Robert David Lion Gardiner (1911-2004)

He succeeded his unmarried aunt, Sarah Diodati Gardiner, to become the 16th Proprietor of Gardiner's Island in 1953. However, by 1977 the trust that had maintained the island had run dry and he refused to pay the necessary million dollars a year that was needed to maintain it. Instead, the bill for the entire cost of the island's maintenance was footed by his niece, Alexandra Creel Goelet. Nonetheless, he became convinced that Alexandra would sell the island to developers and, having no children of his own and unable to find a suitable relative, he did everything he could to avoid it falling into her hands. Despite their dispute, other members of the family sided with Alexandra and after Robert died in 2004 she became the 17th Proprietor.