Boni de Castellane

Marie Ernest Paul Boniface de Castellane, Marquis de Castellane (February 14, 1867 – October 20, 1932), known as Boni de Castellane, was a French nobleman and politician. He was known as a leading Belle Époque tastemaker and the first husband of American railroad heiress Anna Gould. Early life Comte Boni de Castellane was born in Paris as the eldest son of Antoine, Marquis de Castellane, and his wife Madeleine Le Clerc de Juigné. His brothers were Jean and Stanislas de Castellane. Like his brothers, Boni bore the courtesy title of comte de Castellane, until he inherited his father's title upon the latter's death in 1917. His paternal grandparents were Henri, marquis de Castellane, deputy for Cantal, and his wife Pauline de Talleyrand-Périgord. His aunt, Marie de Castellane, was married to Prince Antoine Radziwiłł, a grandson of Prince Antoni Radziwiłł and Princess Louise of Prussia. Marriage and children On March 14, 1895, he was married to heiress Anna Gould (1875–1961), the daughter of Jay Gould, the American industrialist and millionaire, in New York City at the home of her brother, George J. Gould. Count Boni, as he was known in America, was "the first Frenchman to marry an American heiress." He was a notable “man about town”, his doings and photograph often appearing in the papers. His dapper, Continental appearance stood out in New York, and was a subject of contemporary comment. Arthur Train, in his 1907 book “True Stories of Crime From the District Attorney’s Office”, reports one instance. A police officer is reporting on the activities of a con man calling himself the ‘Duc de Nevers’: