00:00Rockefeller.
00:01The Rockefellers made their fortune through Standard Oil,
00:04at one point controlling over 90% of U.S. oil production.
00:08John D. Rockefeller became the richest American in history.
00:12They funneled their wealth into banks,
00:14universities, and foundations.
00:16Even today, the family name echoes
00:18through every elite institution in America.
00:21Vanderbilt.
00:22The Vanderbilts built an empire on shipping and railroads.
00:25Cornelius the Commodore Vanderbilt was the original tycoon.
00:29By the Gilded Age, they were throwing parties and mansions
00:32that would give the great Gatsby a run for his money.
00:35However, their wealth eventually faded,
00:38but their name remains tied to legacy, excess,
00:40and New York real estate.
00:41Carnegie.
00:42Andrew Carnegie revolutionized steel
00:44and became one of the richest men alive.
00:47Then he gave most of it away.
00:48He funded libraries, universities, and the arts.
00:52His name still lives through philanthropy,
00:54but unlike some old money families,
00:56the Carnegies didn't stay relevant for the generations
00:58after he passed.
01:00Morgan.
01:01JP Morgan was the banker who backed America.
01:04He financed railroads, consolidated industries,
01:06and even bailed out the federal government during a crisis.
01:10The House of Morgan became a financial dynasty,
01:13and their influence shaped Wall Street for over a century.
01:16DuPont.
01:17The DuPonts started with gunpowder and grew into a chemical empire.
01:21From explosives to nylon to Teflon,
01:24they touched every corner of modern industry.
01:27Their family tree is tangled, their estate is massive,
01:30and their influence is long-lasting, even with all their scandals.
01:34Aster.
01:35John Jacob Aster got rich off fur trading,
01:38then pivoted to New York real estate.
01:40He died the richest man in America,
01:42and his descendants sat atop the American social pyramid for over a century.
01:46The Aster name became synonymous with being in the American wealthy elite.
01:51Ford.
01:51Henry Ford didn't invent the car,
01:53but he made it a symbol of American industry.
01:56The assembly line changed the world.
01:58His descendants turned forward into one of the biggest family-owned businesses in history,
02:03and they kept political and philanthropic clout in Detroit and beyond.
02:08Hearst.
02:08William Randolph Hearst built a media empire so powerful it basically invented yellow journalism.
02:14Yellow journalism is using super catchy headlines that's meant to make you feel emotional,
02:19which leads to your engagement. Pretty much clickbait before clickbait.
02:24He inspired Citizen Kane and owned the biggest mansion in America.
02:28His descendants still run parts of Hearst Communications,
02:32one of the largest media groups in the world.
02:34Kennedy.
02:35Joseph Kennedy made his fortune in booze and Wall Street before grooming his sons for power.
02:41And it worked.
02:42John became president, Bobby became a legend,
02:44and Ted became one of the most influential senators in US history.
02:49The Kennedy mystique is equal parts glamour and also tragedy.
02:53In fact, there's something called the Kennedy curse because of all the tragic deaths in their family.
02:59Bush.
03:00From Yale to oil to the CIA, the Bush family mastered the art of establishment ascent.
03:06Two presidents, two wars, and one dynasty.
03:09It's less flashy than the Kennedys, but every bit as entrenched.
03:14Rothschild.
03:14The Rothschilds are the reason the term international banking dynasty even exists.
03:19Meyer Amschel Rothschild set it all up in Frankfurt in the 1700s.
03:24He sent his five sons to London, Paris, Vienna, Naples, and one state in Frankfurt,
03:30each running a branch of the family firm.
03:32They became the preferred bankers to kings and emperors, financing wars and nation building,
03:37all while staying in the shadows.
03:40Their low public profile and immense wealth equals conspiracy theory magnet.
03:45People project all sorts of world domination myths onto them,
03:49which ironically proves how powerful their brand still is.
03:53Martin Rothschilds are quieter, but they're still rich, still connected, and still in finance.
03:58They're just not in your face about it.
04:00And that's on purpose.
04:01Medici.
04:02The Medici family ruled Florence by combining banking, politics, and art.
04:07They funded greats like Michelangelo and Da Vinci.
04:10They produced popes, queens, and one of the most culturally dominant dynasties in Western history.
04:17Habsburg.
04:17The Habsburgs were Europe's royal overlords for centuries.
04:21Their empire stretched from Austria to Spain to the Americas.
04:25They used marriage like a military tactic and became infamous for their inbreeding,
04:30which led to their collapse.
04:32But their power was unmatched in early modern Europe.
04:35Windsor.
04:35The House of Windsor isn't just a royal family.
04:38It's a branding mastermind.
04:40They originally went by a different name,
04:42but it was German and World War I made German a bad look in Britain.
04:46So they rebranded.
04:48Their wealth is tied up in land.
04:50Lots of land.
04:51They have the Crown Estate,
04:53Duchy of Lancaster,
04:55Duchy of Cornwall,
04:56multi-billion dollar portfolios.
04:58But here's the catch.
05:00None of it is technically owned.
05:02It's just held in trust for the nation.
05:05While they live like billionaires.
05:07They've weathered scandal after scandal.
05:09Divorce Princess Diana, Prince Andrew, Harry and Meghan.
05:13Yet somehow the machine rolls on.
05:15Queen Elizabeth II held it together for 70 years.
05:19Charles III is now the brand's aging caretaker,
05:22and William is positioned as next up.
05:25Their reign over the country might be symbolic,
05:27but that doesn't take away from their generational real estate,
05:30diplomatic immunity, and cultural dominance.
05:33It's soft power, but it's been sharpened over a century.
05:37Bourbon.
05:38The Bourbons ruled France, Spain, and Naples.
05:41Louis XIV built Versailles.
05:44Louis XVI lost his head.
05:46The dynasty was defined by opulence, collapse, and comeback.
05:50A few Bourbon branches still exist today,
05:53but they're mostly in exile.
05:56Mellon.
05:56The Mellons made money in banking, oil, and steel.
05:59Andrew Mellon served as treasury secretary
06:02and helped shape United States tax policy.
06:05The family later poured wealth into philanthropy, art,
06:08and elite institutions like Carnegie Mellon University.
06:12Firestone.
06:13Harvey Firestone founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
06:17and quickly locked in a generational partnership with Ford.
06:21Their families intermarried, cementing their dynasty.
06:24Firestone wealth spread into racing, land, and politics.
06:29Whitney.
06:30The Whitney's were American elites before that was even a thing.
06:33They had banking money, railroad money, and art world money.
06:37William Collins Whitney helped modernize the United States Navy
06:40and served as Secretary of the Navy under Grover Cleveland.
06:44Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, yes, from the Vanderbilt family who married into the Whitney's,
06:50founded the Whitney Museum of American Art.
06:52They were also heavy into thoroughbred horse racing, things like the Kentucky Derby.
06:57They played the marriage game hard, tying into the Harrimans, Roosevelt's, and even British nobility.
07:04Less flashy than the Rockefellers or Hearsts, but they were embedded in every power corridor.
07:09Finance, politics, culture.
07:11They're just some pure East Coast legacy money.
07:15Harriman.
07:16Railroads made the Harrimans rich.
07:18E.H. Harriman was a titan of transportation.
07:21His son, Averill, became a major player in Cold War politics and diplomacy.
07:27They turned their wealth directly into power.
07:30Tudor.
07:31The Tudors ruled England from Henry VII to Elizabeth I.
07:35Henry VIII had six wives and launched the English Reformation.
07:40Elizabeth made England a naval power.
07:42Their dynasty lasted less than 120 years, but it did change world history.
07:48Stuart.
07:48Stuart.
07:49The Stuart Line ruled Scotland, then England, and Ireland.
07:53They dealt with rebellion, civil war, and exile.
07:56They're famous for the Jacobite Risings and the romantic legacy of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
08:02Eventually, they were replaced by the House of Hanover.
08:06Sod.
08:06The House of Sod is oil royalty.
08:09Literally.
08:09The dynasty began in the 18th century, but gained global power in 1938,
08:14when oil was discovered under their sand.
08:17By 1945, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia had cut a deal.
08:22Oil for protection.
08:24They control Saudi Aramco, one of the most valuable companies on earth.
08:28Currently, it's worth $1.6 trillion.
08:32Meanwhile, their sovereign wealth fund is reshaping global business.
08:36They own chunks of Uber, Lucid Motors, SoftBank, the Live Golf League, and much more.
08:42The family has thousands of members, but a select few wield real power.
08:47The current ruler, King Salman, and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,
08:52have turned the kingdom into a tech-forward, investor-friendly place, Koch.
08:57Fred Koch made oil refining tech.
08:59His sons, Charles and David, turned Koch Industries into one of the largest private companies in the world.
09:05And they quietly became some of the most influential political donors in U.S. history.
09:11Mars.
09:12Mars, Inc. is one of the most successful family-owned companies in American history.
09:16And it's one of the most secretive.
09:18It was started by Frank Mars in the 1910s.
09:21And it blew up with Milky Way, M&Ms, Snickers, and later, pet care, like Pedigree and Banfield.
09:28It's all privately held, passed down through bloodlines, with zero interest in media attention.
09:34They own more than just candy.
09:36They've gobbled up food brands, pet hospitals, and biotech ventures.
09:40The Mars family could walk past you in the street in hoodies and no one would notice,
09:45because they want it that way.
09:46Ultra rich, ultra low-key, ultra controlled.
09:50The old money playbook executed perfectly.
09:53Duke.
09:54James Duke made a fortune in tobacco and hydroelectric power.
09:58He endowed Duke University, and his family became Southern United States elites.
10:03The Duke endowment still funds hospitals, schools, and charities across the Southeast.
10:09Boone.
10:09Descendants of frontier legend Daniel Boone got rich drilling oil in Texas and Oklahoma.
10:15They were early wildcatters, which means risk-taking oil hunters who mixed cowboy grit with big money ambition.
10:23It's pretty much old money with a wild west twist.
10:26When the U.S.
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