The Commodore 1794-1877

Cornelius Vanderbilt, the Commodore, as he was called, died on May 10, 1876. His 250-room French Renaissance Chateau set on 146,000 acres in North Carolina is so large its proud architect noted that the surrounding mountains quote are in scale with the house. What was it like to have more money than anyone else? The Fifth Avenue mansions, alas, are long gone. Did this bizarre monument to a fortune make them happy?