David Rockefeller (1915–2017) was an American businessman and philanthropist. As chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank, he was one of the most prominent bankers in the world. He was also the patriarch of the Rockefeller family and the last of the grandchildren of John D Rockefeller, America’s first billionaire and the founder of Standard Oil.
Born to a life of privilege in New York City, David Rockefeller was the youngest of five sons of John D Rockefeller Jr. David graduated from Harvard in 1936 and received a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1940. After serving in the United States military during World War II, he joined Chase in 1945 and honed his international banking skills by assuming increasing amounts of leadership responsibilities. As Chase’s CEO 1969–81, he strengthened the bank’s global business and positioned it as an essential lender to large multinational conglomerates.
Rockefeller was also a director of several American corporations and was led the sprawling network of the family business and philanthropic interests, that range from environmental conservation to the arts. His private art collection was once valued at $500 million. He published his Memoirs (2002.)
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If necessity is the mother of invention, discontent is the father of progress.
—David Rockefeller
Topics: Discontent
One cannot expect to coast along and rise automatically to the top, no matter what friends you may have in the company. There may have been a time when, in large corporations, a person could rise simply because he had a stock interest or because he had friends in top management. That’s not true today. Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.
—David Rockefeller
Topics: Opportunity
Philanthropy is involved with basic innovations that transform society, not simply maintaining the status quo or filling basic social needs that were formerly the province of the public sector.
—David Rockefeller
Topics: Philanthropy
Whatever you do, if you do it hard enough you’ll enjoy it. The important thing is to work and work hard.
—David Rockefeller
Topics: Work
I think of art as the highest level of creativity. To me, it is one of the greatest sources of enjoyment.
—David Rockefeller
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