If complimentary admission to the lectures is a benefit of your membership level, the discount will be applied automatically at checkout if you are logged in.

Capital and Culture by Katherine Howe and T.J. Stiles

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2027
5:30 PM Cocktails, 6:00 PM Lecture

What did it take to build one of America’s great fortunes, and what happened to the families, institutions, and society transformed by that wealth?

Katherine Howe, co-author with Anderson Cooper of Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, and T.J. Stiles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, come together to explore the extraordinary creation and consequences of wealth during the Gilded Age.

Drawing on the rise of the Vanderbilt dynasty and the sweeping economic changes that followed the Civil War, the discussion examines the entrepreneurs, industries, and financial forces that reshaped the nation. It also explores how new fortunes translated into social influence, cultural patronage, magnificent homes, and extraordinary jewels that became symbols of status and ambition. Beyond the glamour of the period lies a more complex story of opportunity, inequality, transformation, and the legacy of an era that continues to shape American life.