Along with the name Rockefeller, there is probably no name more sterling in the history of NYC than that of Astor. The Astor family's importance and lineage in this town goes back to John Jacob Astor in the eighteenth century and, starting with its original patriarch John Jacob Astor, they have had a huge impact on this city's society, politics, finances, real estate, you know name it, they've had a hand in it.
Heck, without them there'd be no Astoria!
They were the doyenne's of Old New York Money. Even more than the Rockefellers, who made their money in oil (which used to be considered, both literally and figuratively, a kind of dirty business), the Astors first money their money in the fur trade and have always been the considered the very epitome of class. If the term "keeping up with the Jones" means anything, than the Astors were most certainly the New York Jones.
That's why the now unending story of the trial of Anthony Marshall, the late Brooke Astor's son, is so sad. Brook Astor was really the last of her kind and the allegations against her son that he looted her estate -- not only stole from his mother but basically trashed the Astor legacy. It really is the end, not only of a family or a legacy, but of a way of life.
And if you want to follow the whole saga, check out the extensive coverage in Vanity Fair and The New York Times. Never had a real life soap opera been so well written about. It may be the last time we ever read about a tragedy that, even in its squalor, is so ... tasteful.
Heck, without them there'd be no Astoria!
They were the doyenne's of Old New York Money. Even more than the Rockefellers, who made their money in oil (which used to be considered, both literally and figuratively, a kind of dirty business), the Astors first money their money in the fur trade and have always been the considered the very epitome of class. If the term "keeping up with the Jones" means anything, than the Astors were most certainly the New York Jones.
That's why the now unending story of the trial of Anthony Marshall, the late Brooke Astor's son, is so sad. Brook Astor was really the last of her kind and the allegations against her son that he looted her estate -- not only stole from his mother but basically trashed the Astor legacy. It really is the end, not only of a family or a legacy, but of a way of life.
And if you want to follow the whole saga, check out the extensive coverage in Vanity Fair and The New York Times. Never had a real life soap opera been so well written about. It may be the last time we ever read about a tragedy that, even in its squalor, is so ... tasteful.
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