73-year-old Sigmund Rothschild, a descendent of the illustrious family and an art appraiser with a modest reputation, is the sole tenant of an eight-room duplex, featuring a 2,000-square-foot living room that has a 22-foot ceiling, plus handcarved woodblock and cathedral windows, all in an ornate building just off Central Park West in New York City. He pays $568.24 a month in rent. Divorced three times, Rothschild said he is fairly certain his last wife married him in the hope of eventually getting the apartment. "When I die," he added, "I just want to be cremated and have my ashes buried right here under my living-room floor." Even in death, New Yorkers rarely want to give up their rent-controlled apartments.

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