DRIVING BY OLD WESTBURY, NEW YORK, WINTER 2020, 4K/60

Old Westbury is an affluent village in Nassau County, in the U.S. state of New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 4,671. The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury is located in both the Town of Oyster Bay and the Town of North Hempstead.

Old Westbury is one of the richest villages in the country as well as the second-richest zip code in the New York State, topped only by Harrison in Westchester County. [3] In 2007, Business Week dubbed Old Westbury as New York's most expensive suburb.[4] Old Westbury Gardens has been recognized as one of the three best public gardens in the world by Four Seasons Hotels magazine.[5] The Long Island campus of the New York Institute of Technology is a life sciences and cybersecurity research institution located in Old Westbury.


Contents
Geography
Old Westbury is located at 40°46′55″N 73°35′50″W (40.782038, −73.597236).[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 8.6 square miles (22 km2), all land.

Demographics
Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1930 1,264 —
1940 1,017 −19.5%
1950 1,160 14.1%
1960 2,064 77.9%
1970 2,667 29.2%
1980 3,277 22.9%
1990 3,897 18.9%
2000 4,228 8.5%
2010 4,671 10.5%
2019 (est.) 4,614 [2] −1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 4,228 people, 1,063 households, and 967 families residing in the village. The population density was 493.9 people per square mile (190.7/km2). There were 1,109 housing units at an average density of 129.5 per square mile (50.0/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 73.19% White, 4.24% African American, 0.02% Native American, 7.52% Asian, 3.67% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.14% of the population.

There were 1,063 households, out of which 43.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.2% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 9.0% were non-families. Of all households 5.6% were made up of individuals, and 2.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.33 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the village, the age distribution of the population shows 22.7% under the age of 18, 20.2% from 18 to 24, 19.9% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $163,046, and the median income in the village was $184,298 for a family. The median earnings of the 899 households (89.6% of total households) in the village that took in earnings supplemental to income was $230,721. Males had a median income of $100,000+ versus $45,200 for females. The per capita income for the village was $72,932. About 1.1% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Wealth

Old Westbury Gardens is one of several estates built by the Phippses in Old Westbury.
According to Bloomberg/Businessweek, as of 2011, Old Westbury is the second "richest" town in the United States, trailing behind only Palm Beach, Florida.[9] The magazine previously dubbed the town "New York's wealthiest suburb.

Based on a study done by Bloomberg in 2015, the average household income in the village is greater than $640,000

In 2011, Forbes, having done a study of "America's Millionaire Capitals", found that the average net worth of Old Westbury households was $19.6 million.[11] The controlled study included only households with incomes greater than $200,000, which excluded only residents that are living in college dormitories and the staff of homeowners.

The village is famous for being the seat of many of New York's (and America's) wealthiest families, including the Phippses, Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Webbs, Du Ponts, Winthrops, Mortimers, Belmonts and Huttons. While many of these older families—the founding members of the social elite and those that emerged during the gilded age—still count members as Old Westbury residents, the village has also maintained a substantial set of industrialists, businessmen, collectors, athletes and entertainers.[12]

The Old Westbury Fund is a hedge fund that is named after the town.

When Forbes asked billionaire investor Steven Schonfeld what the "wisest investment" he ever made was, his answer was "Old Westbury land".[13]

History

1906 Vanderbilt Cup hairpin turn in Old Westbury
Westbury was founded by Edmond Titus,[14][15] and was later joined by Henry Willis. Willis, one of the first English settlers, named the area after a town in his home county of Wiltshire, England. Westbury had been a Quaker community of isolated farms until the railroad came in 1836. After the Civil War, testbury mansions.[16]