You Can't Take It With You: The Life and Afterlife of America's Greatest Fortunes
Why do people want to become very rich? In this series, Eric Schoenberg, a psychologist who studies the behavior of the very wealthy, offers an answer by looking at the stories of nine Americans who became among the richest people of their time, with a particular focus on what happened to their great wealth after they died.
You Can't Take It With You: The Life and Afterlife of America's Greatest Fortunes
6. Dead Sons and Lovers
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Eric Schoenberg
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Season 1
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Episode 6
On Oct 15, 1906, a legal battle over the estate of the drug industry pioneer William Weightman, which was worth $40-100 million dollars, came to a sudden, screeching halt when a mysterious note was introduced as evidence. Asked about its contents, the husband of Weightman’s granddaughter said that "I would rather have my tongue cut out than reveal what was in that paper." The contents of the note were never revealed. In this episode, I play history detective and offer a theory about what that note said and why it ended the case so quickly.
