Title: Astor
Rating: 4 Stars
As a word of warning, this book is not an in depth history of the many generations of the Astor family. It’s a slightly gossipy, relatively brief history. Since the Astor family was so deeply embedded into New York City (except for the branch that escaped and ultimately became titled British peers), this book also serves as a even briefer and lighter weight history of New York City itself.
As probably most people know, Anderson Cooper is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt. The Vanderbilt’s were another incredibly wealthy New York family that managed to squander an unimaginably vast fortune in a bit over a hundred years. In fact, Cooper remembers, as a young boy, meeting Brooke Astor, the last of the Astors, at a lunch where Gloria and Brooke, both representing the last of their family line, warily engage each other.
It all starts with John Jacob Astor. He migrated to the US at the age of twenty in 1783. He wasn’t exactly a rags to riches story as he did arrive equipped with some of his brother’s flutes to sell. Originally planning on being a butcher, he changed when he saw some of the animal pelts available that could be sold back in London at great profit.
Not afraid to get his hands dirty, he started working directly with the Native Americans and fur trappers that provided the product. Doing so allowed him to drive efficiencies into the business and made him wealthy. Being an early prototype of a Jeff Bezos kind of businessman, he ruthlessly began to extend his reach and to dominate the market. He even had dreams of creating a West Coast nation separate from the US that would be essentially his domain. Although he failed in that goal, his reach was continent wide, as can be seen by the number of towns named Astoria that are dotted around this country.
Back in New York City, he saw another financial opportunity. At the time (and is true now), there was a housing shortage for the waves of immigrants that were landing on our shores. Astor seized this opportunity by buying up large tracts of land in Manhattan. He’d then throw up some primitive tenements, which soon were overrun with multiple families per room. This was a source of even more profit for Astor. I’m not sure if he was quite the first, but he was certainly the largest slumlord in New York City, setting the pattern for generations of building owners that continue to this day.
His son, William Astor Sr, continued on the tradition of his father. Much more of a plodder and conventional businessman, he increased his family’s real estate holdings. He’s most famous for starting the library that ultimately became the New York Public Library.
When William died, he split his estate among two sons, John Jacob Astor III (the II, the son of the original, was mentally unstable, so had no role in the family dynasty) and William Jr.
When talking about multi-generational wealth, it seems to be true that the competitive drive begins to shrivel a bit by the third generation. This seems to be the case for the Astor family.
William Sr probably made a mistake in splitting his estate into two pieces. There was no longer a single driver for the Astor fortune. JJ III did continue on the traditional role of managing his inherited assets. It turned out that William Jr was more interested in activities like horse racing and cruising around on his yacht.
Things get even more divided with the next generation. The naming also gets even more confusing. John Jacob Astor III had a son named William Waldorf Astor. Disenchanted with New York City, Waldorf moved to England. Ultimately, he was able to basically buy his way to a peerage, becoming Viscount Astor. That title lives on today.
William Jr had a son named, you guessed it, John Jacob Astor IV. Known as Jack, he is most famous for dying on the Titanic. Before he died, he had a child named Vincent Astor. Known generally as a difficult person, his first marriage did not get off to a great start since it was generally known that his wife was a lesbian. Not only that, at his wedding, he had the mumps, which among other things, can have a side effect of sterility. Considering that he had no children, that seems a likely result.
Vincent remarried again. When that marriage failed, he refused to divorce unless his soon to be ex-wife found him a replacement (no joke). One of her candidates was a Bush (yes, as in the Bush family that produced two Presidents). Independently wealthy, she was not particularly enamored with Vincent, reportedly telling him, “Marry you? I don’t even like you”. When told that he had only three years to live, Bush replied “But what if the doctors are wrong?”. Considering he was still a very wealthy man, those are two pretty harsh digs. Eventually, Brooke became his third wife and the last American Astor.
At the same time that he’s relating all of the gossip and drama in the Astor family tree, Cooper used the Astor name indirectly to relate back to significant New York City highlights. One relates to a very violent riot that was ostensibly caused by the performance by a Shakespearean actor. Although this was a tragic event, I’m always amused by the fact that a riot could take place in 1849 over this (I wrote about it here, in a blog title that still makes me smile, My Shakespearean Kicks Your Shakespearean’s Ass).
Another historical event is discussed because of a second John Jacob Astor in New York City. Yes, there was more than one. In fact, the second Astor was probably a not that distant relation of the original. However, he was not as successful and ended up dying in poverty. Cooper used his story as the starting point about the New York City Draft Riots, a multi day riot in which several people died. It was sparked when the Union first instituted a draft in 1863 during The Civil War. Poor Irish workers, understanding that they were to be cannon fodder for a cause that they didn’t even believe in, rioted before the draft could start. It turned into a race riot where most of the people killed were Black, including the burning down of an orphanage for Black children.
Although this was certainly not an exhaustive history, Cooper is an engaging and entertaining writer. If you’re interested in a lighter weight history of New York City using the Astor family tree as a framing device, this would certainly be worth your while to read.
dorkenstein 