Vanderbilt and Bill Gates

At the time of Cornelius Vanderbilt death, his fortune was estimated at $100 million. In his will, he left 95% if his estate to his son William and to William's four sons. That would estimate to be almost 5 million during that time, if that was recalculated today it would have been almost 100 million. To his other four sons Cornelius, William, Frederick, and George he left them $2 million apiece (approx. $39,600,000 in 2008 USD. Cornelius Vanderbilt stated that he believed William Henry was the only heir capable of maintaining the business empire.

He willed amounts ranging from $250,000 (approximate $4,950,000 in 2008 USD) to $500,000 ($9,920,000 in 2008 USD) to each of his eight daughters. His wife received US$500,000, their New York City home, and 2,000 shares of common stock in New York Central Railroad. To his younger surviving son, Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt, whom he regarded as a wastrel, he left the income from a $200,000 trust fund. The Commodore had lived in relative modesty considering his nearly unlimited means, splurging only on race horses, leaving his descendants to build the Vanderbilt houses that characterize America's Gilded Age.

When you fast forward into time and talk about Bill Gates, you get a chance to see what a modern day person is able to do with their money. The things that Bill Gates does with his money are amazing, this guy is able to donate large sums of money to all kinds of different charities for all kinds of reasons. Bill Gate spent billions to help with health care for poor people, and to help fix U.S. schools.

Being the richest man in the world has also enabled Gates to create one of the world's largest charitable foundations. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have an endowment of more than $28 billion, with donations totaling more than $1 billion every year. The foundation was formed in 2000 after merging the "Gates Learning Foundation" and "William H. Gates Foundation". Their aim is to "bring innovations in health and...