ROCKFELLER

Every year, at the end of November, in the plaza at the heart of Rockefeller Center on 5th Avenue in New York City, a gigantic Christmas tree is lit, marking the beginning of the much-anticipated holiday season. Beneath the tree, a traditional ice rink draws both tourists and locals.
The stunning Art Deco complex—home to dozens of shops and restaurants, including an internal subway stop—was built by the Rockefeller family and is best known for its iconic landmark: the GE Building, headquarters of the historic American multinational.

The idea for a commercial and office center was first proposed by magnate John D. Rockefeller Jr. in the 1920s as a way to stimulate the economy following the Great Depression. The Black Monday crash of 1929 had plunged Wall Street—and the world—into the first global recession (a bleak record that would stand until the 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse).

A new theory by a young economist, John Maynard Keynes, suggested that governments should increase public spending to create jobs and build useful infrastructure. Acting on this, Rockefeller enlisted dozens of architects, engineers, and artists to develop the project. Construction began in 1930, at the height of the economic crisis, as people starved, and others took their own lives out of desperation.

The complex was built in stages, with the first building opening in 1933. When the GE Building was completed in 1939, it was the tallest in the world, stealing the record from the Flatiron Building, an icon of the previous generation.

After this magnificent skyscraper, John D. Rockefeller became the most famous businessman in the world—but the Rockefeller name was already well known. He bore the suffix “Jr.” (from Latin Junior) because he shared the same name as his father.

The Rockefellers are the most prominent American business dynasty, with global renown. The family has a long history of philanthropy and has been influential across politics, business, and the arts.

Their fortune originated in the oil industry.

The story begins in 1839 when Eliza Davison, the wife of William Avery Rockefeller—a small-time businessman and con artist—gave birth to John D. Rockefeller in the small village of Richford, upstate New York. He was the second of six children. A quick learner from a young age, John began working as a clerk at 16. But destiny had greater plans: in his twenties, he foresaw the potential of the rising oil industry.
In 1870, at the age of just 31, he co-founded the Standard Oil Company with Harry Flager and Stephen Harkness.

In the 1880s, while a nobleman in Sicily was revolutionizing European literature by chronicling the plight of poor peasants, another dynasty was thriving.

John D. Rockefeller became the first commoner in America to reach billionaire status—until then, only nobles and monarchs had achieved such wealth.

Under his leadership, Standard Oil grew into one of the largest and most successful companies in the world -perhaps too successful. It violated its Ohio charter, which forbade it from doing business outside the state. In 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil be dissolved under the Sherman Antitrust Act and split into 34 companies.

This was the first major antitrust decision in history.

Despite legal challenges and public criticism, Rockefeller revolutionized the oil industry and became a leading philanthropist. He donated large sums to education, medical research, and the arts.

Rockefeller Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps, supporting many causes, including the construction of the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The business gene remained strong. David Rockefeller, son of Jr., had a distinguished career in investment banking, becoming Chairman and CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank, which later merged with J.P. Morgan.

Wealth often intersects with politics in the U.S.: John D. Rockefeller Jr. was a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention. His grandson Nelson Rockefeller, brother of David, went even further - serving as the 41st Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford. Historical footnote: Ford remains the only American President never elected, rising to office after Nixon’s resignation over the Watergate scandal.

When John D. Rockefeller Sr. died in 1937 at the age of 95, his net worth was estimated at $1.5 billion—over $26 billion in today’s dollars.

The Rockefeller Center hasn’t always been universally praised. Critics argued that its development displaced low-income residents and small businesses in favor of luxury real estate for the wealthy.

In the early 20th century, Rockefeller Sr. survived several assassination attempts. In 1912, Charles Jones tried to shoot him but was stopped by security. In 1915, Harry Garson attempted to bomb his office, but the bomb failed to explode.
In the 1970s, the radical left-wing group Weather Underground targeted the Rockefeller family, claiming responsibility for several bombings, including one at a family property in New York City.

The family's involvement in the oil industry, particularly regarding environmental concerns, has remained a source of scrutiny. Over the decades, critics have argued that they’ve not done enough to address the environmental impact of fossil fuels.

A family this large and wealthy needed an appropriate home. For nearly 70 years, the Rockefellers lived at 146 East 65th Street, in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
David Rockefeller bought the property in 1948 for his wife Peggy. The nearly 10,000-square-foot Colonial Revival townhouse, with five floors and almost 3,000 square feet of outdoor space, was originally built in 1924. In the 1970s, David hired architect Mott Schmidt to renovate it.

That same year, Peggy designed a seven-bedroom home on a 14.5-acre estate in Seal Harbor, an idyllic bay in Mount Desert, Maine. Named "Ringing Point", it included a granite pool and a circular rose garden.

After David Rockefeller’s death in 2017, the NYC townhouse was listed at over $30 million. It eventually sold for $20 million. Ringing Point was listed and sold for $19 million, with proceeds going to charity. Another estate, Mill Neck—an $18.5 million Tudor-style weekend home north of New York—was also listed. The Rockefellers also own another summer home in Mount Desert called “The Eyrie.”

Mark Fitler Rockefeller, born in 1967, is a fourth-generation member of the dynasty and the younger son of former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller.

After a career in finance—including a stint at Chase Securities—he became Chairman of the nonprofit Historic Hudson Valley in 1999, an organization founded by his grandfather.
He has four children with his former wife, from whom he divorced in 2020—these will be the future Rockefellers.

Generations may come and go, but controversy continues to follow the family. In 2013, an inquiry into federal farm subsidy programs revealed that 1,500 wealthy New Yorkers had received payments. Among them: Rockefeller himself, who collected $340,000 in taxpayer money over a decade for allowing farmland to return to its natural state.