John D. Rockefeller is dead

David Rockefeller Sr., the heir to a vast and storied family fortune who, as president, chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Bank, transformed a listless business into one of the world’s largest financial institutions, died Monday at his home in Pocantico Hills, New York. He was 101.

 

A spokesman, Fraser Seitel, said the cause was congestive heart failure.

 

Rockefeller was the last surviving grandchild of oil baron John D. Rockefeller, who became one of the richest men in the world by the time he died in 1937. The younger Rockefeller’s four brothers, John III, Nelson, Laurance and Winthrop, carved prominent careers in philanthropy, politics, conservation and politics, respectively.

 

David Rockefeller became a banking stalwart. He was a globe-trotting financial diplomat and twice declined President Richard Nixon’s offer to become secretary of the treasury because he felt his position at Chase gave him more influence. In 1979, he used his contacts at the highest levels of government to bring the ailing and deposed shah of Iran to the United States for medical treatment.

Total comments: 0