John Jacob Astor VI (August 14, 1912 – June 26, 1992) was an American socialite, shipping businessman, and member of the Astor family. He was dubbed the "Titanic Baby" for his affiliation with the RMS Titanic; Astor was born four months after his father, Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, died in the sinking of the Titanic; his pregnant mother Madeleine Astor survived the sinking.
Astor was known for his legal battles with the estate of his elder half-brother, Vincent Astor, to inherit a larger portion of their father's $85 million fortune (approximately $ billion in dollars). He was also known for his many engagements and four marriages to prominent society women.
Early life
John Jacob Astor VI (nicknamed "Jakey") was born at 840 Fifth Avenue in New York City on August 14, 1912. He was the son of Colonel John Jacob Astor IV (nicknamed "Jack") and socialite Madeleine Talmage Force. Jakey's parents' marriage, on September 9, 1911, had sparked much controversy both because of their 29-year age difference, and because Colonel Astor had been divorced from his first wife, socialite Ava Lowle Willing, only one year earlier, on March 5, 1910.
The newlyweds were returning home aboard the Titanic after about three months of honeymooning in Egypt and Europe. Madeleine was five months pregnant with Jakey when her husband put her in one of the ship's lifeboats. She was rescued two and half hours after her husband went down with the ship.
After Jack's death, Madeleine raised their son at the Astors' Newport, Rhode Island, mansion, Beechwood, as part of the Astor family. She married banker William Karl Dick in 1916 and boxer Enzo Fiermonte in 1933. With Dick, she had two more sons: William Force Dick and John Henry Dick II. Fiermonte taught her sons boxing.
Astor, who had become close to Dick, strongly opposed the union with Fiermonte and repeatedly tried to convince his mother to end the relationship. This caused a rift between the two, though they reconciled within several months of the marriage. When asked if his mother was marrying Fiermonte, he responded, "Unfortunately, it's true".
Astor graduated from St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island, and from Harvard University.
Inheritance
Under the terms of Colonel Astor's will, Madeleine received relatively little of her husband's $85 million estate (approximately $ billion in dollars). This included his estate in Rhinebeck and his yacht, the Noma. William Vincent Astor, the Colonel's son from his first marriage, received $69 million (about $ billion in dollars), while the Colonel's daughter from his first marriage, Ava Alice Muriel Astor, received a $10 million trust fund (about $ million in dollars).
The Colonel's 19-year-old widow Madeleine received the annual income from a $5 million trust fund (about $ million in dollars), supplemented by an annual payment of $500,000 (about $ million in dollars), as well as use of his New York mansion at 65th Street & Fifth Avenue, all its furnishings, and his Newport mansion Beechwood and all of its furnishings, the pick of whichever luxury limousine she wanted from his collection, and five of his prized horses, provided that she did not remarry. While not listed by name, his father's will mentioned that any surviving child other than his children Vincent and Ava would receive a bequest of $3 million, to be held in trust until the child reached age 21. Jakey inherited the $3 million on his 21st birthday, which by that point had grown to $5 million (about $ million in dollars). When Madeleine died in late March 1940, she left him a diamond solitaire ring worth $50,000 (about $ in dollars) and a pearl necklace worth $1,525 (about $ in dollars).
Elder half-brother Vincent's contempt for Madeleine led him to believe that Jakey was not even a biological Astor. Having despised his younger half-brother since birth, Vincent left him nothing in his will. Jakey felt cheated and said Vincent "had the legal, not the moral, right to keep all the money". After Vincent died childless in February 1959, Jakey sued Vincent's widow Roberta Brooke Russell for his inheritance. He was convinced that Vincent was "mentally incompetent" when signing his last will in June 1958 due to alcoholism, but Brooke insisted Vincent was "fully competent". While Vincent was hospitalized, Brooke often brought him liquor, and Jakey accused her of using the liquor to influence the will in her favor. He ended up settling for $250,000 (about $ million in dollars). The rest of the money remained with the Vincent Astor foundation and Brooke.