I visited Kykuit, a 40-room mansion in New York that once belonged to the richest man in the world. Take a look inside.

• Kykuit, a 40-room mansion in Sleepy Hollow, New York, was owned by the Rockefeller family.

• It was built in 1913 for John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company.

• The property includes an art gallery, extensive gardens and a vintage car collection.

At the height of its success, John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil fortune represented 1.5% of the United States’ gross domestic product. He was the world’s first billionaire with a net worth of $1.4 billion in 1937 (about $29.5 billion today) and the world’s richest individual at the time.

Kykuit (pronounced “kai-kit”), a 40-room neoclassical-style villa in Sleepy Hollow, New York, was her idyllic seasonal escape from city life.

Built in 1913, Kykuit was owned by four generations of the Rockefeller family before former New York Governor and U.S. Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller turned it over to the National Trust for Historic Preservation after his death in 1977. The estate was opened to the public in 1991.

Today, visitors can tour the house and its lush gardens overlooking the Hudson River through the historic Hudson Valley. Tours are available from May to November and cost between $25 and $65 depending on duration. I took the Classic Tour, which lasts two hours and 15 minutes and costs $45.

Take a look inside.

Kykuit is located in Sleepy Hollow, New York, approximately 30 miles north of New York City. I went there to tour the vast historic grounds.

Kykuit tours depart from the Visitor Center, where I browsed a gift shop offering books about the Rockefellers and local crafts.

I checked in at the front desk and received a wristband.

A shuttle transports tour groups from the visitors center to the mansion – it’s a quick five-minute drive.

Stepping off the bus, I felt transported back in time by Kykuit’s classic architecture, which featured Roman gods, and its serene gardens.

The lush wisteria growing on the sides of the mansion was imported from China in 1820, according to our tour guide.

Our tour guide also explained that Tiffany’s created the glass flashlights in the front yard.

Sculptures from Nelson A. Rockefeller’s extensive collection of modern art decorated the porch.

The raised step at the entrance was designed so that the Rockefellers could easily disembark from the carriages.

Our first stop inside the house was the office, which featured a copy of a 1767 portrait of Benjamin Franklin that hangs in the Green Room of the White House.

I could imagine the Rockefellers having fancy meetings in the music room, the largest room in the house. It once contained an organ, but the original grand piano remains.

However, John D. Rockefeller and his wife, Laura, were devout Baptists, so they did not serve alcohol when entertaining guests in the dining room.

In the China Room, a set of dishes from Nelson Rockefeller’s time as vice president to President Gerald Ford bore the inscription “E Pluribus Unum” – “Out of many, one” – which appears on the Great Seal of the States -United.

A portrait of Abby Rockefeller, the wife of John D. Rockefeller Jr., hung in the alcove along with floor lamps designed by 20th-century Swiss sculptors the Giacometti brothers.

The Kykuit Library functioned as a family room, where the Rockefellers gathered after Sunday lunch, according to our tour guide.

I was surprised to find an art gallery in the basement filled with works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, collected by Nelson Rockefeller.

“Kykuit” comes from the Dutch word meaning “lookout point”. At 500 feet above sea level, the mansion’s terrace offered magnificent views of the gardens and the Hudson River.

Architect William Welles Bosworth designed different sections of the gardens to look like different rooms, our guide explained.

In one area, rows of lime trees have been carefully tended to create an avenue, from the French word for “alley.”

At every point on the grounds, I could hear the rippling sound of the water fountains.

The final stop on the tour was the Rockefeller family stables and garages, where they stored their stagecoaches and vintage cars.

With Kykuit’s classic architecture, impressive art collection, and manicured gardens, I felt like I was visiting a historic villa in Europe.

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