When people talk about old money, two family names almost always surface: the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers. Both dominated the Gilded Age. Both shaped American industry. Both controlled unimaginable fortunes.
Yet only one family is still synonymous with generational wealth today.
Here’s what their stories teach us, especially for families building modern, Texas-style, multigenerational plans.
1. The Vanderbilts: From “The Commodore” to 120 Descendants—and Not One Millionaire
Cornelius Vanderbilt built a shipping and railroad empire worth the equivalent of hundreds of billions today. His approach to wealth was simple: build big, spend big, assume it will last forever.
His sons inherited enormous wealth but continued the pattern:
- Costly estates (Biltmore alone cost the modern equivalent of $200+ million)
- Extravagant lifestyles
- No cohesive governance
- No long-term investment or preservation plan
- No central family office or financial stewardship structure
By the 1973 Vanderbilt family reunion, not a single descendant was a millionaire.
2. The Rockefellers: The Blueprint for Enduring Generational Wealth
John D. Rockefeller became the richest man in American history—but unlike the Vanderbilts, he combined acute business acumen with deliberate family governance.
The Rockefellers did not just accumulate wealth. They protected it.
Key strategies that preserved the Rockefeller fortune:
- Structured trusts for children and grandchildren, including incentives and distribution standards
- Shared family mission focused on philanthropy, education, and financial stewardship
- Regular family meetings and education around societal impact and values
- Investment discipline—the family’s meetings included discussing the investments and diversification early with professional help
- Succession planning across each generation
Several Rockefellers are millionaires today, and the family remains active in business, policy, and philanthropy. Their wealth wasn’t just preserved. It was intentionally designed to endure.
What This Means for Today’s Estate Planning Clients
The Vanderbilt–Rockefeller comparison is more than a history lesson. It’s a roadmap.
High-net-worth families in Texas (and across the country) are asking the same questions the Gilded Age titans confronted:
- Will my children have direction or drift?
- Should I pass assets outright, or through trusts?
- How do I avoid “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations”?
- How do we build a family mission that outlives us?
- How do we create a family mission statement and governance—even if we don’t have Rockefeller-level wealth?
Your strategy determines your legacy. Thrash, Carroll & Sanchez Law Group has attorneys who 2 attorneys who are board certified and who have practiced in this area for over 35 years each. Our attorneys have actively guided clients through inheriting wealth, selling businesses, liquidity events and starting family foundations. Our goal is to help our clients navigate these wealth events to become Rockefellers not Vanderbilts. Call or email at 512-263-5400 or info@tcslawgroup.com today to schedule with one of our attorneys.