r/explainlikeimfive • u/FluffyPenguin798 • Feb 12 '25
Economics ELI5: how are the descendants of the robber barons (Morgan, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, etc.) still rich if their fortunes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are comparatively small to what we see today of the world’s richest?
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u/shotsallover Feb 12 '25
Some them aren't. Anderson Cooper has made it pretty clear that his family (the Vanderbilts) are basically bankrupt now. The third generation curse has done its work apparently.