Anderson: Inheriting money ‘a curse’

MANILA, Philippines - CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will not be receiving an inheritance from his wealthy mother, and he doesn’t mind.

“My mom’s made clear to me that there’s no trust fund,” Cooper told American radio personality Howard Stern on his show, a report on Us Weekly said. “There’s none of that.”

Cooper’s mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, a descendant of one of America’s wealthiest families, is reportedly worth $200 million.

The 90-year-old Manhattan socialite is the great-great granddaughter of railroad and shipping mogul Cornelius Vanderbilt. She also made a name as a fashion designer.

“I don’t believe in inheriting money,” Cooper said in the radio interview. “I think it’s an initiative sucker. I think it’s a curse.

“Who has inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in their own life? From the time I was growing up, if I felt that there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don’t know that I would’ve been so motivated,” the report also quoted him as telling Stern.

“I’m doing fine on my own, I don’t need any (money),” the 46-year-old Cooper, who reportedly rakes in $11 million a year through his contract with CNN, added.

He said he was unfazed by the wealth of the Vanderbilts, “in part due” to his father, Wyatt Emory Cooper, who grew up poor.

“My dad grew up really poor in Mississippi… I paid attention to that because I thought that’s a healthier thing to pay attention to than like some statue of a great-great-great-grandfather who has no connection to my life,” he said.

Wyatt, an author and screenwriter, was Vanderbilt’s fourth husband.