Season two of HBO’s The Gilded Age is based on the actual lives and scandals of socialites.

Season two of HBO’s The Gilded Age is based on the actual lives and scandals of socialites.

But the money was almost gone after a few generations, drained by heirs who only understood how to live well, marry well, and spend lavishly.

After all, the Gilded Age, as termed by Mark Twain, was typified by its gilded veneer that concealed the rotten roots that undergirded its tremendous wealth gain.

Today, their legacy today remains on buildings, universities, foundations and street names throughout the country. 

With filming for season two of HBO’s period drama, The Gilded Age underway, DailyMail.com raises the velvet curtain on the private lives, immense tragedies, and enormous glamour of the storied and scandalous American dynasties that inspired the smash hit series.