The Biltmore Company, headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, United States, is owned by the family of William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil and owns and operates Biltmore Estate. In 1999, the company formed a new business group, the Biltmore Estate Brands Group. Currently, the Biltmore Estate home furnishings licensees include: Carolina Mirror, Directional Publishing, As You Like It, Craftique, Imperial Home Decor Group, Oriental Accent, Southern Living House Plans, Tai Ping, Paragon Picture Gallery and Sadek Import Company, NDI, Kravet Fabrics, Great City Traders, Keller Charles Inc., Manual Woodworkers and Weavers, and Executive Kitchens, Inc. In 2001, the 210-room luxury Inn on Biltmore Estate opened. Antler Hill Village, with shops and a restaurant, opened in 2010 and is owned by the 209-room Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate. George Washington Vanderbilt II first opened the Vanderbilt Estate in 1895. This six-year project was a grand production, with grounds designed by landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted and the house designed by Richard Morris Hunt. The Biltmore Company is and always has been family owned and operated, with a goal of supporting and maintaining the estate and various industries affiliated with the estate. In 1889 George Vanderbilt and wife Edith Vanderbilt purchased a nearby town, renamed Biltmore Village. This is where employees of the estate resided. Additionally, the couple created and funded the Biltmore Estate Industries which developed a system of teaching traditional craft making. However, after George’s death both Biltmore Village and Biltmore Estate Industries were sold in an effort to keep focus on the Estate itself. The Biltmore Company was started in 1933 and divided between William Cecil Jr. and his brother George Cecil in the late 1970s. George Cecil's company, called Biltmore Farms, focused on development, including Biltmore Park. George and Edith Vanderbilt were very environmentally conscious, and they sold over 86,000 acres of the surrounding land to the government to create the Pisgah National Forest. The Biltmore Company still values the importance of forest preservation and utilizes techniques to ensure preservation of the soil, water, wildlife and forest of the area. Today, the Biltmore Company is still run by the descendants of George Vanderbilt; the President and CEO is currently William Cecil Jr. The Biltmore Company employs over 2,400 people who maintain the 8,000 acres of the Biltmore Estate, hotel, winery, restaurants and shops. The Biltmore House is the largest privately owned home in the United States. The company claims to host more than one million guests per year; the Biltmore Company functions solely through private funding. The Biltmore Company owns 2,485 acres around Biltmore House plus 1,161 acres on the south side of the estate where there are riding stables. Other companies include West Range LLC, Biltmore Estate Wine Co., The Inn on Biltmore Estate, Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate LLC, Busbee Lodge, Biltmore Building LLC and Biltmore Estate Reproductions.
