Ode to the Vanderbilts
Sarah and I just got back from a short trip to the Carolinas for a wedding and an extended weekend. After the wedding, we headed up to Asheville to spend three nights at the Inn on Biltmore Estate. We’d been before, and had enjoyed it immensely.
The Biltmore Estate is what remains of the enormous swath of land owned by George Vanderbilt at the turn of the century before last. The jewel of the estate is the astonishingly grand Biltmore house—America’s largest home. I could describe it, but just look:
Construction finished in 1895, but the house is amazingly modern. It had 43 bathrooms (indoor plumbing being a luxury at the time), central heating, electric lights, electronic synchronization of all its clocks, internal telephone service, running water and tons more. Heck, houses today don’t have networked clocks! The house is filled with priceless artwork, breathtaking design, and ingenious inventions. George was a very progressive employer, with mixed-race servants, generous wages, and excellent benefits. His daughter attended the same school as the servants’ children (one that George built).
In scope and scale the house and estate are completely epic. And all of their splendor is due to capitalism. George’s grandfather Cornelius Vanderbilt is the 10th richest person of all time with peak wealth of $167.4 billion in 2007 dollars—profits from the booming shipping industry. His son, and George’s father, doubled that fortune in only nine years! This unimaginable fortune was not the result of theft, or government appropriations. Cornelius earned it from practically nothing. Biltmore house is a monument to his entrepreneurial skills. It is but a slice of the incredible wealth created by this one family in only a few generations. If that isn’t enough to make a capitalist beam with appreciation, consider this: the estate (which is still in the family) is a profitable business that does all of its historical preservation itself and accepts no government grants. They don’t need that kind of tainted money.
I’ll close with two quotes by George’s father William:
The railroads are not run for the benefit of the ‘dear public’—that cry is all nonsense—they are built by men who invest their money and expect to get a fair percentage on the same.
The public be damned!… I don’t take any stock in this silly nonsense about working for anybody but our own.
These are my kind of people.
