William Waldorf Astor

William Waldorf Astor (1848-1919), heir to the American Astor dynasty, launched New York's Waldorf Hotel in 1893 on the site of his Fifth Avenue residence. In 1897 his cousin John Jacob Astor IV opened the adjoining Astoria, and the two properties merged into the Waldorf-Astoria, one of the most iconic urban luxury hotels in the world.