Born in 1794, the patriarch of the family, Cornelius Vanderbilt, built the Vanderbilt family fortune. Of the Commodore (Vanderbilt’s nickname), Cooper writes in the Introduction that he “was a tough businessman and an unforgiving father and that, when he died, he was the richest person in America” (xiv). The Commodore was a hard-working striver, full of ambition. He earned two fortunes: the first from operating ferries and steamships, the second from owning railroad lines.

He was domineering and could be harsh on his children. He called his son Billy a blatherskite, but in the end, he favored him when it came to dispensing his millions. His son Cornelius Jeremiah never received the parental love he needed. He had epilepsy, which the Commodore considered a weakness and an embarrassment. He also lacked the business acumen of his father, a further strike against him. As for the Commodore’s many daughters, he considered them a step below their brothers since they could not carry on the Vanderbilt name. He provided for them modestly in his will but left the vast majority of his money to Billy.

The authors write little about his actual business dealings aside from his early years running ferries. The book instead focuses on the Vanderbilts’ lives as individuals, and in this

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