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.
During his lifetime, Vanderbilt had made over $20,000,000 in 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.
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.
A summary of the contents of the Will, published by the law firm Anderson & Anderson and widely reported in the press, outlined the following principal bequests:
$250,000 to Vanderbilt University
$50,000 to St. Mark’s Church at Islip, Long Island
Numerous paintings and artworks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
A life interest in his Paris residence at 10 & 11 Rue Leroux and a château in Normandy to his widow, Anne Harriman Vanderbilt, with reversion to his daughter, Consuelo Vanderbilt
The Idle Hour estate on Long Island to Harold
Real property and contents at Marble House, Newport, and property on Wheatland Avenue, to whichever son succeeded to the estate from their mother Alva Belmont
$1,000,000 in trust for his grandson William Kissam Vanderbilt III
$100,000 each to his stepdaughters Margaret Rutherfurd Mills and Barbara Rutherfurd Hatch
The residuary estate in equal shares to his two sons William II and Harold
Consuelo Vanderbilt, William's only daughter, was further provided for through a combination of legal settlements, testamentary trusts, and substantial inter vivos gifts. As part of her 1895 marriage settlement to Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, William covenanted to pay $2,500,000 to her trustees upon his death, to provide her with an annual income of $100,000. This amount was treated as a debt against the estate and fulfilled accordingly. 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.
She also inherited a reversionary interest in her father’s French real estate—his townhouse at 10 & 11 Rue Leroux, Paris, and a château in Normandy—following the death of her stepmother, Anne Harriman Vanderbilt; and she received one-third of the $5,000,000 trust originally created by her grandfather, William Henry Vanderbilt, which passed by default to William K. Vanderbilt’s children.
In total, Vanderbilt is confirmed to have settled or transferred well over $17,000,000 for the benefit of Consuelo, her husband, and their children. This included:
The 9th Duke of Marlborough's Trust: $2,500,000 placed in trust in 1895 as part of Consuelo Vanderbilt's marriage settlement, which was to provide the 9th Duke of Marlborough with $100,000 per year for life, later payable to Consuelo if she survived him (trust created by deed prior to marriage);
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;
Consuelo's 1912 Trust: a $5,000,000 trust fund created in 1912 using New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company 3.5% Lake Shore collateral trust bonds, providing Consuelo with a life interest and remainder to her sons (inter vivos trust);
Consuelo's 1919 Trust: $450,000 in liberty bonds conveyed to William K. Vanderbilt II and Harold S. Vanderbilt in 1919, with instructions to hold them in trust for the benefit of their sister Consuelo and her descendants;
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;
William Kissam Vanderbilt's Will: following his death in 1920, specific bequests in William K. Vanderbilt's Will included:
A reversionary interest to Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan in her father’s French residences—his townhouse at 10 & 11 Rue Leroux, Paris, and a château in Normandy—subject to a life interest in these properties given to her stepmother, Anne Harriman Vanderbilt;
$1,000,000 each to his grandsons Lord Blandford and Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill;
$900,000 in Trust for Lord Blandford and Lord Ivor.
Lord Blandford also reportedly was gifted a London townhouse by his grandfather as a wedding gift in 1920.
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.
