His parents were farmers and, to supplement their income, his father also operated a ferry that transported people and goods across the New York Harbor. By the time Cornelius was born, his family’s station had improved, but not by much. His great great great grandfather was a man named Jan Aertsen who immigrated to America as an indentured servant. His ancestors had come to North America 150 years before he was born, back when the territory was still part of a Dutch colony called New Netherland. He was ruthless in business and didn’t come to be regarded as America’s first robber baron for nothing.Ĭornelius Vanderbilt was born on May 27, 1794, in Staten Island, New York City, to Cornelius Van Der Bilt Sr. Like all the other industrialists and speculators of his time, Vanderbilt stepped on plenty of toes to make his money. That being said, he certainly was no saint.
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