Gloria Vanderbilt, a fashion icon and designer, died at the age of 95. As a descendant of business magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, many are curious about the net worth of Anderson Cooper’s late mother.
Gloria Vanderbilt was wealthy and famous before she knew it, as she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in the ’30s. The tabloids at the time stereotyped Vanderbilt as the “poor little rich girl” due to her enormous fortune and difficult childhood.
She eventually inherited a fortune and earned another — spending both.
Gloria Vanderbilt net worth
At one time, her fortune sat at around $200 million, but most of that dwindled over the years. According to Bloomberg, she inherited $4 million (the equivalent of about $71 million in 2019) at age 21 and spent most of it by the time she reached her 40’s.
Gloria began her fashion empire in 1976 when she teamed up with Mohan Murjani to launch designer jeans bearing the signature of her famous name — Vanderbilt — and her logo.
BREAKING: Gloria Vanderbilt, member of the storied Vanderbilt family, has died at 95 years old, her son Anderson Cooper confirms.
Cooper says she died at home surrounded by family and friends. https://t.co/slfPW5LDSh pic.twitter.com/qTBYbRIDHe
— ABC News (@ABC) June 17, 2019
In 1980, Gloria earned $10 million from her jeans and other lines of apparel bearing her name.
Vanderbilt sued her lawyer, Thomas Andrews for fraud, accusing him of stealing about $1.7 million. She was unable to collect her civil lawsuit award of $300,000 after he passed away.
Gloria Vanderbilt was forced to sell her two homes to pay off back taxes she assumed her lawyer paid.
She also lived a lavish lifestyle and was once quoted saying the following about her spending habits: “I always spent money I had. And I always spent what I made. I’m not stingy.”
Gloria Vanderbilt has died at 95 pic.twitter.com/rAmBApidcG
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) June 17, 2019
After Gloria Vanderbilt spent her fortune she made from her fashion empire, Bloomberg reports she continued to earn money with her books and paintings.
Gloria held art exhibitions and wrote two books. She also co-authored a book with her son Anderson Cooper.