DeLancey Astor Kane the mother of Peter Augustus Jay), and Sybil Kent Kane. He was the grandson of Walter Langdon and Dorothea (née Astor) Langdon and the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor. He was a cousin of Lt. Col. John Jacob Astor IV. His paternal lineage descended from John O'Kane who emigrated to the country in 1752 from County Londonderry and Antrim, Ireland. During the American Revolutionary War, O'Kane (who dropped the "'O" once in America) was living at Sharyvogne, his estate in Dutchess County, which was confiscated after the War due to his Loyalist times. His eldest son, John Jr., stayed and
William Waldorf Astor in the United States. In 1882, President Chester A. Arthur appointed Astor Minister to Italy, a post he held until 1885. He told Astor, "Go and enjoy yourself, my dear boy." While living in Rome, Astor developed a lifelong passion for art and sculpture. Upon the death of his father in February 1890, Astor inherited a personal fortune that made him the richest man in America. That year, he initiated construction of the luxurious Waldorf Hotel, being built on the site of his former residence. His cousin and rival Colonel John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV (1864–1912) built the adjoining Astoria