David Rockefeller

Banker

• Born: June 12, 1915
• Birthplace: Mew York, New York
• Died: March 20, 2017
• Place of death: Pocantico Hills, New York

American banker, economist, and statesman

Rockefeller inherited much of his wealth from his father, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. His own work at the Chase Manhattan Bank and with world leaders has helped the world’s economy.

Sources of wealth: Inheritance; investments; real estate

Bequeathal of wealth: Relatives; charity

Early Life

David Rockefeller was the youngest of six children born to John D. Rockefeller Jr., and his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. His grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, was the founder of the Standard Oil Company. David’s parents had a large art collection displayed in the house, which stimulated his early interest in art. He attended the Lincoln School, which stressed having students work in the library to solve problems rather than memorizing facts. The Rockefeller children were given a small allowance, and their father required them to keep a journal of their expenditures and donate money to charities. The family often spent weekends or summer vacations at their estates at Pocantico Hills, New York, and Seal Harbor, Maine. David also enjoyed traveling with the family to the western United States, France, Virginia, and Egypt in the late 1920s.

David Rockefeller graduated from Harvard University with honors in 1936. He then attended the London School of Economics and worked for the Chase National Bank in London. He obtained a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago in 1940.

First Ventures

In 1940, Rockefeller began working as a secretary to Fiorello Henry La Guardia, the mayor of New York City, in order to gain a better understanding of government operations. After a year and a half at this job, he became assistant director of the U.S. Office of Defense, Health, and Welfare Services, serving in this position from 1941 to 1942. When World War II began, he enlisted in the army as a private. He was sent to officers’ candidate school in 1943 and then was stationed in North Africa and France, where he worked in military intelligence. Toward the end of the war, he was assigned to the American embassy in Paris, where he gained valuable experience in working with groups of people in the French government and military.

After World War II, Rockefeller went to work at the Chase National Bank in New York City, becoming the only Rockefeller to become a banker. He worked in the foreign department at Chase, primarily in the Latin American section, focusing on commodities, such as coffee and metals. He kept careful documentation and laid out specific goals just as his father trained him to do when he was a child. Rockefeller worked well with his colleagues, listening to their points of view and providing logical arguments for his opinions. He worked exceedingly hard and eventually became vice president of the section in 1950.

During this time, Rockefeller also worked with his brothers in the family business and on charitable activities. He became chairman of the International House in New York City, an organization that assisted foreign students. The International House was located in a decaying portion of the city, and Rockefeller helped to redevelop the area in the 1950s. He also became chairman of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, devising a plan to expand the institute’s research programs.

Mature Wealth

In the 1950s, Rockefeller used his background in economics to take a leading role in the development of Chase National Bank. As vice president of Chase in the 1950s, he helped to expand the bank’s international loans to developing world markets, particularly in Latin America and Western Europe. Chase purchased many existing banks in these areas and implemented procedures that conformed with its banking practices; this process also required Chase to reorganize its own operations. In 1955, Chase merged with the Bank of Manhattan to become the Chase Manhattan Bank, which was then the second-largest bank in the world, with billions of dollars in assets. During his years at Chase, Rockefeller continued to evaluate the bank’s operations, and he began to change the internal organization of its management. He changed pay scales, fringe benefits, and promotion policies for bank employees.

Rockefeller became vice president of the bank’s management board in 1957. He proposed construction of a $100 million, sixty-story building for Chase, made of glass and aluminum, with two million square feet of working space. Many members of the bank’s board of directors opposed his plan, especially since many businesses were then beginning to move out of New York City’s financial district. The board would allow Rockefeller to build the structure only if he could convince other businesses to stay in the district. In response, Rockefeller organized the Committee on Lower Manhattan, which consisted of many business and banking leaders in the area who were charged with rebuilding a one-square-mile area. This area was the site of the major stock exchanges, many large banks, and the headquarters of large corporations. The building process was slow, but by 1980 more than fifty million square feet of office space was added to this area, including the new Chase Manhattan Bank building, completed in 1961. Rockefeller also convinced Chase’s board to purchase $500,000 worth of art for the new building, which was a boon to many artists.

Rockefeller became president of the Chase Manhattan Bank in 1961. The banking industry changed rapidly in the 1960s, and under Rockefeller’s leadership, Chase bank was in the forefront of these developments. Chase expanded its moneylending, amassing more than $21 billion worth of loans by the end of the 1960s. Many of these loans were made to growing businesses, such as automobile and textile companies.

In 1969, Rockefeller was made Chase’s chief executive officer and chairman of the board. At this time, the bank had branches in ninety countries, and he continued to travel to keep in touch with Chase’s worldwide operations. He remained chairman until 1981, and he held about 2 percent of the bank’s stock.

Rockefeller volunteered his time to assist numerous organizations and donated a vast amount of money for causes he believed were important. In the 1940s, he began his longtime association with the Council on Foreign Relations, eventually becoming the organization’s director. The council studied America’s long-range foreign policy and made recommendations on America’s relations with other countries. Rockefeller worked on the council’s study groups concerning Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and trade policy. He became well acquainted with American presidents, who appointed him to a number of commissions studying economic policy.

Rockefeller also made large donations to the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, the Museum of Modern Art, and the University of Chicago, among other institutions. He took over the leadership of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in 1950, focusing on fund-raising and directing the institute’s biomedical research. He also obtained a large collection of art, a great deal of which was given to the Museum of Modern Art.

Legacy

David Rockefeller became a world economic leader through his work at the Chase Manhattan Bank, his role in many economic committees, and his personal relationships with many world leaders. In the twenty-first century, he continued to provide money and leadership to organizations he considered important. He passed away on March 20, 2017, at home in Pocantico Hills, New York. He was 101 years old.

Bibliography

Abels, Jules. The Rockefeller Billions. New York: Macmillan, 1965. Print.

Dalzell, Robert F., and Lee Baldwin Dalzell. The House the Rockefellers Built. New York: Henry Holt, 2007. Print.

Moscow, Alvin. The Rockefeller Inheritance. Garden City: Doubleday, 1977. Print.

Rockefeller, David. Memoirs. New York: Random, 2002. Print.

Tarbell, Ida M. The History of Standard Oil. Rpt. New York: MacMay, 2008. Print.