Gloria Vanderbilt Leaves Her Son Anderson Cooper $1.5 Million in Her Will

Caroline Hallemann

From Town & Country

When his mother Gloria Vanderbilt passed away last month at the age of 95 from stomach cancer, journalist Anderson Cooper likely wasn't expecting a large inheritance.

"My mom's made clear to me that there's no trust fund," Cooper once told Howard Stern in a radio interview. "There's none of that."

But the New York Post reports that Vanderbilt left Cooper almost her entire estate. According to the publication, Vanderbilt's will, which was filed in court in Manhattan, "says the recently deceased socialite fashion icon’s eldest son Leopold “Stan” Stokowski will get her Midtown pad in a co-op at 30 Beekman Place, but 'all the rest' of her property goes to the CNN host." Vanderbilt's estranged son Chris Stokowski was not named in the document.

The great-great-granddaughter of a railroad tycoon, Vanderbilt's net worth was rumored to be $200 million when she passed away, a sum stemming from a sizable inheritance and profits from her successful denim business. In reality, Page Six reports that Cooper will receive less than $1.5 million, the total of value of her estate.

Cooper has previously said publicly that he doesn't believe in inheriting money.

"I think it's an initiative sucker. I think it's a curse," he said. "From the time I was growing up, if I felt that there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don't know that I would've been so motivated." At this point, it's unclear if his previous stance will impact what Cooper chooses to do with his mother's estate.

He and his mother we obviously very close. Following Vanderbilt's death, the CNN host eulogized his mom in a moving tribute. "What an extraordinary life," he said. "What an extraordinary mom. What an incredible woman."

Watch that program in full below:

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