Waldorf's younger brother, yet another John Jacob Astor, also received a title later in life, becoming Baron Astor of Hever in 1956.

John Jacob is perhaps best known for winning a gold medal for racquets when he represented Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

So where is the family's money today? Much like that of the American branch, the wealth of the British Astors' descendants has been diluted over the years. That said, the fortune of William, the fourth and current Viscount Astor, was still pegged at an impressive $278 million ($356m/£278m today) by The Sunday Times in 2017, the most recent year for which figures are available.

Now discover what happened to the fortunes of these five old-money dynasties

How the Astor family made a fortune in America and beyond