Inside the Astor family, one of America's wealthiest Gilded Age dynasties whose descendants are friends with British royals

The Waldorf-Astoria. Spencer Platt/Getty Images John Jacob Astor built his fortune in the fur business and New York real estate. John Jacob Astor III and William Backhouse Astor Jr. cofounded the Waldorf-Astoria after a feud. Modern Astor descendants have been politicians, philanthropists, and…