Brooke Astor Dies At 105

Who Were The Astors?

One pictures an aristocratic family in gilded carriages, Newport mansions, and the center of New York's high society. But the truth is they were con-men who made their fortune in opium, and as slum lords.

Jonathan Jakob Astor... 1763 - 1848

Son of a Jewish butcher, he made his fortune in the fur trade, real estate, and opium industries.  He traded furs with Indians and then he started a fur goods shop in New York City in the late 1780s. In 1800, Astor traded furs, teas and sandalwood with Canton in China, and greatly benefited from it.  Thomas Jefferson gave him special franchises.

In the 1830s, Jakob Astor entered his biggest venture, he bought enormous amounts of New York real estate. At the time of his death in 1848, Astor was the wealthiest person in the United States, leaving an estate estimated to be worth at least 20 million dollars.

William Backhouse Astor, Sr.  ....1792 -  1875

William Backhouse Astor, Sr. was the second-oldest son of John Jacob Astor and Sarah Todd Astor. He ran the Astor holdings, he was the driving force behind the real estate, and he left an estate worth close to $50 million.

John Jacob Astor III ...  1822 – 1890

The elder son of William Backhouse Astor, Sr. and the wealthiest member of the Astor family. He was New York's biggest slum lord.

John Jacob Astor IV .... 1864 –  1912

He was a New York real estate magnate who married 17 year old girl. He died on the Titanic. The romantic story of Astor drinking brandy as the boat sunk was just a legend.

John Jacob Astor VI ...1912 - 1992

He was the son of John Jacob Astor IV, who died when the RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. His mother was five months pregnant when she was rescued eight hours after her husband went down with the ship.

John Jacob Astor VI  was married three times. He died in Miami Beach, Florida at the age of 79.

Astors And The Roosevelts

The Roosevelt family has been connected to the Delano family which Is a Black Venetian Noble family that goes back for many centuries. The lives of these families also intertwine with the Astors. Franklin Hughes Delano married Lavia Astor, daughter of the original William Backhouse Astor. · James Roosevelt Roosevelt-married Helen Astor, daughter of William Backhouse, Jr.. James Roosevelt, he married the sister of Vincent Astor’s wife.
The Astor Bloodline

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