At the height of his success, John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil fortune comprised 1.5% of the gross domestic product of the United States, according to the Library of Congress. With a net worth of $1.4 billion in 1937 (about $29.5 billion now), he was the first billionaire in history and the richest person on the planet, according to Harvard Business School.

His perfect summer retreat was Kykuit (pronounced “kai-kit”), a 40-room house in Sleepy Hollow, New York, built in the Classical Revival style, located about 30 miles north of New York City.

According to the Hudson River Valley Institute, Kykuit was built in 1913 and owned to four generations of the Rockefeller family before former US Vice President and governor of New York Nelson A. Rockefeller bequeathed it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation upon his death in 1977. In 1991, the estate became publicly accessible.

First-floor living spaces were designed by Ogden Codman Jr., then America’s leading interior decorator. They contain excellent examples of 18th-century-style furniture, as well asAsian ceramics. An underground art gallery holds works from the collection of Nelson Rockefeller, including pieces by Andy Warhol and Alexander Calder. Dramatic grounds were designed by noted architect William Welles Bosworth and feature formal gardens in a variety of styles. The grounds contain fountains, pavilions, and Nelson Rockefeller’s collection of large-scale sculptures, including works by Louise Nevelson, David Smith, Pablo Picasso, and Henry Moore.

 

 

Today, guests can take a tour of the mansion through Historic Hudson Valley, which includes exquisite gardens with a view of the Hudson River. The cost of the tours, which vary in length from $25 to $75, is offered from May through November. I went on the Classic Tour in May 2023; it lasted for two hours and fifteen minutes and cost $45 (one adult ticket is now $55).

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