HBO's glittering costume drama The Gilded Age shines a light on the lives and scandals of the upper circles of New York society in the late 19th century. Created and written by Julian Fellowes of Downton Abbey fame, the show focuses on the era's power players, from the so-called 'robber barons' to the old-money socialites.
The period that gives the show its name lasted from the 1870s to around 1900, and was a time of rapid economic growth that made the financial disparities between the American classes more stark than ever before. During the Gilded Age, the lucky elite climbed to levels of wealth never before seen – and they weren't afraid to flaunt it.
Read on to discover some of the era's most affluent people, including a key character in the show, and find out how they spent their mountains of money. All dollar amounts in US dollars, with estimated peak net worths adjusted for inflation into today's money.
A born and bred New Yorker with a prestigious family pedigree, William Backhouse Astor Jr. was the patriarch of the American line of the illustrious Astor family for most of the Gilded Age.
The origins of the family's weath can be traced back to his grandfather John Jacob Astor. America's first multimillionaire, John had made his fortune in the fur trade during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, before moving into opium smuggling and real estate.
On the death of his father in 1875, William inherited the equivalent of $1.3 billion (£963m) in today's money. More interested in spending his fortune than expanding it, the pleasure-loving heir splurged on what was then the world's biggest private yacht, as well as expensive racehorses, prized artworks, and a number of lavish residences in Manhattan, Upstate New York, and fashionable Newport (pictured here).
He died in 1892, nestled in the lap of luxury at the swish Hotel Liverpool in Paris.
Much like her husband William, Caroline Astor (often referred to as “Mrs Astor”) was outrageously extravagant.
A scion of the Schermerhorn shipping clan – another old-money New York family – the free-spending socialite married the Astor heir in 1853. She was famed for her exquisite jewellery collection, couture clothing, and fabulous parties.
A major character in The Gilded Age, Mrs Astor was the undisputed Queen Bee of New York society up until her death in 1908.
Her notorious 'Four Hundred list' was reportedly created to keep the nouveau-riche "riff-raff" away from society events, helping to whittle down the Big Apple's fashionable set to the people who "really mattered". The infamous list was concocted with the help of Ward McAllister, the tastemaker and uber-snob who also features in the HBO show.
Initially looked down upon by the more established families of the Gilded Age such as the Astors, the Vanderbilts were once considered to be "vulgar new money". However, together with his wife Alva, William Kissam Vanderbilt helped to elevate the clan's social status to whole new heights.
William was the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who had originally laid the foundations for the family's fortune with his railroad and shipping ventures earlier in the century.
As well as donating huge sums of money to charity, William, who inherited the equivalent of $1.5 billion (£1.1bn) in 1877, splashed out on everything from prize-winning racehorses to racing cars and yachts.
Much like the various other wealthy heirs of the era, he was also prone to a magnificent home or two. His property portfolio included a Châteauesque mansion on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, the elegant Marble House in Newport (pictured), and Château Vanderbilt near Paris, where he died in 1920.
William Kissam Vanderbilt's wife Alva was even more desperate to shake off the inferior social status of her family.
In a bid to outshine her arch-rival Caroline Astor and her “plain dwelling” at number 350 on New York's Fifth Avenue, the ambitious Alva commissioned what would turn out to be the thoroughfare's grandest home. She held the party of the century there in 1883: a costume ball that would cost the equivalent of $6 million (£4.4m) in today's money.
Every New York VIP was invited, bar Mrs Astor. The grande dame of the NYC social scene was forced to beg for a place at the party, signalling the Vanderbilts' arrival in high society.
William and Alva's divorce sent shockwaves through that very same social circle in 1895, with Alva receiving one of the biggest settlements of all time. She walked away with a whopping $332 million (£246m) when adjusted for inflation, and became a tireless activist for women's voting rights. She eventually moved to France, and died in her Paris townhouse in 1933.
The older brother of William, Cornelius Vanderbilt II inherited $5 million from his grandfather Cornelius in 1877, followed by a further $70 million following his father's death in 1892. That's a grand total of $2.3 billion (£1.7bn) in today's money when adjusted for inflation.
Not to be outdone by his ambitious younger sibling, the businessman also commissioned a breathtaking Châteauesque mansion all of his own on Fifth Avenue, with the property eventually becoming New York's largest-ever private home.
The mega-home was completed in 1883 and was expanded further along the road in the 1890s, creating a palatial 130-room residence. Cornelius also oversaw the construction of The Breakers (pictured), one of Newport's most iconic villas. It was finished in 1895 but the minted heir didn't get to enjoy his retreat for very long, passing away just four years later.
A major philanthropist as well as a lover of luxury, Vanderbilt had donated generously to various good causes throughout his lifetime. Despite these acts of kindness, he still left behind a hefty fortune of around $2 billion (£1.5bn) in today's money.
Discover more about the rise and fall of the Vanderbilt family
The youngest child of William and Caroline Astor, John Jacob Astor IV was deeply involved in the real estate side of the family business, alongside various other ventures and interests.
His colourful career included overseeing the construction of the Astoria part of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1897, writing a sci-fi novel, and inventing a bicycle brake. He was also a keen yachtsman.
Despite his achievements, John Jacob Astor IV is sadly most remembered for his untimely death. Along with around 1,500 other people, he drowned in the Titanic tragedy of 1912, having first ensured that his pregnant wife Madeleine had safely boarded a lifeboat.
With a fortune equivalent to $2.3 billion (£1.7bn) in today's money, Astor was widely considered to be one of the richest people in the world when he went down with the doomed ship.
Find out more about the wealthiest passengers on board the Titanic
Another member of the Astor family who was prominent during the Gilded Age was John Jacob's cousin, William Waldorf Astor. William inherited $150 million – $4.6 billion (£3.4bn) in today's money – following his father's death in 1890.
That same year, he got the ball rolling with the construction of the plush Waldorf Hotel. It was located slap-bang next to his aunt Caroline's New York mansion, and sparked one of the Gilded Age's most bitter feuds.
Mrs Astor was furious that the hotel was overshadowing her residence. She eventually moved away and her house was demolished to make way for the Astoria extension, but not before she had effectively banished her nephew and his wife Mary from New York society.
William and Mary moved to England, where they snapped up the splendid Cliveden estate (pictured) in Berkshire, as well as the historic Hever Castle in Kent. Most impressively of all, William was admitted into the ranks of the English aristocracy and was made Viscount Astor two years before his death in 1919.
The original media mogul, William Randolph Hearst – who was the inspiration behind Orson Welles' Citizen Kane – took control of his first newspaper in 1887.
He turned around the fortunes of the flagging San Francisco Examiner by featuring lurid, attention-grabbing stories, which the public lapped up. In no time at all, the press baron was acquiring newspapers left, right, and centre.
At the height of his publishing career, Hearst owned 28 newspapers and 18 magazines, and had a net worth equivalent to $30 billion (£22.2bn) today. It didn't stay that way though.
Hearst was a profligate spender, and thought nothing of spending obscene sums on his fantastical hilltop Hearst Castle in California, as well as splashing out around $1 million a year on antiques. This, coupled with the impact of the Great Depression, battered his finances. Hearst eventually had to sell off part of his media empire and art collection, and was a virtual recluse in his last years of his life. He died in 1951, significantly less wealthy.
Read more about the Hearst family's extraordinary story
The man who effectively bankrolled the Gilded Age, John Pierpont Morgan rose to prominence in the 1870s, providing America's fast-growing industrial corporations with capital from British banks.
Morgan was a partner in the firm that would go on to become the key source of funding for the US government and he ultimately took it over, turning the company into America's leading banking house: J.P. Morgan.
By 1900, Morgan had amassed a huge fortune, which peaked at around $45 billion (£33.3bn) when adjusted for inflation. This allowed the financier to indulge his passion for yachting, as well as grow his collection of antiques, books, and clocks.
Morgan's Madison Avenue mansion was the first private property in New York to have electric lights, and he also owned a country house in Upstate New York. Powerful until the end, Morgan remained the leading figure in US capitalism until his death in 1913.
Henry Clay Frick began operating coke ovens in 1870 and was instrumental in developing America's steel industry. He made a jaw-dropping amount of money along the way, with his fortune the equivalent of around $46 billion (£34bn) in 2022.
The metal magnate put his fortune to good use, building what was described at the time by Architecture Magazine as America's "most costly and sumptuous" house. Located on Fifth Avenue, Frick filled the property with priceless paintings and sought-after antiques.
A deep-pocketed philanthropist, Frick, who died in 1919, left behind the property, its contents, and the equivalent of $241 million (£176.9m) in today's money, with strict instructions that the house should be turned into an art museum. It opened to the public in 1935.
The tycoon's incredibly generous will also included the donation of 150 acres of undeveloped land in the City of Pittsburgh to the public. Frick stated that he would like the land to be turned into a park. Frick Park opened in 1927 and is a haven for wildlife, including owls, amphibians, and foxes. Frick is also reported to have left a substantial sum to Princeton University,
A mover-and-shaker of the Gilded Age, Andrew Mellon entered his father's banking house in 1874 before taking it over in 1882.
A super-shrewd banker and industrialist, Mellon provided loans to the era's rapidly expanding businesses, chiefly steel and oil. He helped to found the Gulf Oil Corporation and established Union Steel with Henry Clay Frick.
Mellon racked up a formidable fortune, estimated at around $59 billion (£34bn) in today's money. The tycoon, who went on to serve as US Secretary of the Treasury, was also one of America's top art collectors.
Following his death in 1937, his astonishing collection, which included a Raphael, six Vermeers and 23 Rembrandts, was bequeathed to the nation. As well as the priceless paintings, Mellon also left the nation the equivalent of $327 million (£242m) in today's money for the construction of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.
The definitive Gilded Age 'robber baron', Jay Gould was one of the most unscrupulous industrialists of the era, using all sorts of dubious techniques to make his fortune in the burgeoning railroad industry.
Totally cut-throat, the tycoon engaged in everything from bribery to issuing fraudulent stock. His dodgy methods even caused a brief nationwide financial crisis in September 1869, which went down in history books as the original Black Friday.
Having risen from humble beginnings, Gould eventually controlled massive railroad monopolies, as well as telegraph and media companies. He split his time between several properties, including Lyndhurst, a Gothic Revival mansion that overlooked the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York. Hard-nosed to the end, he died in 1892, friendless but filthy rich.
Needless to say, Gould left nothing to charity, with a prominent pastor of the time reportedly describing him as "the human incarnation of avarice".
The founder of the hugely profitable Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford revolutionised automobile manufacturing by introducing innovations such as the moving assembly line. He brought cars to the mass market, transformed travel, and sold millions of vehicles during his lifetime.
With the roots of his fortune entwined with the Gilded Age, Ford rose to become America's second billionaire, though some historians claim he was the first, and was reportedly the wealthiest person on the planet by the 1940s.
When he passed away at his Michigan estate in 1947, the game-changing entrepreneur left behind a jaw-dropping fortune. In today's money, his fortune peaked at around $200 billion (£147.9bn).
Andrew Carnegie's rags-to-riches story began at the age of 13, when he and his impoverished family left Dunfermline in Scotland in favour of a new life in the Pennsylvanian town of Allegheny.
His working career started in a cotton mill, where he undertook gruelling 12-hour days, six days a week. The savvy teenager later landed a job as a telegraph operator and soon began investing in railroads, before branching out into oil and steel, with the latter eventually becoming his biggest money generator.
An astute businessman, Carnegie built up what would become the precursor to US Steel, and was a leading figure in the expansion of the steel industry in America. In today's money, his net worth peaked at around $310 billion (£229.3bn), allowing him to live in luxury at his mansions in New York and Massachusetts, the latter of which was the second-largest private residence in the country.
A legendary philanthropist, Carnegie, who died in 1919, gave away around 90% of his fortune to various charities and educational establishments during his lifetime.
Widely regarded as the wealthiest American who ever lived – not to mention the world's first billionaire – John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in 1870 and went on to control 90% of the US oil business.
His peak fortune is estimated to be worth $340 billion (£251.5bn) in today's money, although some claim Rockefeller's finances were exaggerated, meaning that Henry Ford was the first "real" billionaire.
Either way, Rockefeller certainly had a fortune in the bank. He also owned a portfolio of majestic properties across the country, including Kykuit (pictured), a 40-room mansion-turned-museum that sits in the Pocantico Hills, just outside of New York City.
He also followed the lead of the more generous industrialists of the era and was heavily involved in philanthropy, donating hundreds of millions of dollars to good causes.
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