The Vanderbilt fortune vanished by the third generation because later heirs lacked the entrepreneurial drive, relationship skills, and business involvement that built the wealth in the first place. Without those habits, even massive family fortunes run dry.
Completely lost by the 3rd generation. When you think about the Vanderbilts, the Vanderbilts were involved with railroads. So the Vanderbilts were very successful. And that fortune was basically completely gone in about 3 generations or so. It's because that future generations haven't really gone through the experiences necessary to understand how they can wield the power of wealth. When you come from nothing, you understand how to pull yourself up from your own bootstraps. You understand how to make things happen. You understand the power of relationships. You understand the power of compounding over time. You understand the power of being involved in your business. All these things you learn, these superpowers you collect as you continue to play the game of business. Future generations just haven't learned that stuff.
