There's a new book called Empty Mansions, but the title is just the beginning of a story about extraordinary wealth that's led to a courtroom fight over one of America's great, but often forgotten, fortunes. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Bill Dedman was looking for a house outside New York City. He and his wife were amusing themselves with real estate listings so big they boggled the mind. They discovered a place in New Canaan, Connecticut — reduced from $35 to just $24 million. This was in 2009 — but, when they visited, they discovered it had not been occupied since the owner bought it in 1951!
