John Jacob Astor III

Who was John Jacob Astor III?

John Jacob Astor III was a financier, philanthropist, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He was the eldest son of real estate businessman William Backhouse Astor, Sr. and Margaret Rebecca Armstrong, a nephew of occasional poet John Jacob Astor, Jr., and a grandson of fur-trader John Jacob Astor, Sarah Cox Todd, Senator John Armstrong, Jr. and Alida Livingston of the Livingston family. John Jacob III became the wealthiest member of the Astor family in his generation and the founder of the English branch of the Astor family. His younger brother businessman William Backhouse Astor, Jr. was the patriarch of the male line of American Astors.