You Can't Take It With You: The Life and Afterlife of America's Greatest Fortunes
Eric Schoenberg
8 episodes
9 months ago
In 1918, Forbes Magazine published a list of the 30 richest Americans. At the top was oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, Sr, whose wealth was estimated at a whopping $1.2 billion — more than 5 times as much as his closest rival for the title of richest American, Henry Frick. But by that time, Senior had already started giving much of his vast fortune to charity; by the time he died in 1937, he had given away a total of precisely $530,853,632.He also had passed along $470 milli...
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In 1918, Forbes Magazine published a list of the 30 richest Americans. At the top was oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, Sr, whose wealth was estimated at a whopping $1.2 billion — more than 5 times as much as his closest rival for the title of richest American, Henry Frick. But by that time, Senior had already started giving much of his vast fortune to charity; by the time he died in 1937, he had given away a total of precisely $530,853,632.He also had passed along $470 milli...
You Can't Take It With You: The Life and Afterlife of America's Greatest Fortunes
37 minutes
2 years ago
6. Dead Sons and Lovers
On Oct 15, 1906, a legal battle over the estate of the drug industry pioneer William Weightman, which was worth $40-100 million dollars, came to a sudden, screeching halt when a mysterious note was introduced as evidence. Asked about its contents, the husband of Weightman’s granddaughter said that "I would rather have my tongue cut out than reveal what was in that paper." The contents of the note were never revealed. In this episode, I play history detective and offer a theory abo...
You Can't Take It With You: The Life and Afterlife of America's Greatest Fortunes
In 1918, Forbes Magazine published a list of the 30 richest Americans. At the top was oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, Sr, whose wealth was estimated at a whopping $1.2 billion — more than 5 times as much as his closest rival for the title of richest American, Henry Frick. But by that time, Senior had already started giving much of his vast fortune to charity; by the time he died in 1937, he had given away a total of precisely $530,853,632.He also had passed along $470 milli...
