The Rockefeller family is one of the richest, and most well known dynasties in the world,
they’ve held positions in politics, influenced environmental protection and owned some of
the most expensive real estate in the world.
So, how did they amass, and hold onto so much money, and how rich are they really?
Today there are six generations of Rockefellers, with the 21 member fourth generation currently
controlling their enormous wealth, headed by the 100-year-old David Rockefeller.
But all their current riches stem from one entrepreneur: John Davison Rockefeller Senior.
In 1870, he co-founded what would be the largest oil refiner in the world, the Standard Oil
Company.
By undercutting the competition and colluding directly with railroads, it became one of
the earliest oil monopolies, and in the early 1880s, Rockefeller controlled roughly 90%
of all the oil in the United States.
But in 1911, the Supreme Court ruled the monopoly illegal.
Nonetheless, when Rockefeller died in 1937, he was worth about 1.5% of the entire US’s
GDP, which today would be roughly $340 billion dollars.
He is considered to be the single wealthiest person in US history.
Following this initial influx of wealth, Rockefeller’s son, John D Junior, began an effort to diversify,
and maintain the goodwill of the family name through philanthropy and real estate.
New York’s famed art deco Rockefeller Center was originally built by Junior, who also donated
land for the Museum of Modern Art, contributed to the Met, and other Rockefellers were involved
in iconic real estate throughout Manhattan like the Cloisters, and the former World Trade
Center Towers.
The family has also worked in environmental conservation, donating land, and establishing
more than 20 national parks all around the country.
As one of the richest families in the world, Rockefellers have been among the most charitable.
The original John D Senior contributed more than half-a-billion dollars, mostly to medical
research, leading some to call him the greatest medical benefactor in history.
His son, Junior, gave away nearly the same amount to various causes, bringing the total
between the two to more than 1 billion dollars by 1960.
And still today, the oldest Rockefeller, David, has personally donated nearly 1 billion dollars
to charity.
But nobody really knows the full scope of their wealth, as much of it is tied up in
real estate and investments.
Some estimates, accounting for inflation, place the Rockefeller worth at $11 billion
dollars.
But, their ability to maintain their wealth is the result of the Rockefeller Trust, where
the majority of the family’s money has been kept since 1934.
A trust committee oversees the use of this money, and family members receive portions
of the generated interest rather than dipping into the principal amount.
Rockefellers have used their fortune to affect public change, and to occupy important political
positions.
Nelson Rockefeller was a Vice President, Jay Rockefeller was a Senator, and others have
been involved in finance and business around the world.
But with such wealth, the Rockefeller family has also been the focus of a number of conspiracy
theories, predominantly the idea of a “New World Order”, where a wealthy elite replace
the world’s government with a secret totalitarian authority.
While we can’t say there is much evidence of this new world order, there is plenty of
evidence that the Rockefellers are incredibly rich, powerful, and philanthropic.
Host Toss: Be sure to check out a bunch of new episodes coming out on the Seeker Stories
channel — like this one about a lawyer who decided to change to a more unusual career
path:
“I left the law firm behind to play with bricks full-time.
The bricks I use in my art are the very same bricks that people could purchase at a toy
store.
I don’t paint them and I don’t have access to special colors or special shapes and sizes.
And we’re in my art studio today where I have over Five Million LEGO bricks”
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Another mysterious and rich family that seems to be the topic of every conspiracy theory
is the Rothschild Family.
You can find out just how actually rich and powerful they are by checking out this video
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