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While Vanderbilt did not donate much to charity or spend vast sums of money on luxury, his sole extravagance was buying race horses. However, in the year 1873, Frank, his wife, introduced him to Reverend Holland Nimmons McTyeire. He asked Vanderbilt to help him fund a Methodist University in Tennessee. Discussions on the subject went on for several years and by the time of his death, Vanderbilt gave around $1 million to fund the creation of Vanderbilt University.

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Vanderbilt was a great capitalist, but not a particularly great philanthropist. He left most of his fortune to his children, and less than 5 percent of his wealth to charity. The $2–3 million that Vanderbilt dedicated to philanthropy, however, was more than anyone else of his generation.Nonetheless, for most of his life, Vanderbilt did not show much interest in helping others.

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Around the time of the Civil War, Vanderbilt learned that travel by rail rather than water was becoming more popular. Instead of starting a business from the ground up, he decided to buy existing railroads. He obtained the Long Island Railroad, the New York and Harlem Railroad and then the Hudson River Railroad. He eventually acquired the Central Railroad and merged it with the other railroads he already owned. Following the same methods of his shipping industry, he primarily focused on comfort, speed, size, and luxury while maintaining low fares. He eventually merged of his railroads into what became known as the New York Central Railroad. His son, William Henry Vanderbilt, persuaded his father to expand the freight industry to Chicago. They acquired the Lakeshore and Michigan Railway, the Michigan Southern, the Canadian Southern and the Michigan Central Railroad. This generated for that time the largest American system of railway transportation.

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1. "Cornelius Vanderbilt." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 05 Mar. 2016. Web. 19 Jan. 2017.

2. History.com Staff. "Cornelius Vanderbilt." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 19 Jan. 2017.

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Vanderbilt's shipping industry truly commenced when he partnered with Thomas Gibbons who operated a ferry service between New Brunswick, New Jersey and New York City. It eventually became the dominant ferry service on the Philadelphia to New York route as it charged only a quarter of their typical competitors. From 1818 to 1829, the partnership made a fortune. At the end of this period Vanderbilt decided to be independent by beginning a passenger and freight service on a New York route. He used the same methods implemented by both him and Gibbons as he upheld cheaper travel fare. This led him to expanding his service to Albany, the Long Island Sound, Providence and Connecticut areas. He continued to expand his business and quickly became the biggest employer in the United States in the 1840s as he accumulated a fleet of 100 steamships. His business became known as one of the most sophisticated companies in the country as his wealth allowed him to not only compete on the basis of price, but on the basis of comfortability, speed, size and luxury. Vanderbilt became so dominant in the shipping industry that he donated his largest and fastest steamship, named the Vanderbilt, to the U.S. Civil War for the Union Navy. Built for around $1 million, the vessel was used to chase down Confederate raiders.

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Cornelius Vanderbilt was a famous industrialist who worked in railroads and shipping. He started a ferry business in New York harbor with one boat. This led to the creation of his own steamship company, which eventually allowed him to control Hudson River traffic. He also provided the first rail service between New York and Chicago. Vanderbilt had accumulated the largest fortune in the U.S. at the time of his death, in 1877. According to today's standards, it is estimated that Vanderbilt would have been worth more than $200 billion.This would make him the second wealthiest person in American history after the cofounder of Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller.