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
Du Ponts and the
Mellons. A primary reason has been the lifelong efforts of "Junior" to not only cleanse the name from the disgrace 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. 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 III, and later especially with David. Regarding 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. Summing up a predominant view among the international philanthropic world, albeit one poorly grasped by the public, 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." John D. Rockefeller gave away US$540 million over his lifetime (in dollar terms of that time), and became the greatest lay benefactor of medicine in history. 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. 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. The combined personal and social connections of the various family members are vast, both in the United States and throughout the world, including the most powerful politicians, royalty, public figures, and chief businessmen. Figures through
Standard Oil alone have included
Henry Flagler and
Henry H. Rogers. Contemporary figures include
Henry Kissinger,
Richard Parsons (chairman and CEO of
Time Warner),
C. Fred Bergsten,
Peter G. Peterson (Senior Chairman of the
Blackstone Group), and
Paul Volcker. In 1991, the family was presented with the
Honor Award from the
National Building Museum for four generations worth of preserving and creating some of the U.S.'s most important buildings and places. David accepted the award on the family's behalf. The ceremony coincided with an exhibition on the family's contributions to the built environment, including John Sr.'s preservation efforts for the
Hudson River Palisades, the restoration of
Williamsburg, Virginia,
construction of Rockefeller Center, and Governor Nelson's efforts to construct low- and middle-income housing in New York state. The Rockefeller name is imprinted in numerous places throughout the United States, including within
New York City, but also in
Cleveland, where the family originates: •
Rockefeller Center - A landmark 19-building complex in
Midtown Manhattan established by Junior:
Older section constructed from 1930 to 1939; Newer section constructed during the 1960s-1970s; •
Rockefeller Apartments - An apartment building in Midtown Manhattan •
Rockefeller University - Renamed in 1965, this is the distinguished Nobel prize-winning graduate/postgraduate medical school (formerly the
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, established by Senior in 1901); •
Rockefeller Foundation - Founded in 1913, this is the famous philanthropic organization set up by Senior and Junior; •
Rockefeller Brothers Fund - Founded in 1940 by the third-generation's five sons and one daughter of Junior; •
Rockefeller Family Fund - Founded in 1967 by members of the family's fourth-generation; •
Rockefeller Group - A private family-run real estate development company based in New York that originally owned, constructed and managed Rockefeller Center, it is now wholly owned by
Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd; •
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors - is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advises donors in their philanthropic endeavours throughout the world; •
Rockefeller Research Laboratories Building - A major research centre into cancer that was established in 1986 and named after Laurance, this is located at the
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; •
Rockefeller Center - Home of the International Student Services office and department of philosophy, politics and law at the
State University of New York at Binghamton; •
Rockefeller Chapel - Completed in 1928, this is the tallest building on the campus of the
University of Chicago, established by Senior in 1889; •
Rockefeller Hall - Established by Senior in 1906, this building houses the
Case Western Reserve University Physics Department; •
Rockefeller Hall - Established by Senior and completed in 1906, this building houses the
Cornell University Physics Department; •
Rockefeller Hall - Established by Senior in 1887, who granted
Vassar College a $100,000 ($2.34 million in 2006 dollars) allowance to build additional, much needed lecture space. The final cost of the facility was $99,998.75. It now houses multi-purpose classrooms and departmental offices for political science, philosophy and math; •
Rockefeller Hall - Established by Senior and completed in 1886, this is the oldest building on the campus of
Spelman College; •
Rockefeller College - Named after
John D. Rockefeller III, this is a
residential college at
Princeton University; •
Michael C. Rockefeller Arts Center - Completed in 1969 in memory of Nelson Rockefeller's son, this is a cultural centre at the
State University of New York at Fredonia; •
The Michael C. Rockefeller Collection and the Department of Primitive Art - Completed in 1982 after being initiated by Nelson, this is a wing of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art; •
David and Peggy Rockefeller Building - A tribute to David's wife, Peggy Rockefeller, this is a new (completed in 2004) six-story building housing the main collection and temporary exhibition galleries of the family's
Museum of Modern Art; •
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden - Completed in 1949 by David, this is a major outdoor feature of the Museum of Modern Art; •
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum - Opened in 1957 by Junior, this is a leading folk art museum just outside the historic district of Junior's
Colonial Williamsburg; •
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Hall - The freshman residence hall on the campus of
Spelman College; •
Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Building - Completed in 1918, it is among other things a student residence hall at
Spelman College, after the wife of Senior and after whom the college was named; •
Rockefeller State Park Preserve - Part of the family estate in Westchester County, this preserve was officially handed over to New York State in 1983, although it had previously always been open to the public; •
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park - Established as a historical museum of conservation by Laurance during the 1990s. •
John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway - Established in 1972 through Congressional authorization, connecting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks; •
Rockefeller Forest - Funded by Junior, this is located within
Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California's largest redwood state park; • Either of two US congressional committees {in 1972 -
John D. III and 1975 -
Nelson dubbed the
Rockefeller Commission}. •
Rockefeller Park, a scenic park featuring gardens dedicated to several world nations along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. between
University Circle and
Lake Erie in Cleveland. •
Winthrop Rockefeller Institute of the University of Arkansas System was established in 2005 with a grant from the
Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust. The educational center with conference and lodging facilities is located on Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton, Arkansas, on the original grounds of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller's model cattle farm. • David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University. • Rockefeller Quad at the Loomis Chaffee School • Rockefeller Complex library at
Niels Bohr Institute,
Nørrebro,
Copenhagen Municipality in
Denmark John Jr., through his son
Nelson, purchased and then donated the land upon which sits the
United Nations headquarters, in New York, in 1946. 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). He also funded the excavations at
Luxor in Egypt, as well as establishing a Classical Studies School in
Athens. In addition, he provided the funding for the construction of the
Palestine Archaeological Museum in
East Jerusalem - the
Rockefeller Museum.
Conservation Beginning with
John D. Rockefeller Sr., the family has been a major force in land conservation. In 2016 fifth-generation descendants of John Sr. criticized
ExxonMobil, one of the successors to his company
Standard Oil, for their record on climate change. The
Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Rockefeller Family Fund both backed reports suggesting that ExxonMobil knew more about the threat of global warming than it had disclosed.
David Kaiser, grandson of
David Rockefeller Sr. and president of the Rockefeller Family Fund, said that the "...company seems to be morally bankrupt." Valerie Rockefeller Wayne, daughter of former Senator
Jay Rockefeller, said, "Because the source of the family wealth is fossil fuels, we feel an enormous moral responsibility for our children, for everyone -- to move forward." The Rockefeller Brothers Fund announced it was divesting from fossil fuels in September 2014, the Rockefeller Family Fund announced plans to divest in March 2016, and the
Rockefeller Foundation pledged to dump their fossil fuel holdings in December 2020. With a $5 billion endowment, the Rockefeller Foundation was "the largest US foundation to embrace the rapidly growing divestment movement." CNN writer Matt Egan noted, "This divestment is especially symbolic because the Rockefeller Foundation was founded by oil money."
The archives The Rockefeller family archives are held at the
Rockefeller Archive Center in Pocantico Hills,
Sleepy Hollow, New York. At present, the archives of John D. Rockefeller Sr. William Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Abby Rockefeller Mauzé, John D. Rockefeller III, Blanchette Rockefeller, and Nelson Rockefeller are processed and open by appointment to readers in the Archive Center's reading room. Processed portions of the papers of Laurance Rockefeller are also open. In addition, the Archive Center has a microfilm copy of the Winthrop Rockefeller papers, the originals of which are held at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. The papers of the family office, known as the Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller, are also open for research, although those portions that relate to living family members are closed. ==Members==