Was a Little Inheritance Worse Than None?

Madeleine Astor

Although John Jacob Astor IV went down with the Titanic, his teenage bride, Madeleine, five months pregnant, survived. In an earlier post, we surmised that Astor's posthumous child received none of the family fortune.

Not quite. Before fleeing abroad for an extended honeymoon – New York and Newport society considered him a bounder and a cad for marrying a girl younger than his son, Vincent – Astor had made a new will providing for Madeleine. Thanks to Astor's careful lawyers, the revised will also left $3 million to any child who survived Astor but was not mentioned in the will.

Jakey, as Vincent's little half-brother was called, received his inheritance at age 21. Was the fund still worth $3 million when delivered in the Depression year of 1933? Even if it was, Jakey's wealth was puny compared to the $200 million or so Vincent had received.

Resentment of the disparity may have contributed to what sounds like Jakey's wasted life. (He skipped college, tried working, quit, and never took another job.) The enmity of his half-brother, Vincent, probably contributed to Jakey's isolation. He may have received an inheritance of sorts, but as  today's estate planners might say, he missed out on the family legacy.

Update: April 14. Reportedly you can catch a glimpse of John Jacob Astor IV (and maybe Madeleine?) on this weekend's ABC Titanic miniseries. April 15: Yup, there they were at the lifeboat, though Madeleine looked mature for a teenager.