I want to know what life would be like for someone wealthy living in New York during the 19th century, the more detail the better! Please and thank you :)

If you happened to be the owner of a moderately-sized to large-sized company, own a large apartment, or control large amounts of people, you had very much political power. Politicians would just need to campaign to you, and from there, you force whoever you control to vote for the politician. Through this, you literally can control the politician, otherwise he will lose the next election.

The wealthy were able to educate their children through means unavailable to the underprivileged. Through educating their children they were able to keep the money in the family, not only by inheritance, but actually earning the money each generation.

The Rockefeller family received a lot of bad attention in the mid-19th century because of John D.'s loose interpretation of the law. John D. made a lot of money through the oil business. He controlled much of the railroads, and dominated all competition. Although many people hated him in particular, his son John D. Rockefeller II devoted his life to changing the name.

Basically, life was good if you were good.