Anderson Cooper’s Famous Mom Won’t Leave Him Millions

CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper told Howard Stern in a recent radio interview that his famous mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, is not leaving him her fortune.

“My mom’s made clear to me that there’s no trust fund,” Cooper said, “There’s none of that.”

And it’s not because his mom is a meanie. The 90 year old heiress and fashion mogul “made more money on her own than she ever inherited,” Cooper said. “We believe in working.”

There was a 1982 miniseries about Gloria Vanderbilt’s tumultuous childhood called “Little Gloria, Happy at Last.” Depicting the custody battle between Gloria’s aunt and mother for control of her trust fund, it was based upon a book by the same name written by Barbara Goldsmith. Angela Lansbury played her Aunt Gertrude, Lucy Gutteridge played her mom and Jennifer Dundas played little Gloria. VHS copies of the miniseries are pretty pricey, but the book is available on kindle at Amazon for a reasonable cost.

It would certainly give you a good idea of why Gloria Vanderbilt wouldn’t think much of trust funds.

Anderson Cooper went on to tell Stern that he believes inheriting money would be a curse. “Who’s inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in their own life?” he said. “From the time I was growing up, if I felt that there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know that I would’ve been so motivated.”

Well, we don’t know about that. Not every heir and heiress in the world has squandered their wealth or led idle lives — those are just the ones you hear about the most.

According to wikipedia, “Cooper’s media experience began early. As a baby, he was photographed by Diane Arbus for Harper’s Bazaar. At the age of three, Cooper was a guest on The Tonight Show on September 17, 1970, appearing with his mother. At the age of nine, he appeared on To Tell the Truth as an impostor. From age 10 to 13, Cooper modeled with Ford Models for Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Macy’s.” So, maybe he is being a tad disingenuous. It’s true that Cooper did not use family connections to get into reporting, but he did have a privileged upbringing. Cooper pointed out that his father, Wyatt Emory Cooper (who passed away when Cooper was 10), grew up poor in Mississippi.

Although Cooper declined to reveal his net worth to Howard Stern, CelebrityNetWorth.com has got him down for a net worth of $100 million. His current salary at CNN is currently reported at $11 million a year.

See more photos of Gloria Vanderbilt’s family at Style Icons.