The Gaylord children had no desire to be media titans and cashed out when given the opportunity. They did not have the drive of their father and grandfather. When you think of how large the Gaylord Entertainment empire was in the 70's to 90's and how EK II started divesting soon after EL passed away in 2003. My cousin's wife was the controller for the Nashville branch of Gaylord Entertainment for many years. That included The Grand Ole Opry, Opryland amusement park, Opry Mills Mall, The Nashville Network, CMT, and the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. They also owned WKY radio and TV in addition to KTVT in DFW. They were a part owner of the Texas Rangers and Rangers games were broadcast on KTVT and at that time they were developing into a "superstation" like WGN and TBS. When they tried to acquire majority ownership of the Rangers the other MLB did not approve the sale because they were afraid of the Rangers becoming another Cubs or Braves type of team with a national reach.
Anschutz announced in August a $120 million donation for the expansion of the Anschutz Medical Campus for University of Colorado Health Center (where I had my liver transplant in March), Children's Hospital of Colorado, CU Medical School and the VA Hospital. His original donation to convert the former Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center to the health care campus was $180 million in the late 90's.
The third generation is usually the one that loses the passion of the previous two and either squanders or divests themselves from what their ancestors built like the Vanderbilts.
Forbes - The Vanderbilts: How American Royalty Lost Their Crown Jewels
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