Who is Profiting From the Biltmore Estate? Owners Revealed
The Biltmore Estate is owned by The Biltmore Company. The estate has been in the Vanderbilt family since construction in the 1890's and remains family-owned.
Oct. 14 2021, Published 9:03 a.m. ET
The Biltmore Estate is located in Asheville, North Carolina, and home to America’s largest home in the United States, with 250 rooms to be exact. The estate sits atop 8,000 acres of land and is currently owned by The Biltmore Company.
The Biltmore Company is a family-owned business, currently run by Bill Cecil Jr. and his children along with Dini Cecil Pickering and her children. Bill Cecil Jr. is the current president and CEO of The Biltmore Company.
Understanding the Biltmore Estate’s history and how it came about
The 250-room French Renaissance chateau was built in the 1890s. After George Vanderbilt visited Asheville in 1888, he was “captivated” by the land and purchased 125,000 acres. Shortly after, he hired architect Richard Morris Hunt to help him construct what would become a landmark in U.S. history.
Hunt was known for being “instrumental in establishing standards for professional architecture and building in the United States.” During the time Vanderbilt occupied his country home, it served as a private residence and was only accessible to friends and family. A few years after the home was built, Vanderbilt met and married Edith Stuyvesant Dresser in 1898.
The couple later welcomed their only child, Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt.
Tragedy strikes at the Biltmore Estate in 1914.
While the family built many memories living on the estate, things took a turn for the worst in 1914. After Vanderbilt’s daughter turned 13, an unexpected incident occurred. Vanderbilt reportedly passed away after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. He was in Washington D.C. at the time.
After Vanderbilt’s wife returned to the Biltmore Estate, she later decided to “consolidate the family businesses and properties.”
Vanderbilt’s name lives on through his breathtaking estate.
Decades passed and descendants of Vanderbilt resided in the Biltmore estate. In 2001, the Inn on Biltmore Estate opened, offering locals and visitors the opportunity to experience the Biltmore estate and a bit of “Vanderbilt hospitality.”
Decades passed and descendants of Vanderbilt resided in the Biltmore estate. In 2001, the Inn on Biltmore Estate opened, offering locals and visitors the opportunity to experience the Biltmore estate and a bit of “Vanderbilt hospitality.”
What is the Biltmore estate worth today?
In 2017, the Biltmore state was appraised at nearly $300 million. While the house itself was said to be worth $37 million, the restaurants and other venues the estate hosts increase the estate’s value significantly.
Most of the Biltmore estate is currently open to the public, allowing you to purchase admission tickets or even reserve a venue to host your wedding. Admission ticket prices start at $66 per adult and may increase depending on the season. The Biltmore Company also offers annual passes, which are currently $249 per person.
Although The Biltmore Company’s annual revenue isn’t made available to the public as it operates as a private company, Cecil Picking admitted in 2017 that the estate generated $207 million the year prior. Pickering also disclosed that much of the profit goes into “preserving [the estate’s] condition.” William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, former owner of The Biltmore Company, was reportedly known for saying, “We don’t preserve Biltmore to make a profit. We make a profit to preserve Biltmore.”
