Biltbobble Family

The Biltbobbles are known as the Shire's wealthiest family, owing their massive fortune to heavy involvement in the oil, mining, and pharmaceutical industries. Amassing their fortune was spearheaded by the famous Cornelius Biltbobble, the son of Floffwymites Zachary and Cordelia Biltbobble, born on March 22nd, 1802. His conception was considered scandalous at the time, since interracial reproduction was deemed a social taboo. He was born a beluga Sammichian, like his mother. From a young age, Cornelius expressed a keen interest in the arts and creativity, but these interests were suppressed by the industrious and superficial attitudes of the Floffwymites. Despite disapproval from the community, Zachary and Cordelia approved of their son's passions, and spent nearly all of their savings to send him to boarding school in Fulfwotz where he could hone his artistic skills.

His painting was so revered, that he earned a fair living painting portraits for wealthier members of Fulfwotz society. A business magnate simply named Foie Gras commissioned over 450 paintings from Cornelius, and in return taught him the in-and-outs of the business world. Upon his death, Gras left his apprentice a large sum of money, should he ever want to start his own business.

The money could not have come at a better time, as Cornelius was attacked by a mountain lion while painting in the Demmatrodine wilderness, and lost his right hand. Although his artistic career was over, Cornelius began investing in various companies with Gras's money, and eventually started his own mining company. Today, Biltbobble Industries has over 75 subsidaries, such as Biltbobble Pharmaceuticals, Omega Mining Company, Demmadorra Architecture, and is a chief benefactor of fine arts and education institutions across the Shire. In 2014, the Biltbobble family's fortune was valued at $80 billion SPB.

Life of Cornelius

Early Life

Cornelius Virmuthe Biltbobble was born during a large storm on March 22nd, 1802, in the town of Floffwym. His mother was Cordelia Toulouse Biltbobble (née Tulloc), a deaf seamstress who died from tuberculosis when Cornelius was fifteen.

The childhood home of Cornelius, taken the year before his birth. The house still remains today and has been turned into a museum.

His father was Zachary Daniel Biltbobble, a struggling fisherman and avid gambler. During his birth, Cordelia and Zachary panicked, since no midwives were able to come to the house during the storm. Despite Zachary's lack of experience in the field of childbirth, Cornelius was born healthy.

He spent his childhood outside, sketching and painting. Many people in Floffwym disapproved of this behavior, since most children his age were already working on docks and in the fields, and creativity was not a valued trait in Floffwym society. These activities were further supported by Cornelius's parents, primarily his mother. Cordelia claimed that "...if a child never knows what childhood is, they will surely never know what adulthood is." Around the age of eleven, it became apparent to Zachary and Cordelia that art was something their son was passionate about. For the next two years, they saved enough money to send Cornelius off to Noche Artistic Academy in Fulfwotz when he was thirteen.

Life in Fulfwotz

When Cornelius arrived in Fulfwotz to begin his first semester at the Noche Artistic Academy in Feverly Hills, he described it as a shell-shock. "The sun is so bright and the air is so warm," he wrote. "The storms of Floffwym have not followed me here, as the rain hardly ever falls in Fulfwotz. The people around me seem to appreciate the fine arts and culture; I'm glad my interests are shared with the rest of the city." In his classes, Cornelius was remarked as a savant of the arts. He became close friends with Marienne Geoffsburg, the daughter of a prominent Fulfwotz socialite, Anastasia Villanueve-Geoffsburg. She caught wind of Cornelius's artistic abilties, and after she commissioned a painting from him, many of her friends asked to commission paintings as well. In 1816, Cornelius received over 200 commissions.

Many of these had come from Foie Gras, a business mogul and art enthusiast. Cornelius would repeatedly paint at Gras's mansion upon invitation. Some speculate that Foie Gras and Cornelius Biltbobble had an underage homosexual relationship, although these rumors have never been proven. In return for his paintings, Gras taught Biltbobble about the business world. Foie Gras died in 1820 from falling down the stairs, and left a large sum of his money to Cornelius.

After a successful two years in Fulfwotz, tragedy struck; Cordelia was one of the victims of the 1817 Tuberculosis Outbreak in Floffwym. Cornelius took a year off from his studies to return home to console his grieving father, who developed a severe case of alcoholism. On the morning of October 25th, 1818, Floffwymites claimed to see Zachary get on his boat and row out to sea (during the autumn storm season). He kept on rowing and did not respond to shouts. He never came back, and it's believed that he most likely drowned during a storm. Neither his boat nor body were ever recovered.

After grieving for the loss of both parents, Cornelius finished his studying at Noche Art Academy and became a full-time artist. He met and married Bretagne Vula, a fellow Noche graduate, at the age of 19. Cornelius and Bretagne lived in a cramped rowhouse in the center of Pinecone Village for several years. Bretagne became pregnant in 1822, but contracted pneumonia and died while carrying their child. In mourning, Cornelius went into Demmatrodine Shrub Country to create one of his most famous paintings, Flowers for Bretagne. He only completed half of the painting before he was attacked and nearly killed by a mountain lion. He lost his right hand, and was no longer able to paint.

Rise to Business Prominence

Without the ability to paint, Cornelius was left only with the knowledge Foie Gras left him about the business world, along with the large sum of money he inherited. His first move as a businessman was investing in the Omega Mining Company, a well-known precious metal and gem excavation company. Cornelius coasted off of the profits contentedly until 1825 when the Blood Diamond Controversy was exposed, and the price of Omega's stocks plummeted as shareholders withdrew their investments; except for Cornelius. He offered his entire small fortune to the panicking company, who sold him everything from their facilities to the name. Using techniques learned from Gras, he was able to reopen all facilities and turned Omega's public image around. At the young age of 23, Biltbobble was hailed as the 'Boy Genius' of business and was reaping the enormous profits from the booming mining company.

Second Marriage

Cornelius was completely absorbed in his work until he met famous Sammichian stage actress Moniqué Cabraxte at a performance of Desirée & Debauchery, one of his favorite plays. The two married in 1848, and had two twins; Ophelia and Carlisle. Moniqué's involvement in the Fulfwotzian fine arts community convinced Cornelius to focus more on his passion for the arts. As a fifth anniversary gift, Cornelius built the Foie Gras Opera House for Moniqué in downtown Fulfwotz; it still remains as the largest stage in the city. Moniqué's career ended in 1856 after a horrific accident that occurred during a performance of Suitors of Sisyphus; the 6-ton chandelier in the auditorium fell from the ceiling and into the audience, crushing an unknown amount of people and killing many. It is suggested that she developed a variation of post-traumatic stress disorder, as she recalled having many nightmares about the incident and did not like stepping underneath chandeliers in their mansion.

Death & Legacy

Cornelius died rather early in his life; he died at the age of 58 from a fox hunting accident, in which he fell from his horse and suffered a severe concussion which went untreated. He was brought back to the Biltbobble family estate alive, and according to his wife, acted normally, if a bit absentminded. He was found dead in their drawing room the following morning, presumably from prolonged swelling of the brain. Moniqué was given control of Omega, but left most of the management to the board of directors while she raised Ophelia and Carlisle. Both expressed high levels of intelligence; Carlisle Biltbobble assumed control of the family business at the age of 21, while Ophelia served as a Chancer in the Sammichian Imperial Chancellory from 1883 to 1887, and then the Chancellor of Caffa from 1887 until her death in 1928.

Other Notable Biltbobbles

• Davindy Biltbobble- The son of Carlisle,