A business magnate and real estate developer, John Jacob Astor IV was the richest Titanic passenger — who died when the doomed ship sank on April 15, 1912.
Public DomainJohn Jacob Astor IV was one of the approximately 1,500 people who died on the Titanic.
As soon as he realized that the Titanic had struck an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, John Jacob Astor IV sprung into action. He roused his pregnant wife, told her to put on her warmest clothes and all her jewelry, and then led her to the ship’s deck. As the situation grew increasingly dire, Astor put her on a lifeboat — and promised he’d see her in the morning.
But Astor and his wife would never see each other again. As the lifeboats filled with mostly women and children, Astor hung back. He was last seen smoking a cigarette on the deck of the doomed ship as it began to sink, and his body was found a week later in the icy waters of the North Atlantic.
In the century since, John Jacob Astor IV is remembered primarily for being the Titanic’s richest passenger. A man worth millions, he nevertheless died along with about 1,500 other people when the ship went down. So who was he? And how did his life lead him to fatefully board the Titanic in April 1912?
This is his story, from his silver spoon beginnings to his sudden demise.
A Privileged Beginning In One Of New York’s Wealthiest And Most Prominent Families
Born on July 13, 1864, in Rhinebeck, New York, John Jacob Astor IV lived a privileged life from the start. He was the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, an immigrant from modern-day Germany who’d made his fortune in the fur trade and in New York real estate. John Jacob Astor IV was thus born into the upper echelons of New York society, and benefited greatly from it.
Public DomainJohn Jacob Astor IV, circa 1895.
Astor attended elite schools, including Harvard, and later continued the family tradition of investing in real estate projects. He oversaw the construction of the Astoria Hotel in 1897 (which was later connected to his cousin’s hotel, the Waldorf Hotel, and ultimately became the Waldorf-Astoria), St. Regis New York in 1905, and the Knickerbocker Hotel in 1906.
The Waldorf-Astoria became a symbol of opulence, and the St. Regis New York was dubbed “the finest hotel in America” by The New York Times in 1904. But Astor’s interests weren’t confined solely to building hotels.
John Jacob Astor IV was also an inventor who designed a bicycle brake and an improved turbine engine, a patriot who offered the use of his yacht, the Nourmahal, to the U.S. Navy during the Spanish-American War, and an author, who penned an 1894 science fiction novel called Journey in Other Worlds, which imagined what life would be like in the year 2000.
Along the way, Astor also married Ava Lowle Willing and had two children: Vincent and Alice. Their divorce in 1909 after 18 years of marriage scandalized New York society, as did Astor’s 1911 marriage to the much younger Madeleine Talmage Force (Astor was 47 and Madeleine was just 18).
Public DomainThe scandal surrounding their 1911 marriage was one reason that John Jacob Astor IV and Madeleine Astor decided to travel abroad after their wedding.
To escape the scandal, the newlyweds decided to travel overseas. But after Madeleine became pregnant, John Jacob Astor booked them a trip back to New York in April 1912. He chose the most luxurious ship available, the RMS Titanic, which was about to embark on its maiden voyage.
John Jacob Astor IV, The Wealthiest Passenger On The RMS Titanic
Wikimedia CommonsThe RMS Titanic in Southampton, England.
Madeleine and John Jacob Astor boarded the RMS Titanic in Cherbourg, France, on April 10, 1912. As first-class passengers, they would have enjoyed the ship’s many amenities, like the Titanic gym. They may have also drawn comfort from the fact that the captain, Edward Smith, was so well-liked by wealthy passengers that he was known as the “Millionaire’s Captain.”
The Astors knew some people aboard the Titanic, including the socialite Molly Brown, who they had briefly traveled with in Egypt. But the couple mostly kept a low profile. Madeleine, five months pregnant by that point, spent most of her time resting in their first-class cabin on the C-Deck.
On the night of April 14, 1912, the Astors had gone to bed when the Titanic struck an iceberg around 11:40 p.m. According to a newspaper account of Madeleine’s experience during the Titanic sinking, her husband woke her up and told her something had gone wrong. He went to investigate, and when he returned, his face was “graver than it had been,” but he assured her that they were in no danger. Madeleine recalled that her husband remained calm as he helped her get dressed in warm clothes and put on her jewelry, and then they went up to the boat deck, where other passengers were gathering.
Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesThe icy waters where the Titanic sank, as seen on April 4, 1912.
At that point, John Jacob Astor did his best to reassure Madeleine of their safety. As the ship’s officers started filling lifeboats around midnight, Astor purportedly remarked: “We are safer here than in that little boat.”
But as the situation grew increasingly dire, Astor changed his tune. Around 1:45 a.m., he helped Madeleine get into Lifeboat 4. According to the testimony of Titanic passenger Archibald Gracie, Astor asked if he could accompany his wife. The second officer, Charles Lightoller, told him that no men were allowed in the lifeboats until all the women were onboard.
Astor replied: “Well, tell me what is the number of this boat so I may find her afterwards.” (Lightoller, for his part, believed that Astor wanted to know the lifeboat number so that he could later sue White Star Line.)
Library of CongressMadeleine Astor survived the sinking of the Titanic, and gave birth to her son, John Jacob Astor VI, in August 1912.
Madeleine, for her part, declared that her husband was the “calmest man” on the ship, even after he was denied a lifeboat. As her lifeboat was lowered, he purportedly told her: “The sea is calm and you will be all right. You are in good hands and I will meet you in the morning.”
Of course, Madeleine would never see her husband again.
Astor was last seen alive on the deck of the Titanic, smoking a cigarette and wearing a dinner suit. Soon afterward, he would become one of the approximately 1,500 people who died when the Titanic sank.
The Aftermath Of John Jacob Astor IV’s Death On The Titanic On The Morning Of April 15, 1912
Public DomainMadeleine Astor and her son, John Jacob Astor VI.
Madeleine Astor and the other Titanic survivors were eventually rescued from the icy waters of the North Atlantic around 4 a.m., when the RMS Carpathia arrived. Days later, other ships searched the area for bodies, and the cable ship Mackay-Bennett found John Jacob Astor IV on April 22nd.
His initials, J.J.A., were sewn into his collar, and he had a number of valuables with him: over $2,000 in American dollars (as well as some British and French money), numerous jewels, and a golden pocket watch (Astor’s watch would later sell for $1.46 million at auction in 2024).
Though some reports said his body was crushed and covered in soot — suggesting that Astor was killed by one of the Titanic’s funnels — others said his body was in perfect condition. He was 47 when he died, and though it’s difficult to calculate his exact net worth, he was believed to have been worth an estimated $87 million (several billion in today’s currency).
Henry Aldridge & SonsJohn Jacob Astor IV’s pocket watch was one of the most remarkable Titanic artifacts recovered from the tragic sinking.
Astor bequeathed most of his fortune to his eldest son, Vincent, though he was generous with his wife too. John Jacob Astor left Madeleine — who gave birth to their son John Jacob Astor VI that August — $100,000 (worth over $2.75 million today), his home on Fifth Avenue, and a $5 million trust fund. He also left their son a trust fund of $3 million (over $82.6 million today). Astor’s will also stated that Madeleine would lose the house and trust fund if she ever remarried, and when she did in 1916, she gave them both up.
In the century since then, as many have grappled with the question of why the Titanic sank, John Jacob Astor IV has surprisingly emerged at the center of one of the strangest Titanic conspiracy theories. This theory states that J.P. Morgan orchestrated the sinking in order to kill his rivals onboard — including Astor. However, there’s nothing substantial to support this claim.
In the end, John Jacob Astor IV stands as one of the best-known Titanic victims. But he’s also an example of how a person’s wealth and fame doesn’t always help them when disaster strikes. Despite being the richest passenger on the Titanic, Astor went down with the ship. Ultimately, neither his family name nor his net worth could save him in the end.
After reading about John Jacob Astor, the wealthiest passenger to die when the Titanic sank, discover the story of R. Norris Williams, the Titanic passenger who survived the sinking despite being thrust into the icy waters. Then, learn about the Titanic’s baker Charles Joughin.
