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“60 MINUTES” CORRESPONDENT AND CNN ANCHOR ANDERSON COOPER OPENS UP ABOUT THE VANDERBILT FAMILY, HIS MOTHER GLORIA VANDERBILT AND MORE ON “CBS MORNINGS” AND “CBS SUNDAY MORNING”
60 MINUTES correspondent and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper opened up about the Vanderbilt family, including his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. Cooper shared his personal research into how this iconic American family made and squandered its fortune in separate interviews with CBS MORNINGS co-hosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson and with CBS SUNDAY MORNING correspondent Mo Rocca.
Cooper is the great-great-great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who created a shipping and railroad empire that made him the wealthiest man in America. Cooper’s new book Vanderbilt: the Rise and Fall of American Dynasty looks at the impact of his famous family on the world and on his life today.
Watch the CBS MORNINGS segment here: https://bit.ly/3EykkkC
Tweet: https://bit.ly/3EykkkC
CBS MORNINGS Excerpts:
On avoiding his Vanderbilt heritage: “Growing up, I never really wanted to be associated with that, I didn’t want, that name comes with a lot of preconceived notions.”
“The idea was that people have kind of thought I must have a huge amount of money and have some sort of a trust fund, which wasn’t the case. So I didn’t want that being how people saw me when I walked into a room. So, I was very glad my last name was Cooper.”
On lessons learned: “For me, the lesson was always, you know, just keep working, work hard and don’t be a layabout.”
On the Vanderbilts being a cautionary tale: “They certainly were for me. And, I think, you look at their lives – look, they were living huge lavish lives – a lot of them were miserable.”
On the book: “This isn’t a book about the business achievements of Commodore Vanderbilt. Great books have been written about that. This is really about how these human beings at key moments in their lives, how they responded to the events around them that from the outside looked, to your point, very grand and amazing.”
Watch CBS SUNDAY MORNING’s segment here: https://cbsn.ws/2VXGnQg
Tweet: https://bit.ly/3lHXKgB
CBS SUNDAY MORNING Excerpts:
On his mother: “This book helped me understand my mom in ways I never really even imagined because, once you see the world she was born into … and the life her father led and the … the life her mother dreamed of leading and the … the life that her grandfather led …you see why it was that she, you know, grew up just spending money and – and thinking nothing of it.”
On his own work habits: “Work for me has been the thing which has gotten me through everything. Work has always been the one constant in my life from the time I was, you know, working as a child model as a kid. … It was something that was reliable, that helped me calm myself. And, you know, I was building a foundation for a life.”
On dedicating the book to his son, Wyatt: “I thought, ‘I want to write a book for my son that kind of explains part of his past or his family’s past.’ And …it’s an honest view I think at … at this … remarkable family, which was remarkable in good ways, and … also bad.”
CBS MORNINGS is broadcast live Monday through Friday, (7:00-9:00 AM) on the CBS Television Network and streamed on Paramount+. Shawna Thomas is the executive producer of CBS MORNINGS. CBS SUNDAY MORNING is broadcast Sundays (9:00-10:30 AM) on the CBS Television Network and streamed on Paramount+. Rand Morrison is the executive producer of CBS SUNDAY MORNING.
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