Clark Family Narrative: Notes and Sources

Clark Family Narrative: Notes and Sources

Clark family narrative: notes and sources
Montana Historical Society
Thousand dollar bills in an envelope bearing the initials "W.A.C.," supposedly used to bribe Montana legislators to send Democratic candidate William Andrews Clark to the U.S. Senate in 1899.
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By Bill Dedman
Investigative reporter
msnbc.com
updated 7:26 p.m. ET March 1, 2010


Investigative reporter Bill Dedman of msnbc.com
Bill Dedman
Investigative reporter
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Below are extensive notes and other details to accompany the photo narrative from msnbc.com, "The Clarks: An American story of wealth, scandal and mystery."

First, this page adds a slide-by-slide annotation, with additional information and documentation.

The notes are followed by a list of documents, books and other sources consulted.

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Notes on specific slides:

The New York Times
We begin on Fifth Avenue in New York, 1922, in the Easter Parade. Huguette Clark, 15, walks with her father, William A. Clark, senator and copper king. He was the second richest American — or first, neck and neck with Rockefeller. Huguette, now 103, has no heirs. Where is she?

Accounts of Clark's wealth vary, particularly because so much of it was still underground in the mines. A New York Times study of the richest, in February 1907, placed John D. Rockefeller first, but allowed that "many believe Senator William Clark may prove eventually to be the richest man in the United States."

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John L. Wiley, http://flickr.com/photos/jw4pix/
She doesn't live here. The mysterious Clark estate in Santa Barbara, Calif., has been empty since 1963. Named Bellosguardo for its "beautiful view" of the Pacific, it's worth more than $100 million, a 21,666-square-foot house on 23 acres. Caretakers have labored at the Clark estate for...

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