I was reading a review of a memoir written by Alexandra Mizrahi, one of the descendents of the Astor clan. The family estate is 195 year-old Rokeby, in the Hudson Valley. It piqued my curiosity, I looked into it.
This is a classic example of an extremely rich family who have become "Once Hads." They struggle to keep the place maintained, and to pay the taxes ($65K/year). One of the relatives in there has a regular job, all the rest are "artists." That explains alot.
A while ago, they allowed the NYTimes to come in and take some photos of the interior. Have you ever wondered what the inside of some grand homes look like? I do all the time.
I tried direct posting some pictures, but NYT is not letting me hotlink them. You can see them at the link below.
I take some measure of comfort. There's so much to improve on with the interior of my old pile of stones, but only so much the checkbook will allow. So we do what we can with the fundamentals, and the exterior.
At least we keep it clean. These people behave as if they still had servants (one of the articles recounted). They figure if it gets dirty enough, the hidden servants will magically appear.
More here, if interested.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/07/20/garden/20100722-hudson-slideshow.html