Oct 21

Oct 21 The 10th Richest American Ever - Lord Stephen Van Rensselaer III

Stephen Van Rensselaer III was the Lord of Rensselaerswyck in the decades following the Revolutionary War.

Stephen was an important leader in New York’s politics, militia and civic affairs.

Fun Fact: Stephen’s first wife was Peggy Schuyler, who has recently become famous as one of the Schuyler sisters in the musical ‘Hamilton’.

Stephen Van Rensselaer III

When Stephen Van Rensselaer III came of age in 1784, he inherited one of the largest fortunes in New York.

He also took over as Lord of Rensselaerswyck, a gigantic manor in Upstate New York which during his lifetime included approximately 80,000 rent-paying tenants.

Yes, you read that right, he was a Lord. New York, even after the Revolutionary War, was largely operated by a feudal system which came from a century earlier when the colony was under Dutch control.

Lieutenant Governor

Van Rensselaer took his role as a leader of men seriously and almost immediately began serving in the New York Assembly, followed a few years later with the State Senate.

He was then elected as Lieutenant Governor of New York, supporting Governor John Jay.

Though his own attempts to run for Governor failed, Stephen was later elected to the US House of Representatives where he cast the deciding vote for John Quincy Adams to take over as President.

Battle of Queenston Heights

Throughout his political career, Van Rensselaer also participated in the State Militia.

By the War of 1812 he achieved the rank of Major General, despite a minimal amount of actual experience in the field.

President James Madison (seemingly as a ploy to hurt Stephen’s campaign for Governor against Daniel D. Thompkins) sent him north to fight the British in Canada.

Unfortunately, the militia he commanded did not have to follow him out of State and the US Army Officers refused to follow the orders of the militia (despite Van Rensselaer technically being in charge).

The result was the disastrous Battle of Queenston Heights which was an embarrassment for Stephen as well as America on the whole.

Spending for the Public Good

Throughout his life, Van Rensselaer participated in all aspects of society.

He established banks, insurance companies and academic institutions in addition to serving on the Erie Canal Commission. His pride and joy was the Rensselaer School, now known as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, that he created with Amos Eaton.

Upon his death in 1839, Stephen Van Rensselaer’s net-worth was approximately 3 billion...in 1839 money!

Adjusted for inflation, his 101 billion dollar new-worth ranks him as the tenth wealthiest America who ever lived.

Here is another Founder who falls on the ‘wealthiest ever’ list:

Funding the War of 1812 - Stephan Gerard and His Bank

It is shocking to me that I have never been able to find a biography of Stephen Van Rensselaer.

‘Designing a New World’ is about his first ancestor who took control of the family land in New York and is an interesting reflection on the creation of the manor system that dominated New York during the Revolutionary War.

If you’d like a copy you can get one through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).