Rockefellers one of the Illuminati richest families.
The Rockefeller legacy began with a 16-year-old bookkeeper in Cleveland, Ohio, whose greatest ambitions were to earn $100,000 and live 100 years. His formal business training included a ten-week class in accounting, as well as a con-artist father who was known to say, “I cheat my boys every chance I get. I want to make ‘em sharp,” according to the biography John D. Rockefeller: Anointed with Oil.
That young man was John Davison Rockefeller in 1855, who in 25 years would become the wealthiest man of his time, and arguably the wealthiest in history, reigning over a monopoly that refined as much as 90 percent of America’s oil. His flagship company, Standard Oil, was broken up in 1911 by the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, but Rockefeller’s greatest legacy – his family – lives on, spanning more than 200 surviving individuals and possessing a collective net worth of about $10 billion, according to Forbes’ list of America’s wealthiest families.
From the Manhattan skyline to the Gulf Coast, the impact of the Rockefeller family is hard to miss. One of the most visible contributions was made by John D. Rockefeller himself, who founded the University of Chicago. Intending to create the first great Baptist university, Rockefeller gave the school $80 million, equal to more than $2 billion in today’s dollars. The monopolist’s son, John D. Rockefeller Jr., comes in a close second, constructing the Rockefeller Center, an expanse of 19 commercial skyscrapers in Midtown Manhattan.
Today, members of the family continue to preside over the so-called robber baron’s philanthropic flagship, the Rockefeller Foundation, which commands more than $3.5 billion. However, the Rockefeller’s single most impactful legacy is not in the realm of philanthropy, but rather the world of business. After Standard Oil was broken up by the federal government, many of its spinoffs become today’s most powerful oil companies, including all or part ofConocoPhillips COP -1.1%, BP , Chevron CVX -1.37% and Exxon-Mobil.
Despite the family’s immense wealth, the Rockefellers no longer stand atop America’s financial hierarchy. At $10 billion, the family ranks 24th on Forbes’ list, a far cry from the heyday of John D. Rockefeller, who became the world’s first billionaire in 1916, a sum equal to $30 billion today, adjusted for inflation. In a sense, this underestimates the oil scion’s wealth. By the time Rockefeller died in 1937, his assets equaled 1.5% of America’s total economic output. To control an equivalent share today would require a net worth of about $340 billion dollars, more than four times that of Bill Gates, currently the world’s richest man.
The Rockefeller clan is as secretive as it is influential, and the majority of the family manages to skirt the public eye. Nonetheless, there are no shortage of Rockefellers whose standalone successes would make even the Gilded Age oil baron proud. The single wealthiest family member is David Rockefeller, who was CEO of Chase National Bank (now JPMorgan Chase) and commands a fortune that Forbes values at $3 billion. Politically well connected, Rockefeller was offered – and declined – roles as Secretary of the Treasury and Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He is perhaps most infamous for helping to precipitate the Iran hostage crisis by encouraging President Jimmy Carter to admit the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to the U.S. for hospital treatment.
Read more:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/carlodonnell/2014/07/11/the-rockefellers-the-legacy-of-historys-richest-man/
The Rockefeller legacy began with a 16-year-old bookkeeper in Cleveland, Ohio, whose greatest ambitions were to earn $100,000 and live 100 years. His formal business training included a ten-week class in accounting, as well as a con-artist father who was known to say, “I cheat my boys every chance I get. I want to make ‘em sharp,” according to the biography John D. Rockefeller: Anointed with Oil.
That young man was John Davison Rockefeller in 1855, who in 25 years would become the wealthiest man of his time, and arguably the wealthiest in history, reigning over a monopoly that refined as much as 90 percent of America’s oil. His flagship company, Standard Oil, was broken up in 1911 by the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, but Rockefeller’s greatest legacy – his family – lives on, spanning more than 200 surviving individuals and possessing a collective net worth of about $10 billion, according to Forbes’ list of America’s wealthiest families.
From the Manhattan skyline to the Gulf Coast, the impact of the Rockefeller family is hard to miss. One of the most visible contributions was made by John D. Rockefeller himself, who founded the University of Chicago. Intending to create the first great Baptist university, Rockefeller gave the school $80 million, equal to more than $2 billion in today’s dollars. The monopolist’s son, John D. Rockefeller Jr., comes in a close second, constructing the Rockefeller Center, an expanse of 19 commercial skyscrapers in Midtown Manhattan.
Today, members of the family continue to preside over the so-called robber baron’s philanthropic flagship, the Rockefeller Foundation, which commands more than $3.5 billion. However, the Rockefeller’s single most impactful legacy is not in the realm of philanthropy, but rather the world of business. After Standard Oil was broken up by the federal government, many of its spinoffs become today’s most powerful oil companies, including all or part ofConocoPhillips COP -1.1%, BP , Chevron CVX -1.37% and Exxon-Mobil.
Despite the family’s immense wealth, the Rockefellers no longer stand atop America’s financial hierarchy. At $10 billion, the family ranks 24th on Forbes’ list, a far cry from the heyday of John D. Rockefeller, who became the world’s first billionaire in 1916, a sum equal to $30 billion today, adjusted for inflation. In a sense, this underestimates the oil scion’s wealth. By the time Rockefeller died in 1937, his assets equaled 1.5% of America’s total economic output. To control an equivalent share today would require a net worth of about $340 billion dollars, more than four times that of Bill Gates, currently the world’s richest man.
The Rockefeller clan is as secretive as it is influential, and the majority of the family manages to skirt the public eye. Nonetheless, there are no shortage of Rockefellers whose standalone successes would make even the Gilded Age oil baron proud. The single wealthiest family member is David Rockefeller, who was CEO of Chase National Bank (now JPMorgan Chase) and commands a fortune that Forbes values at $3 billion. Politically well connected, Rockefeller was offered – and declined – roles as Secretary of the Treasury and Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He is perhaps most infamous for helping to precipitate the Iran hostage crisis by encouraging President Jimmy Carter to admit the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to the U.S. for hospital treatment.
Read more:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/carlodonnell/2014/07/11/the-rockefellers-the-legacy-of-historys-richest-man/
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