Part 11/12:
William Durant passed away in 1947 at age 85 in New York City. Despite building an automotive empire worth billions, his sprawling wealth was entirely wiped out due to relentless speculation and economic calamities. His legacy remains intertwined with the dawn of the American automobile industry and the rise of General Motors.
TheRaymere estate, once a jewel among American mansions, was demolished in 1951 by developers aiming to clear the land. Its grand halls and lush gardens disappeared in just seven weeks, echoing Durant’s own tumultuous rise and fall—a poetic story of greatness, excess, and transient glory.