Morning View - Cornelius Vanderbilt

The statue of 19th century rail and shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt stands outside Grand Central Terminal. Vanderbilt is the great-great-grandfather of Anderson Cooper and at his death in 1877 his net worth comprised a significant percentage of the GNP. In 2012 dollars, he would be more than twice as wealthy as Bill Gates is today. Vanderbilt was the inspiration for the rail tycoon in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.