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The Rockefeller family, the renowned Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) ("Senior") and his brother William Rockefeller (1841-1922), is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German American origin that made the world's largest private fortune in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th century, primarily through the Standard Oil Company. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state John Davison Rockefeller ( July 8, 1839 &ndash May 23, 1937) was an American Industrialist and philanthropist William Avery Rockefeller Jr ( May 31, 1841 - June 24, 1922) American financier was a co-founder with his older brother John D The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money A political family is a Family in which several members are involved in Politics, particularly electoral politics. German Americans ( German: Deutschamerikaner) are citizens of the United States of Ethnic German ancestry The history of the petroleum industry in North America began nearly simultaneously in Canada and the United States. Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company [1] The family is also known for its long association with and financial interest in the Chase Manhattan Bank, now JP Morgan Chase. Chase is the consumer and commercial banking division of JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase & Co ( is the largest Banking institution in the United States by deposits and market capitalization and is one of the oldest operating The family was also the fourth richest family in history.

Contents

Name and origin

The name is an anglicized version of the German Rokkenfelder or Rockenfeller, meaning from Rockenfeld. The Rockefeller's origin can be explicitly traced back to the villages of Ehlscheid, Segendorf and Fahr, (all suburbanised to Neuwied) [2]. Neuwied (nɔʏˈviːt is a town in the north of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. These are neighbored to the small settlement of Rockenfeld - part of Neuwied's quarter Feldkirchen. [3] In Germany, Rockenfeller is known as a family name.

Family records in parish registers reach back to the end of the Thirty Years' War. For the Mauritanian Thirty Years' War see Char Bouba war. For the band see The 30 Years War. The earliest known ancestors (direct line) are Johann Wilhem Rockenfeller (*ca. 1628,†1702) and Johannes Rockenfeller (*ca. 1634,†1684). Johann Peter (*1682), son of Johannes, moved in 1723 to Ringoes, New Jersey. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. Johann Thiel (*1695), grandson of Johann Wilhelm, immigrated in 1735 to Germantown, New York. Year 1735 ( MDCCXXXV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous William Avery Rockefeller was looking for a noble descent and a possible connection to a French Huguenot family de Roquefeullie was discussed. William Avery Rockefeller Sr ( November 13, 1810 &ndash May 11, 1906) was the father of American oil tycoon and billionaire The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (or French Calvinists) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth However, this is unlikely because the name Rockenfeld is recorded in the region long before the Huguenots fled France (1685)[4].

Johann Peter's grandson, William, married a distant relative, Christina, the granddaughter of a cousin of Johann Peter. This marriage produced a son, Godfrey, who married Lucy Avery in 1806. Avery's ancestors were part of the Puritan tide from Devon, England to Massachusetts around 1630. Lucy Avery could justly claim descent from Edmund Ironside, the English king, crowned in 1016. Edmund Ironside or Eadmund (c 988/993 – 30 November 1016 surnamed " Ironside " for his efforts to fend off the Danish invasion

Godfrey and Lucy eventually shifted to the remote, backwater stagecoach stop of Richford, in the western part of New York State. Richford may refer to Richford New York Richford Wisconsin Richford Vermont Their son, William Avery Rockefeller (1810–1906) was a trader in salt and timber who adopted a vagabond life as a confidence man and was known as "Big Bill", who sired two illegitimate children to his housekeeper. William Avery Rockefeller Sr ( November 13, 1810 &ndash May 11, 1906) was the father of American oil tycoon and billionaire He married up, to Eliza Davison in 1837; her father, John Davison, was relatively rich for the time. Their second child was John Davison Rockefeller, and their third William Rockefeller. John Davison Rockefeller ( July 8, 1839 &ndash May 23, 1937) was an American Industrialist and philanthropist William Avery Rockefeller Jr ( May 31, 1841 - June 24, 1922) American financier was a co-founder with his older brother John D [5]

The Rockefellers eventually settled near Cleveland, Ohio, where they would become the world-renowned family empire they are today. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state It was in Cleveland where John D. Sr. would amass his great fortune through Standard Oil, and where he would later be laid to rest at Lake View Cemetery. Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state John Davison Rockefeller ( July 8, 1839 &ndash May 23, 1937) was an American Industrialist and philanthropist Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company Lake View Cemetery is located on the East side of the City of Cleveland Ohio, along the East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights borders In the generations since, however, the Rockefeller family largely migrated to New York City, although many of the family's descendants remain in Cleveland or have since spread out across the country (e. The City of New York Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state g. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia). John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) generally known as Jay Rockefeller, has served as a Democratic U West Virginia ( is a state in the Appalachian Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by The family business headquarters now resides in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza. Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City.

Generational philanthropy

The members of the Rockefeller family are noted for their philanthropy; a Rockefeller Archive Center study in 2004 documents an incomplete list of 72 major institutions that the family has created and/or endowed up to the present day. Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material Historically, the major focus of their benefactions have been in the educational, health and conservation areas.

Family leaders in both philanthropy and business have included John D. Sr., John D. Jr. ("Junior"), John D. III, Laurance Rockefeller and David Rockefeller, who is the family's current patriarch. John Davison Rockefeller ( July 8, 1839 &ndash May 23, 1937) was an American Industrialist and philanthropist John Davison Rockefeller Jr (January 29 1874 &ndash May 11 1960 was a major Philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. John Davison Rockefeller III ( March 21, 1906 – July 10, 1978) was a major Philanthropist and third-generation member of the prominent Laurance Spelman Rockefeller ( May 26 1910 – July 11 2004) was a Venture capitalist, financier, Philanthropist David Rockefeller Sr (born June 12, 1915) is a prominent American Banker, Statesman, Globalist and the current patriarch Several family members have held high public office, including Vice President of the United States (Nelson Rockefeller), United States Senator (Jay Rockefeller), state Governor (Nelson, Jay, and Winthrop Rockefeller), and Lieutenant Governor (Winthrop Paul Rockefeller). The Vice President of the United States is the first person in the presidential line of succession, becoming the new President of the United States upon the death Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller ( July 8, 1908 January 26, 1979) was the forty-first Vice President of the United States, the forty-ninth The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) generally known as Jay Rockefeller, has served as a Democratic U A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government Winthrop A Rockefeller ( May 1, 1912 February 22, 1973) was a Politician and Philanthropist who served as the first A Lieutenant Governor is a high officer of state whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction Winthrop Paul Rockefeller ( September 17, 1948 &ndash July 16, 2006) was Republican lieutenant governor of the Another noted family member was Michael Rockefeller, son of Nelson, an anthropologist who came to media attention after he was presumed killed in New Guinea in 1961. Michael Clark Rockefeller (born 1938 - presumed dead November 17, 1961) was the youngest son of New York Governor (later Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of

The corporate, financial and personal affairs of the family - numbering around 150 blood relatives of John D. Rockefeller - are run from the family office, Room 5600, known officially as "Rockefeller Family and Associates". A family office is a Private company that manages Investments and trusts for a single wealthy family It comprises three floors of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center; all private family legal matters are handled by the family-associated New York law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. The GE Building is an Art Deco Skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of the Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City. Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP (commonly known as Milbank) is a United States Law firm headquartered in New York City. Room 5600 is also the base of the current family historian, Peter J. Johnson, who assisted with David Rockefeller's Memoirs, published in 2002. David Rockefeller Sr (born June 12, 1915) is a prominent American Banker, Statesman, Globalist and the current patriarch

To distinguish the generations and facilitate communication, the fourth generation is generically known as "The Cousins" (24 in all, with 21 still living) and the younger family members are known as the "Fifth/Sixth" generation. Many if not all of these family members are involved in institutionalised philanthropic pursuits. Family links are solidified through the practice of ritualised family meetings - which started with the regular "brothers' meetings" held in Room 5600 or in their respective private residences, beginning in 1945. Family get-togethers are held today at the "Playhouse", in the Westchester County family estate of Pocantico, in June (the "cousins weekend") and December of each year (see Kykuit). Westchester County is a primarily Suburban county located in the U Kykuit, also known as John D Rockefeller Estate, is a 40-room National Trust house in Westchester County, New York, built by the oil businessman

The edifice complex

Often credited with an "edifice complex", members of the family have been heavily involved in myriad real estate construction projects in the US over the span of the twentieth century. Chief among them:

In addition to this is Senior and Junior's involvement in seven major housing developments: Forest Hill Estates in Cleveland, Ohio; the City Housing Corporation's efforts at Sunnyside Gardens in Queens (NY); Thomas Garden Apartments in the Bronx (NY); Paul Lawrence Dunbar Housing in Harlem; Lavoisier Apartments in Manhattan (NY); Van Tassel Apartments in Sleepy Hollow (formerly North Tarrytown), New York; and a development in Radburn, New Jersey. [6] [7] A further project involved David Rockefeller in a major middle-income housing development when he was elected in 1947 as chairman of Morningside Heights Inc. David Rockefeller Sr (born June 12, 1915) is a prominent American Banker, Statesman, Globalist and the current patriarch Morningside Heights is a neighborhood of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City and is chiefly known as the home of institutions such as Barnard in Manhattan by fourteen major institutions that were based in the area, including Columbia University. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. The result, in 1951, was the six-building apartment complex known as Morningside Gardens. [8]

Senior's donations led to the formation of the University of Chicago in 1889, the Nobel prize-winning University where the first American Nobel Prize in science was produced in 1907, and notable for the Chicago School of Economics. The University of Chicago is a Private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. [9]. This was one instance of a long family and Rockefeller Foundation tradition of financially supporting Ivy League and other colleges and universities over the generations - seventy-five in total. The Ivy League is an Athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. This includes Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, Stanford University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, Columbia University, and Cornell University. Dartmouth College ( is a private, Coeducational University located in Hanover, New Hampshire, U Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University or simply Stanford, is a private Research university located in Brown University is a highly esteemed private University located in Providence, Rhode Island and is a member of the Ivy League. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. This financial assistance extends overseas to the likes of London School of Economics and University College London, among many others. The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the University College London ( UCL) is a multi-faculty university institution based in the United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London [10]

Senior (and Junior) also created the Rockefeller University in 1901; the General Education Board in 1902, which later (1923) evolved into the International Education Board; the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission in 1910; the Bureau of Social Hygiene in 1913 (Junior); the International Health Commission in 1913; and the China Medical Board in 1915.

In the 1920s, the International Education Board granted important fellowships to pathbreakers in modern mathematics, such as S. Banach, B. L. van der Waerden and Andri Weil, which was a formative part of the gradual shift of world mathematics to the US over this period. To help promote cooperation between physics and mathematics Rockefeller funds also supported the erection of the new Mathematical Institute in Gottingen University between 1926 and 1929, while the rise of probability and mathematical statistics owes much to the creation of the Institute Henri Poincari in Paris by American philanthropy also around this time. The University of Göttingen ( German: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) is a University in the city of Göttingen, Germany. [11]

Junior also financially supported numerous other major institutions, notable among them his ongoing support for the highly influential foreign policy think tank, the New York Council on Foreign Relations, established in 1921. The Council on Foreign Relations ( CFR) is an American Nonpartisan foreign policy membership organization founded in 1921 and based at 58 East 68th Street (at In 1978 the Rockefeller Foundation initiated the founding of the high-powered financial advisory council called the Group of Thirty, as well as many grants to a myriad of universities, think tanks and other institutions. The Rockefeller Foundation (RF is a prominent Philanthropic organization and Private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue New York City. G30 redirects here For other uses see G30 (disambiguation. The Group of Thirty, often abbreviated to G30, is an international

Junior was also responsible for the creation and endowment of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, which operates the restored historical town at Williamsburg, Virginia, one of the most extensive historic restorations ever undertaken. Colonial Williamsburg' is the historic district of the Independent city of Williamsburg Virginia. Williamsburg is a city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia

Conservation

Beginning with Rockefeller Senior, the family has been a major force in land conservation. Over the generations, it has created more than 20 national parks and open spaces, including the Cloisters, Acadia National Park, Forest Hill Park, the Nature Conservancy, and Grand Teton National Park, amongst many others. The Cloisters is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art and architecture of the European Middle Ages. Acadia National Park preserves much of Mount Desert Island, and associated smaller islands off the Atlantic coast of Maine. Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, south of Yellowstone National Park. Rockefeller Jr, and his son Laurance (and his son Larry) were particularly prominent in this area. John Davison Rockefeller Jr (January 29 1874 &ndash May 11 1960 was a major Philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. Laurance Spelman Rockefeller ( May 26 1910 – July 11 2004) was a Venture capitalist, financier, Philanthropist Most of these efforts were accomplished without public fanfare.

The family was honored for its conservation efforts in November, 2005, by the National Audubon Society, one of America's largest and oldest conservation organizations, at which over 30 family members attended. The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit Environmental organization dedicated to conservancy At the event, the society's president, John Flicker, notably stated: "Cumulatively, no other family in America has made the contribution to conservation that the Rockefeller family has made". [12]

International politics/finance/economics

The family has been awarded the annual UNA-USA’s Global Leadership Award, along with other recipients over time, including Bill Clinton and Michael Bloomberg. The United Nations Association of the United States of America or UNA-USA is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to building understanding of and support William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and the Mayor of New York City. Members of the Rockefeller family into the fourth generation (especially the prominent banker and statesman David Rockefeller, who is the present family patriarch) have been heavily involved in international politics, and have donated money, established or been involved in the following major international institutions:

The family archives

The Rockefeller Archive Center, a division of Rockefeller University, is a vast three-story underground bunker built below the Martha Baird Rockefeller Hillcrest mansion on the family estate at Pocantico (see Kykuit). The Rockefeller University is a private University which focuses primarily on basic research in the biomedical fields and offers graduate and postgraduate education Kykuit, also known as John D Rockefeller Estate, is a 40-room National Trust house in Westchester County, New York, built by the oil businessman Along forty-foot-long walls of shelves on rails, patrolled by ten full-time archivists, is the entire repository of personal and official papers and correspondence of the complete family and its members, along with historical papers of its numerous foundations, as well as other non-family philanthropic institutions. These include: the Commonwealth Fund, Charles E. The Commonwealth Fund is a private charitable foundation that aims to promote a high performing Health care system that achieves better access improved quality and greater Culpeper Foundation, Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust, and the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation.

In total, it holds over 70 million pages of documents and contains the collections of forty-two scientific, cultural, educational and philanthropic organizations.

Only the expurgated records of deceased family members are publicly available to scholars and researchers; all records pertaining to living members are closed to historians. As Nelson Rockefeller's researcher, Cary Reich, discovered however, in the case of Nelson's voluminous 3,247 cubic feet (91. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller ( July 8, 1908 January 26, 1979) was the forty-first Vice President of the United States, the forty-ninth 9 m³) of papers, about only one third of these files had been processed (that is, each page vetted by the archivists) and released to researchers up to 1996. He reports that it will be many years before all the papers will be open to the public, despite Nelson having died in 1979. [13]

The Center maintains that this awesome repository of records, covering 140-plus years of the records of the family, in addition to non-Rockefeller philanthropic collections, gives unique insights into United States and world issues and social developments in both the 19th and 20th centuries.

Records in the collection are only available up until the early 1960s, generally 1961. Major subjects in the collection include:

Family wealth

The combined wealth of the family -- its total assets and investments plus the individual wealth of its members -- has never been known with any precision. In 1992, family members estimated it to be between US$5 billion to $10 billion. The records of the family archives relating to both the family and individual members' net worth is closed to researchers. Independent researchers have valued the assets of the Rockefeller family much higher, some approaching amounts as high as $11 billion. [15]

From the outset, and even today, the family wealth has been under the complete control of the male members of the dynasty, through the family office. Despite strong-willed wives who had influence over their husbands' decisions -- such as the pivotal female figure Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, wife of Junior -- in all cases they received allowances only and were never given even partial responsibility for the family fortune. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, ( October 26, 1874 &ndash April 5, 1948) was a prominent socialite and Philanthropist and the second-generation [16]

Much of the wealth has been locked up in the notable family trust of 1934 (which holds the bulk of the fortune and matures on the death of the fourth generation), and the trust of 1952, both administered by the Chase Manhattan Bank. Chase is the consumer and commercial banking division of JPMorgan Chase. These trusts have consisted of shares in the successor companies to Standard Oil and other diversified investments, as well as the family's considerable real estate holdings. Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company They are administered by a powerful trust committee that oversees the fortune. It has consisted over time of high-profile individuals, which have included Paul Volcker, William G. Bowen (former president of Princeton University) and John C. Whitehead (retired co-chairman of Goldman Sachs). Paul Adolph Volcker (born September 5, 1927 in Cape May New Jersey) is an American Economist William G Bowen (born October 6th 1933 is President Emeritus of The Andrew W Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. John Cunningham Whitehead (born April 2 1922) is currently the chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation (WTC Memorial Foundation and former The Goldman Sachs Group Inc, or simply Goldman Sachs ( is a large global Bank holding company that engages in Investment banking securities

Management of this fortune today also rests with professional money managers who oversee the principal holding company, Rockefeller Financial Services, which controls all the family's investments, now that Rockefeller Center is no longer owned by the family. Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City. The present chairman is David Rockefeller, Jr.

In 1992, it had five main arms:

Family residences

Over the generations the family members have resided in some notable historic homes. A total of 81 Rockefeller homes are on the National Register of Historic Places. [18] Not including all mansions owned by the five brothers, some of the more prominent of these are:

Criticism

Certain prominent members of the Rockefeller family have long been accused of poor ethical practices to further their prosperity. [19] [20] [21] [22]

In his memoirs, dated 2002, David Rockefeller is quoted, "For more than a century, ideological extremists at either end of the political spectrum have seized upon well-publicized incidents to attack the Rockefeller family for the inordinate influence they claim we wield over American political and economic institutions. Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it".

However, the Rockefeller's family ties to unethical behavior is evident especially because of their many connections to wars and to the federal reserve banking system which is very similar to the fradulent banking system Americans sought to escape from in the American revolutionary war. In 1907, JP Morgan exploited his mass influence by publishing rumors that a New York bank was insolvent or bankrupt. This triggered a panic and the public began mass withdrawals which largely contributed to an economic collapse known as the panic of 1907. The panic lead to a congressional hearing headed by senator Nelson Aldrich who had intimate ties to the international banking cartel and later became part of the Rockefeller family through marriage. This hearing suggested that a central bank be implemented so that a panic like the one of 1907 would never happen again. A secret meeting was then held at a JP Morgan estate on Jeklle Island where the federal reserve act was written. It was then handed over to their political connection senator Nelson Aldrich to push through congress. Then with heavy political sponsorship, Woodrow Wilson was elected president having already agreed to sign the Federal Reserve Act in exchange for campaign support. On December 23, 1913 the Federal Reserve Act was voted in and Wilson enacted the legislature. Woodrow Wilson later expressed regret when he wrote "Our great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all of our activities are in the hands of a few men who necessarily by their own limitations chill, check, and destroy genuine economic freedom. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world". It is important to understand the implications of a central bank. A central bank loans the currency of an entire nation to the government and public at interest. This system creates a self generating debt because the federal reserve has to perpetually increase its money supply to cover the outstanding debt created by the bank which effects inflation. The power to regulate the money supply gives international bankers almost complete control over all our economic affairs. The Rockefeller family also had ties to Nazi Germany's war effort. John D. Rockefellers Standard Oil Company in the U. S. sold fuel to Nazi Germany which they depended on to operate their air force. David Rockefeller financed factories in the Soviet Union which the Soviets used to send supplies to North Vietnam during its war with The United States.

[23] [24]

Legacy

A trademark of the dynasty over its 140-plus years has been the remarkable unity it has maintained, despite major divisions that developed in the late 1970s, and unlike other wealthy families such as the DuPonts and the Mellons. The Du Pont family is an American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817 A primary reason has been the lifelong efforts of "Junior" to not only cleanse the name from the opprobrium stemming from the ruthless practices of Standard Oil, but his tireless efforts to forge family unity even as he allowed his five sons to operate independently. Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company This was partly achieved by regular brothers and family meetings, but it was also because of the high value placed on family unity by first Nelson and John 3rd, and later especially with David. [25]

As for achievements, in 1972, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Andrew Carnegie's philanthropy, the Carnegie Corporation, which has had a long association with the family and its institutions, released a public statement on the influence of the family on not just philanthropy but encompassing a much wider field. Andrew Carnegie (properly kɑrˈneɪgi but commonly /ˈkɑrnɨgi/ or /kɑrˈnɛgi/ (25 November 1835 – 11 August 1919 was a Scottish -born American Industrialist The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a nonprofit organization in the United States. Summing up a publicly poorly grasped but predominant view amongst the international philanthropic world, one sentence of this statement read: "The contributions of the Rockefeller family are staggering in their extraordinary range and in the scope of their contribution to humankind. "[26]

As far as wealth is concerned, John D. Rockefeller denied ever being worth $1,000,000,000. However, on September 29, 1916 (notably years after the break-up of his Standard Oil empire by the Supreme Court in 1911), he officially passed that mark and became the richest man who has ever lived, surpassing by far the fortune of the second wealthiest, Andrew Carnegie. Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Andrew Carnegie (properly kɑrˈneɪgi but commonly /ˈkɑrnɨgi/ or /kɑrˈnɛgi/ (25 November 1835 – 11 August 1919 was a Scottish -born American Industrialist

He gave away more than half that amount over his lifetime, US$540 million (in dollar terms of that time), and became the greatest lay benefactor of medicine in history. [27] His son, "Junior" also gave away over $537 million over his lifetime, bringing the total philanthropy of just two generations of the family to over $1 billion from 1860 to 1960. [28]Added to this, the New York Times declared in a report in November, 2006 that David Rockefeller's total charitable benefactions amount to about $900 million over his lifetime. David Rockefeller Sr (born June 12, 1915) is a prominent American Banker, Statesman, Globalist and the current patriarch [29]

The combined personal and social connections of the various family members are vast, both in America and throughout the world, including the most powerful politicians, royalty, public figures, and chief businessmen. Notable figures through Standard Oil alone have included Henry Flagler and Henry H. Rogers. Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company Henry Morrison Flagler ( January 2 1830 &ndash May 20 1913) was an American tycoon, Real estate promoter Henry Huttleston Rogers ( January 29 1840 &ndash May 19 1909) was a United States capitalist, Businessman Contemporary figures include Henry Kissinger, Nelson Mandela, Richard Parsons (Chairman and CEO of Time Warner), C. Fred Bergsten, Peter G. Peterson (Senior Chairman of the Blackstone Group), and Paul Volcker. Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German -born American bureaucrat diplomat and 1973 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (xolíɬaɬa mandéːla born 18 July 1918 is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative Richard Dean Parsons was born in New York Brooklyn on April 4 1948 Time Warner Inc ( is the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate, headquartered in New York City. C Fred Bergsten (born 1941 is an American economist author and political adviser Peter George Peterson (born June 5, 1926) is an American businessman Investment banker fiscal conservative, author and politician whose most Among the most prestigious private equity and investment management firms in the world The Blackstone Group' ( is a company that provides Private equity, financial advisory Paul Adolph Volcker (born September 5, 1927 in Cape May New Jersey) is an American Economist

The Rockefeller name is imprinted on numerous places throughout the United States, most notably in New York City, but also in Cleveland, where the family originates:

John D Junior, through his son Nelson, purchased and then donated the land upon which sits the UN headquarters, in New York, in 1946. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller ( July 8, 1908 January 26, 1979) was the forty-first Vice President of the United States, the forty-ninth The United Nations Headquarters is a distinctive complex in New York City that has served as the headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1950 Earlier, in the 1920s, he had also donated a substantial amount towards the restoration and rehabilitation of major buildings in France after World War I, such as the Rheims Cathedral, the Fontainebleau Palace and the Palace of Versailles, for which he was later (1936) awarded France's highest decoration, the Grand Croix of the Legion d'Honneur (subsequently also awarded decades later to his son, David Rockefeller). This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Notre-Dame de Reims ( Our Lady of Rheims) is the Cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. The Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal Château in Versailles, in France 's Île-de-France region David Rockefeller Sr (born June 12, 1915) is a prominent American Banker, Statesman, Globalist and the current patriarch

He also funded the notable excavations at Luxor in Egypt, as well as establishing a Classical Studies School in Athens. Luxor (in Arabic: الأقصر al-Uqṣur) is a city in Upper (southern Egypt and the capital of Luxor Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's In addition, he provided the funding for the construction of the Palestine Archaeological Museum in East Jerusalem - the Rockefeller Museum - which today houses such notable antiquities as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Rockefeller Museum, formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum, is an archaeological Museum located in East Jerusalem that houses a large East Jerusalem refers to the part of Jerusalem captured by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and subsequently by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Rockefeller Museum, formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum, is an archaeological Museum located in East Jerusalem that houses a large The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of roughly 1000 documents including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1979 in eleven Caves [31]

For all of the above reasons, the family and its far reaching philanthropy, and its oil, real estate, banking, and international institutions is still considered today to be America's greatest family. It is also a benchmark for extreme wealth ("as rich as Rockefeller"), as "Senior" is still regarded as the wealthiest man who has ever lived, worth over $300 billion in today's figures, easily surpassing Bill Gates, in absolute terms. If you would like to experiment with Wikipedia please copy [32]

Members of the Rockefeller family

Ancestors

Descendants of John Davison Rockefeller

To the sixth-generation, with 21 still living in the fourth (the Cousins). John Davison Rockefeller ( July 8, 1839 &ndash May 23, 1937) was an American Industrialist and philanthropist The total number of blood relative descendants as of 2006 is about 150.

Descendants of William Rockefeller

An article in the New York Times in 1937 stated that William Rockefeller had, at that time, exactly 28 great-grandchildren. David Rockefeller Jr (born July 24, 1941) is a philanthropist and an active participant in nonprofit and environmental areas Peggy Dulany Rockefeller (born 1947 ( Peggy Dulany) is a philanthropist and the fourth child of David Rockefeller. Eileen Rockefeller Growald (born 1952 is the youngest daughter of David Rockefeller, grandson of Standard Oil founder John D William Avery Rockefeller Jr ( May 31, 1841 - June 24, 1922) American financier was a co-founder with his older brother John D

Spouses

Select bibliography

See also

Notes

  1. ^ World's largest private fortune - see Ron Chernow, Titan: The Life of John D. The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an American oil and gas Corporation and a direct descendant of John D Chase is the consumer and commercial banking division of JPMorgan Chase. The Rockefeller Foundation (RF is a prominent Philanthropic organization and Private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue New York City. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF ( Philanthropy for an Interdependent World) is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller Kykuit, also known as John D Rockefeller Estate, is a 40-room National Trust house in Westchester County, New York, built by the oil businessman Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City. The Rockefeller University is a private University which focuses primarily on basic research in the biomedical fields and offers graduate and postgraduate education The Council on Foreign Relations ( CFR) is an American Nonpartisan foreign policy membership organization founded in 1921 and based at 58 East 68th Street (at The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an unofficial annual invitation-only conference of around The Trilateral Commission is a private organization established to foster closer cooperation between America Europe and Japan The United Nations Associations are Non-governmental organizations that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of a member state and the The Asia Society is the leading global and pan-Asian organization whose mission is to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people leaders and institutions of The Council of the Americas is an American business organization whose stated goal is promoting free trade democracy and open markets throughout The Americas. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, USA, on 53rd Street between Fifth The University of Chicago is a Private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Colonial Williamsburg' is the historic district of the Independent city of Williamsburg Virginia. Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company Citibank is a major international Bank, founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York. RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986 The Rainbow Room is a well-known upscale Restaurant and Nightclub on the sixty-fifth floor of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center The Population Council is an international nonprofit Non-governmental organization. Venrock, a compound of "Venture" and "Rockefeller" is a pioneering Venture capital firm formed in 1969 to build upon the successful investing activities The Ludlow massacre refers to the violent deaths of 20 people 11 of them children during an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a Tent colony of 1200 striking Spelman College is a four-year liberal arts women's college located in Atlanta Georgia. The General Education Board was an organization created for the purpose of distributing gifts made by John D Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, south of Yellowstone National Park. The Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR was an international organization established in 1925 to provide a forum for discussion of problems and relations between nations of the Pacific The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a nonprofit organization in the United States. The John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation is a major private grant -making Private foundation based in Chicago that has awarded more than US$4 billion The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington D New York City is home to hundreds of cultural institutions and historic sites many of which are internationally known Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German -born American bureaucrat diplomat and 1973 Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke (born April 24, 1941 to a Russian Jewish and German Jewish family in New York City) is an American Paul Adolph Volcker (born September 5, 1927 in Cape May New Jersey) is an American Economist George Pratt Shultz (born December 13 1920 served as the United States Secretary of Labor from 1969 to 1970 as the U Jerry I Speyer (born on 23 June 1940, in Milwaukee Wisconsin) is one of two founding partners of the prominent New York Real estate Richard Dean Parsons was born in New York Brooklyn on April 4 1948 John Cunningham Whitehead (born April 2 1922) is currently the chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation (WTC Memorial Foundation and former James David Wolfensohn KBE, AO (born December 1, 1933) was the ninth president of the World Bank Group. John Foster Dulles ( February 25, 1888 &ndash May 24, 1959) served as U Allen Welsh Dulles (April 7 1893 &ndash January 29 1969 was the first civilian and the longest serving (1953-1961 Director of Central Intelligence (de-facto head of John Jay McCloy ( March 31, 1895, Philadelphia Pennsylvania &ndash March 11, 1989, Stamford Connecticut) was a Lawyer J Richardson Dilworth (1916—1997 was a leading businessman and academic Frederick Taylor Gates (1853–1929 was an American Baptist clergyman educator and the principal business and philanthropic advisor to the major oil industrialist and philanthropist Ivy Ledbetter Lee ( July 16, 1877 – November 9, 1934) is considered by some to be the founder of modern Public relations, although Ida Minerva Tarbell ( November 5 1857 &ndash January 6 1944) was a American Teacher, Author and Journalist. Henry Morrison Flagler ( January 2 1830 &ndash May 20 1913) was an American tycoon, Real estate promoter Henry Huttleston Rogers ( January 29 1840 &ndash May 19 1909) was a United States capitalist, Businessman Charles Pratt ( October 2 1830 – May 4 1891) was a United States capitalist, Businessman and Owen D Young ( October 27 1874 - July 11 1962) was an American Industrialist, businessman lawyer and diplomat at the Second Wallace Kirkman Harrison ( September 28 1895 - December 2[[ 981]] was an American twentieth-century Architect William Zeckendorf Sr (c 1905-1976 was one of the United States' prominent Real estate developers Through his development company of Webb and Knapp (for which William Lyon Mackenzie King PC OM CMG ( December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian William Adams Delano ( January 21 1874 &ndash January 12 1960) was a prominent American Architect, a partner with Giovanni Agnelli, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI ( March 12, 1921 – January 24, 2003) better known as Gianni Agnelli, was Henry Ford ( July 30, 1863 &ndash April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of The Rothschild family (often referred to simply as the Rothschilds) is an international Banking and Finance Dynasty of German Rockefeller, Sr. , London: Warner Books, 1998. (p. 370)
  2. ^ Scheiffarth, Engelbert: Der New Yorker Gouverneur Nelson A. Rockefeller und die Rockenfeller im Neuwieder Raum. Genealogisches Jahrbuch, 9 (1969), pp. 16-41
  3. ^ Neuwied.de "Rockenfeld"
  4. ^ Scheiffarth, Engelbert: Der New Yorker Gouverneur Nelson A. Rockefeller und die Rockenfeller im Neuwieder Raum. Genealogisches Jahrbuch, 9 (1969), pp. 16-41
  5. ^ Details of ancestors - see Chernow, Titan, op. cit. (pp. 3-10)
  6. ^ Rockefeller.edu "Family, OMR"
  7. ^ John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and the Van Tassel Apartments, Rockefeller Archive Newsletter, Fall 1997
  8. ^ The Morningside Heights housing project - see David Rockefeller, Memoirs, New York: Random House, 2002. (pp. 385-87).
  9. ^ UChicago.edu, "News, Nobel"
  10. ^ Funded colleges and Ivy League universities - see Robert Shaplen, Toward the Well-Being of Mankind: Fifty Years of the Rockefeller Foundation, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. , 1964. (passim)
  11. ^ Google Books: Rockefeller and the Internationalization of Mathematics
  12. ^ "They Saved Land Like Rockefellers", The New York Times, November 15, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-03-23. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow.  
  13. ^ Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC) papers on Nelson not released - see Cary Reich, The Life of Nelson A. Rockefeller: Worlds to Conquer 1908-1958, New York: Doubleday, 1996. (pp. 774-5) (Note: Reich died before completing the second volume of his life. )
  14. ^ The Rockefeller Archive Center
  15. ^ Rockefeller.Edu "Family, JDR"
  16. ^ Women in the family with no control over the family fortune -- see Bernice Kert, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller: The Woman in the Family. New York: Random House, 1993. (p. 100)
  17. ^ Managing the family wealth, 1992 New York Times article Rockefeller Family Tries to Keep A Vast Fortune From Dissipating (see External Links). (Note: The names and nature of these departments may have changed since 1992. )
  18. ^ Amazon Books: Forest Hill
  19. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron_(industrialist)
  20. ^ Pool, James - Who Financed Hitler: the Secret Funding. . . ,Pocket Books
  21. ^ Allen, Gary - The Bankers , Conspiratorial Origins of the Federal Reserve, American Opinion
  22. ^ Griffin, G. For the country music artist see Gary Allan Gary Allen (1936 – 29 November 1986) was an American conservative journalist Edward, The Creature from Jekyll Island, American Media
  23. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.G._Farben#Collaboration_with_the_Nazis
  24. ^ Pool, James - Who Financed Hitler: the Secret Funding. . . ,Pocket Books
  25. ^ Family unity maintained over the decades - see John Ensor Harr and Peter J. Johnson, The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988. (pp. 370-71, passim); David's unifying influence - see Memoirs (pp. 346-7)
  26. ^ Carnegie.Org "Rockefellers"
  27. ^ Greatest benefactor of medicine in history - see Ron Chernow, Titan: op. cit. (p. 570)
  28. ^ Rockefeller.Edu "JDR Jr"
  29. ^ New York Times, Nov 21, 2006
  30. ^ Cornell.Edu "Infobase" Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  31. ^ Restorations and constructions in France, Egypt, Greece and Jerusalem - see Memoirs, (pp. 44-48).
  32. ^ [1]

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