The Rockefeller family can be described as an American American industrial, political, and banking family. The family originates from the Rhineland region in Germany and it can be traced to the town known as Neuwied in the early 17th century.
It was Johann Peter Rockefeller (1681-1763) who started the Rockefeller family and he was believed to have moved from the Rhineland to Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania around 1723.
While in the United States of America, Johann Peter Rockefeller became the owner of a plantation and also an owner of lands in Somerville, and Amwell, New Jersey.
As a matter of fact, the family is very wealthy and it made his wealth in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries masterminded by two brothers.
These two brothers were John D. Rockefeller and William A. Rockefeller Jr. and they made the wealth of Standard Oil, the predecessor of ExxonMobil and Chevron Corporation.
The Rockefeller family also had a link with and control of Chase Manhattan Bank. By the year 1977, the family had become one of the most powerful families in American history.
William A. Rockefeller Sr., a businessman was one of the first members of the Rockefeller family in New York.
He had six children with his first wife Eliza Davison, a daughter of a Scots-Irish farmer. Two of his children,John D. Rockefeller and William A. Rockefeller Jr., turned out to be oil tycoons and they co-owned Standard Oil.
Even though most members of the Rockefeller family are Baptists, some were Episcopalians.
Rockefeller Family Wealth
It must be noted that even though the Rockefeller family is very wealthy, the total assets and investments as well as the individual wealth of the members of the Rockefeller family has never been confirmed.
The family has ensured that their net worth is not publicly known. The family’s wealth has always been under the control of the male members of the dynasty, through the family office.
It must also be noted that much of the wealth of the Rockefeller Family is in the family trust of 1934 as well as the trust of 1952, both administered by Chase Bank, the corporate successor to Chase Manhattan Bank.
Some of the real estate and institutions belonging to the Rockefeller Family which also form part of its wealth include Rockefeller Center, Rockefeller Center, Wren Building, College of William and Mary, Virginia, Museum of Modern Art, New York City, Riverside Church, New York City, Rockefeller Apartments, New York City, The Interchurch Center, New York City as well as Asia Society (Asia House), New York City.
Others included One Chase Manhattan Plaza, New York City, Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York, Lincoln Center, New York City, World Trade Center Twin Towers, New York City, Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, as well as Council of the Americas/Americas Society, New York City.
The Rockefeller Family also has seven major housing developments and the formation of the University of Chicago can be attributed to the family.
