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William Backhouse Astor biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: William Backhouse Astor
  • OCCUPATION: Business Leader
  • BIRTH DATE: September 19, 1792
  • DEATH DATE: November 24, 1875
  • EDUCATION: University of Heidelberg, University of Gottingen
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William Backhouse Astor was the second son of John Jacob Astor and became the richest man in the U.S. upon his father's death.

Synopsis

William Backhouse Astor ran the family businesses, but his father, John Jacob Astor, still made all the big decisions. Upon his father’s death, Astor became the richest man in the United States, inheriting roughly $18 million in 1848. Like his father, Astor invested in New York City real estate, and because of his vast holdings, he earned the nickname the “Landlord of New York.”

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Financier. Born on September 19, 1792, in New York, New York. The second son of John Jacob Astor, the creator of the family??s immense wealth, William was named after a business associate of his father. He attended boarding school in Connecticut and later went to study at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Gttingen in Germany. He returned to the United States in 1815 to take the reins of the family business at his father??s insistence. His older brother, John Jacob, Jr., struggled with mental illness and was in no position to take a leading role in his father??s work so the weight of the Astor fortune fell on William??s shoulders.

Soon after his arrival in New York, Astor became a partner in the firm Jacob Astor & Son. Although he was a partner, he mostly followed his father??s instructions in the running of the business. Even when he served as head of the American Fur Company, the business that helped establish the Astors?? fortune, it was reportedly was his father who decided when and how to sell the company??s holdings. Upon his father??s death, Astor became the richest man in the United States, inheriting roughly $18 million in 1848. Like his father, Astor invested in New York City real estate. Because of his vast holdings, he earned him the nickname the ??Landlord of New York.??

Astor married Margaret Armstrong, the daughter of a Revolutionary War general, in 1818. The couple had six children: Emily, John Jacob, Laura, Mary, William Backhouse, Jr., Henry, and Sarah. He died on November 24, 1875.

© 2012 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.

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