Anderson Cooper's Late Mother Reportedly Left Almost All of Her Estate to Him

Gloria Vanderbilt, from one of the wealthiest families in American history, reportedly left almost her entire estate to her son, Anderson Cooper, after telling him otherwise, and none to her estranged son, Chris Stokowski.

CNN’s most famous journalist, Anderson Cooper grew up knowing he wouldn’t get a cent from his wealthy mother’s inheritance but was left almost her entire estate after her passing in the previous month.

DIVIDING INHERITANCE

Documents filled in the Manhattan Surrogate Court on Monday revealed that the late socialite, Gloria Vanderbilt, left her eldest son, Leopold “Stan” Stokowski her estate in a Manhattan co-op, while her estranged middle son, Chris, will inherit nothing. All the rest will go to Cooper, according to Page Six.

Chris is Vanderbilt’s son with her second husband, Leopold Stokowski, who cut ties with the family 40 years ago. According to Cooper, his half-brother “did reconnect and reconcile” after the release of their mother’s documentary, “Nothing Left Unsaid.”

On June 17, at the age of 95, Vanderbilt died due to stomach cancer.

A WEALTHY FAMILY

Vanderbilt is the great-great-great-granddaughter of railroad tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt, whose fortune was estimated at $200 million in 2014. However, at an early age, she told Cooper that he was to receive none of it -- “there’s no trust fund.”

“I don’t believe in inheriting money. I think it’s an initiative sucker.” Cooper said. “From the time I was growing up, if I felt like there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know if I would have been so motivated.”

DEAD AT 95

On June 17, at the age of 95, Vanderbilt died due to stomach cancer. She passed away surrounded by family and close friends, including her most loved son, Cooper, who held her “hand and head when she took her last breath.”

"Her private self, her real self -- that was more fascinating and more lovely than anything she showed the public,” Cooper said in his eulogy.

He described his mother as the “strongest person” he has met but felt pain as much as she felt pleasure because she wanted to feel it all. He added:

“I always thought of her as a visitor from another world, a traveler stranded here who’d come from a distant star that’d burned out long ago. I always felt it was my job to protect her.”