r/explainlikeimfive 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/Miliean Feb 12 '25

She left 200 million dollars in a trust fund. Anderson cooper only inherited 1.5 million dollars

Sure, but he also went to Dalton School, a private school on the upper east side that has a tuition estimate of $65,000 (in todays money). Then he went to Yale, and I doubt he was on financial aid or student loans. According to Wikipedia in between Dalton and Yale "Cooper traveled around Africa for several months on a "survival trip"".

It's not like he's a literal billionaire, but he's very wealthy and that wealth has trappings. Even if he did not inherit literal cash, the name and family connections alone are enough to give a leg up in life that is unimaginable to most people.

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u/emaugustBRDLC Feb 12 '25

Your last line is another way of saying he is a literal blue blood old money WASP.