,000 to Lady Sarah Roubanis; • $200,000 to Lady Caroline Waterhouse; and, • $200,000 to Lady Rosemary Muir. ==References==