However, Cooper (pictured) was already rich in his own right. The award-winning TV journalist earns a reported $18 million (£13.3m) a year from his CNN gig. Today, he has an estimated net worth of $60 million (£44m), though some sources claim it is much higher. Gloria's New York apartment was given to her other son Leopold Stokowski.

Other notable and affluent descendants of Cornelius Vanderbilt include Blenheim Palace custodian the 12th Duke of Marlborough (net worth of $240m/£178m), who is related to the patriarch through his great-grandmother Consuelo Vanderbilt, Hollywood screenwriter James Vanderbilt ($20m/£15m), and actor Timothy Olyphant ($20m/£15m).

Now discover what happened to the fortune of the world's first billionaire

From Rockefellers to Rothschilds: how five old-money dynasties live today