1st Viscount Astor. After William Waldorf Astor moved abroad, he agreed to rent his home to Cornelius Vanderbilt III "Neily", a great-grandson of the "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt. The Vanderbilt family eventually bought the house outright from the Astors in 1911. Once occupied by Neily and his wife, Grace Vanderbilt, the home was again the scene of many social gatherings and popular society. Present day After the death of Cornelius Vanderbilt III in 1942 and his wife in 1953, the house was vacant for several years until it was eventually purchased in 1961 for $100,000 by the U.S. Ambassador to Austria and Luxembourg Wiley T. Buchanan Jr., who immediately built a vast porch on the home. The first formal party after the new owners took possession was to host and honor the future King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain. Currently, the house is in private hands and is not available for public viewing. The Gilded Age edifice is owned by the family of the late widow of former Ambassador Wiley T. Buchanan Jr., Ruth Buchanan Wheeler (1918-2019), an heiress to the Dow Chemical fortune and mother of Dede Wilsey. References Notes Sources External links 2016 Photographs of Beaulieu in Town & Country. Houses completed in 1859 Houses in Newport, Rhode Island Vanderbilt family residences Gilded Age