Six generations after Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt made his fortune, it continues to grow.

FORBES: Achieving immortality via the family office

Cornelius Vanderbilt, Henry Ford and Jay Gould were spurred on by their determination to escape the drudgery of the family farm.

ECONOMIST: Financial history

At the eastern edge of the Gold Coast, about 25 miles from Great Neck, this 24-room Spanish-style estate was home to William K Vanderbilt II, great-grandson of the famed railroad industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt.

BBC: The Great Gatsby��s Gold Coast

When in 1883 Mrs Cornelius Vanderbilt, arrayed for a fancy-dress ball as Electric Light, topped off her satin and diamonds with a large incandescent bulb, it subtracted nothing from the elegance of the scheme.

ECONOMIST: Going out all over Europe, and beyond

This car, fittingly, found its way to Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney , descendent of both oil and railroad tycoons, and needless to say, someone to whom the Great Depression wasn't a significant deterrent to the enjoyment of the good life.

FORBES: Vehicles Feature