Vanderbilt died in June 1961. Residences In 1935, he purchased the Charles W. Sloane estate on Middle Neck Road in Sands Point on the Long Island Sound, shortly after his first marriage. In 1937, he had commissioned a home by society architects Treanor & Fatio on the property. He sold the home to Henry Lustig, founder of the Longchamps chain of restaurants, in 1945. In 1946, he purchased in Siskiyou County near Lake Shastina and the Shasta–Trinity National Forest in northern California. In 1949, he built a large ranch house known as "Shadow Valley Ranch", along with a guest cottage, carriage house, tennis court, riding trails, waterfalls and several barns. The home was host to many important people of the times, including overnight guests Harry Truman, John Wayne, Audrey Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Alan Ladd and Ginger Rogers. The house was sold by his widow in 1990 and burned down in 2012. He also lived in Honolulu, Hawaii for 25 years and owned the Arcadia Plantation in Georgetown, South Carolina, which had been purchased by his grandfather, Dr. Emerson, in 1906. His former yacht, the Pioneer, is now the Yankee Clipper, which sails with passengers in the Caribbean for Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. Death On June 24, 1961, George Washington Vanderbilt apparently committed suicide by leaping from his 10th floor suite at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco, California. His wife said he was despondent over unspecified business setbacks. Investigators found large amounts of alcohol in his blood stream. References Notes Sources Curiosity served: Biltmore opens servants' quarters, Tim Whitmire, Associated Press via The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 25, 2005. Antiques of the Biltmore Estate at go-star.com 1914 births 1961 suicides Alcohol-related deaths in California American people of Dutch descent Suicides by jumping in California St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni George Washington III