Countess Széchenyi was born Gladys Moore Vanderbilt in 1886, the seventh and youngest child of Alice Claypoole Gwynne and Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the president and chairman of the New York Central Railroad. Gladys grew up in the family home on Fifth Avenue in New York City, and their summer "cottage," The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island.
She inherited about $25 million from her father"s estate and a further $5 million from her mother"s estate. She also inherited The Breakers. In 1948, as a widow, she leased The Breakers to the Preservation Society of Newport County for $1 a year.
She continued to maintain an apartment in The Breakers by agreement until her death.
In 1972, the Preservation Society purchased The Breakers for $365,000 from Gladys" heirs, but Gladys" daughter maintained the apartment on the third floor. Countess Széchenyi died in 1965.
Vanderbilt family.
