several generations they were unremarkable. and then along came a young man named cornelius. and he was an amazement, full of energy and vitality. and he started with one ship. and by the time he was finished with shipping, he had more ships than the u.s. navy, and more money than the u.s. treasury. he was clearly by then a transportation genius. and he began to connect these independent rail lines into the new york central system and build his second transportation empire. before 1913, there were no taxes. so enormous fortunes like these were simply set up to perpetuate. and the people who inherited them thought that they would go on forever. well, that s my grandfather, alfred vanderbilt, the very first. ail friend vanderbilt iii. next to him is gloria s father,