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Cornelius Vanderbilt became the richest man in the world in the 1870s, from the railroads and shipping.  Decades earlier beginning at the age of only 11, Vanderbilt quit school in order to work with his father to transport cargo and people by ferry boat between Staten Island and Manhattan.  Through tremendous hard work and shrewd business practices he amassed a fortune which culminated in his acquisition and management of several railroad lines.  He built Grand Central Station in Manhattan, which is a railroad terminal for millions of travelers today.

Cornelius Vanderbilt became the richest man in the world in the 1870s, from the railroads and shipping.  Decades earlier beginning at the age of only 11, Vanderbilt quit school in order to work with his father to transport cargo and people by ferry boat between Staten Island and Manhattan.  Through tremendous hard work and shrewd business practices he amassed a fortune which culminated in his acquisition and management of several railroad lines.  He built Grand Central Station in Manhattan, which is a railroad terminal for millions of travelers today.

He also built the largest private home in the United States, which continues to hold that record to this day.  It is located in Western North Carolina and is called the Biltmore Estate.  Nearly a hundred times bigger than the homes of average Americans, this home symbolizes the excesses of the "Gilded Age" criticized by Mark Twain.  The intent was to replicate the design of European mansions and estates.

His youngest son, George Washington Vanderbilt III, considered to have been his father's favorite although not given the bulk of his fortune,  was an art collector who built in the 1880s the largest private home in the United States, which continues to hold that record to this day.  It has 250 rooms and is located in Western North Carolina and is called the Biltmore Estate.  Nearly a hundred times bigger than the homes of average Americans, this home symbolizes the excesses of the "Gilded Age" criticized by Mark Twain.  The intent was to replicate the design of European mansions and estates.

[[File:Biltmore Estate.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The Biltmore Estate of the Vanderbilt family in North Carolina, still the largest private home in the United States having nearly 179,000 square feet]]

[[File:Biltmore Estate.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The Biltmore Estate of the Vanderbilt family in North Carolina, still the largest private home in the United States having nearly 179,000 square feet]]

Vanderbilt himself was a crude man who was never accepted by higher society, and may have built his mansion in the remote area both to make a statement and to get away from all his critics.  He donated relatively little to charity and instead left almost his entire fortune to his eldest son, giving little to rest of his many children.

Cornelius Vanderbilt himself was a crude, unrefined man who was never accepted by higher society.  He donated relatively little to charity, with the exception of his donation to the Methodist Church in Tennessee which was used to build Vanderbilt University.  Instead Vanderbilt left almost his entire fortune to his eldest son, giving relatively little to the rest of his many children.

 

But Vanderbilt is credited with establishing the foundation for modern transportation today, with trains that ran on time and served the public both in carrying freight and passengers.  He used new technologies in a shrewd but honest way, and devised methods of business organization which are still used today.

== Big Business and Big Oil ==

== Big Business and Big Oil ==