William Henry Vanderbilt I (May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885) was an American businessman and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family

Vanderbilt family

The Vanderbilt family is an American family of Dutch origin prominent during the Gilded Age. It started off with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy...

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William Vanderbilt was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey

New Brunswick, New Jersey

New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...

 in 1821. He inherited nearly $100 million from his father, railroad mogul and family patriarch "The Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...

 upon his death in 1877 and had increased it to almost $194 million at his death less than nine years later. When he died, he was the richest man in the world.