Anderson Cooper to Subsist Off Just His Millions

Anderson Cooper’s mom is giving her son none of the Vanderbilt family money that has trickled down since the mid 19th century when Cornelius actually did something to earn it. Or steal it and earn it. Same difference. 150 years later, a decent deal of it’s still in Gloria Vanderbilt’s coffers and she’s not gifting any to her boy. That leaves Anderson with nothing but his Ralph Lauren modeling portfolio, his Yale education, and his estimated $100 net worth. Cooper says he’s glad his mom’s not providing him with a financial cushion:

Who’s inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in their own life? From the time I was growing up, if I felt that there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know that I would’ve been so motivated.

Cooper simultaneously made a sapient point and slammed the past four generations of his family. Living off just his noteworthy annual salary from CNN has forced Cooper to make the hard choices that build character. For instance, he can vacation on a private Hawaiian island resort, but he can’t buy Hawaii and force the natives into producing his morning Arabica blend coffee. He can afford to cover up three, maybe four dead gay hustlers in his Manhattan skyline condo, after that, he’s stuffing bodies into the incinerator with his Pilates hewn muscles. I’ve known a few trust fund babies in my life and I think Cooper is right. None of them look as impeccably coutured in Armani as he does. That kind of fit only comes from getting your hands dirty.

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