One of Vanderbilt's Sons Said to Get Bulk of Her Fortune

Gloria Vanderbilt is survived by three sons. And the New York Post reports one of them is getting nearly everything she had. According to a will filed Monday in Manhattan surrogate court, Anderson Cooper will inherit the bulk of her estate. Her eldest son, Leopold "Stan" Stokowski, will get her Manhattan residence at 30 Beekman Place. Son Chris Stokowski, who has reportedly been estranged from his mother and other family members for decades, is said to have received nothing. Vanderbilt's youngest son, Carter, died in 1988.

The Post quotes Cooper as now somewhat humorously telling Howard Stern five years ago that he didn't think the fortune was coming to him, and that Vanderbilt "made clear to me that there's no trust fund." Which was fine with him. "I think [inheriting money] is a curse. Who's inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in their life?" Vanderbilt is thought to be worth as much as $200 million. As for the rest of us, the Washington Post cites Federal Reserve data in reporting that about half of inheritances are worth less than $50,000. (More Gloria Vanderbilt stories.)