Source of Wealth: inheritance
Roosevelt's family was among the first settlers in Dutch New York and his grandfather Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt was one of the wealthiest merchants and bankers in New York City during the mid-19th century. But Roosevelt scholars note that by the 1870s, the industrial revolution had changed all the rules and people like William Henry Vanderbilt far outdistanced the Roosevelts. T.R.'s parents both died by the time he was in his early 20s and he spent his life either in public service or working as an author and rancher. As a result, T.R. was much less well off than his cousins and many of his friends, says John Gable, executive director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. Nonetheless, his inheritance allowed him a substantial income of $8,000 per year, enough to support a large home and servants, but not enough for a townhouse in Manhattan. T.R. lost much of his fortune before he was president in an ill-fated ranching venture in the Dakota Territories. When he left office he had to work hard as an author to pay his bills.
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