Rockefeller. part 1. THE WORLD PLANTER, THE SON OF THE HOUSEHOLDER, 26 BROADWAY, ROOM 1400

When a list of great fortunes was compiled in the United States of America after the Second World War, 21 members of the Rockefeller family appeared on it with property estimated at $3 billion and $17 million in annual income taxes. Not a small amount, but Rockefeller wealth historians have long noted that these amounts do not reflect the unheard of political and economic influence that the Rockefeller family and the enterprises it controls have on the economy of the United States and the capitalist world as a whole and even on the definition of their policies. A few years ago, a new count was made. According to him, even taking into account the fall in the value of the dollar in 1946, the Rockefellers' investments in various giant enterprises were already estimated at $ 6 billion. If you add deposits to banks and the value of the real estate of the clan, you get a round sum of $ 7 billion. This in itself means that since the end of World War II, the financial weight of the Rockefeller clan has doubled. And according to the latest estimates, the wealth of the clan has already reached $ 10 billion (According to Wikipedia, John Rockefeller became the first dollar billionaire in history and today is the richest man in the world. His fortune was estimated at $ 318 billion at the dollar rate at the end of 2007 is my comment.)

In contrast, however, to lone wolves like the Getty, the Rockefellers' financial power is deliberately calculated in pieces. So, for example, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the then head of the clan, in the year of his death, in 1960, with a property of $ 1 billion, was only 6th in the list of American super-rich. By the end of the 70s, another member of the clan, Mrs. Abby Rockefeller, appeared on the list of the rich, although she appeared in one of the places of honor, her property was estimated "only" at $ 300 million, and therefore she was 19th in this list. David Rockefeller, president of the second largest bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, was in 23rd place with $280 million. The rest: the youngest - John-David, Lawrence, Winthrop and Nelson Rockefellers, each with $ 260 million, occupied 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th places. Already from this enumeration, it is not difficult for an observer to guess that it is not in numbers that one should look for the true dimensions of the economic and political power of the Rockefeller dynasty. Getty is in 1st place. David Rockefeller, who is the CEO and President of Chase Manhattan Bank and is only in 19th place, has a significantly greater economic power.

Naturally, among the wealth of the Rockefeller clan, the most important place is occupied by the various enterprises of Standard Oil, and above all, Standard Oil of New Jersey. This is probably the largest industrial enterprise in the capitalist world. And the Rockefeller family owns about 15% of the shares in this enterprise, which practically means that the Rockefellers control this entire industrial giant. The situation is similar with the rest of Standard Oil enterprises: having 12-17% of the shares, the Rockefellers actually manage them. To a lesser extent, but with great influence, the Rockefellers participate in the largest railroad companies in the USA and even in a certain part of the largest steel trusts. To this must be added the financial power that is the Chase Manhattan Bank and the New York First National City Bank, control over which is in the hands of the Rockefellers. (This latter is the third largest banking house in the US, so out of the Big Three in two, the Rockefellers have the final say.)

The current fathers of the dynasty, from the height of the greatest financial and economic power in the world of capitalism, arrogantly look at the origins of the power of their clans. And what? These origins really go back to some miserable horse-hunter, and then to a wandering pharmacist, who in the second half of the 40s of the XIX century. traveled around the villages of New York State in a gig, offering for sale everything that is sold: from horses and processed sugar to all kinds of medicinal herbs and infusions curing all diseases prepared from these herbs. His real name remains a mystery to this day. It is probably only known that at the same time he called himself “Dr. William Avery Rockefeller”, and when he married, he officially legitimized this pseudonym.

The workers' wives scared their children: "Don't cry, otherwise Rockefeller will take you!"

William Avery Rockefeller, father of the future multi-billionaire, has collected in himself all conceivable vices - a libertine, a horse thief, a charlatan, a deceiver, a bigamist, a liar ... William appeared in the city separately from his family - a handsome man with a light chestnut beard, in a new, with pins and needles, a frock coat and (unheard of in Richford!) well-pressed trousers. On his chest was a sign "I am a deaf-mute." Thanks to her, William, nicknamed Big Bill, soon knew the whole ins and outs of every citizen. The lush beard and the arrows on the trousers pierced the heart of the village girl Eliza Davison. She exclaimed: "I would marry this man if he were not deaf and dumb!" - and modestly standing not far away "crippled" realized that here you can crank out a good deal. Bill's ears worked no worse than radars that had not yet been invented, he heard that his father gave Eliza five hundred dollars of dowry two days earlier - they soon got married, and two years later John Rockefeller was born.

In addition to the craving for sobriety, God rewarded William with an extraordinary charm: Eliza did not part with him, even realizing that her fiancé hears everything perfectly, and on occasion, swears no worse than a drunken lumberjack. She did not leave her husband even when he brought his mistress Nancy Brown into the house and she, in line with Eliza, began to give birth to William's children. Bill went to work at night. He disappeared into the darkness, without explaining where and why he was going, and returned a few months later at dawn - Eliza woke up from the sound of a pebble hitting the window pane. She ran out of the house, threw back the bolt, opened the gate, and her husband drove into the yard - on a new horse, in a new suit, and sometimes with diamonds on his fingers. A handsome man made good money: he took prizes at shooting competitions, he briskly traded in glass "The world's best emeralds from Golconda!" and successfully posed as a famous herbal doctor. Neighbors called him Bill the Devil: some considered William a professional player, others considered him a bandit. Bill prospered, while Eliza and the children lived from hand to mouth and worked tirelessly. She was not sure if her husband would return again, and ran the household saving every cent. Half-starved, dressed in old clothes, the sons ran to school in the morning, then went to work in the field, and then crammed their lessons. Honest poverty reigned at home and hard labour and Bill was living in sin and doing great. Vice did not want to be punished: Rockefeller Sr. began to grow rich. He took up logging, bought a hundred acres of land, a smokehouse, expanded the house ... William Rockefeller had a tender, almost sensual love for money: he loved to pour banknotes on his desk and bury his hands in them, and once he went out to the children, waving a tablecloth, sewn from banknotes ... His wife gave him seven children, the eldest of whom was born in 1839. It was this first-born who later became the founder of the dynasty of billionaires and the "king of kerosene." He inherited his father's passion for money. His name is John Davidson Rockefeller.

John Rockefeller did not become either a libertine or a bigamist, unlike his dad, he was never sued for rape, but nevertheless he learned a lot from his father. From early childhood, he was engaged in "business": he bought a pound of sweets, divided it into small piles and sold it at a premium to his own sisters (somewhere I already read a similar story in stories about Michael Jackson's childhood - my comment), caught wild turkeys and fed for sale. The future billionaire carefully put the proceeds in a piggy bank - he soon began to lend them to his father at a reasonable percentage. A quiet boy receives a secondary education - meanwhile, his father seduces another maid, gets sued for defrauding creditors and leaves his family. William Rockefeller leaves for another woman, changes his surname and hides from his wife, sons and those to whom he owed. They will not see him again - John Davison Rockefeller will not go to his father's funeral.

John graduated from commercial school and, being only 16 years old, on September 26 he joined the Hewitt & Tuttle trading office for the sale of coal and grain in Cleveland. Rockefeller will celebrate this day as his second birth. The fact that the first salary was given to him only after four months did not matter in the slightest - he was allowed into the shining world of business, and he cheerfully walked towards the coveted one hundred thousand dollars. John Rockefeller behaved as a lover might behave: the quiet accountant seemed to be in a state of erotic frenzy. In a fit of passion, he wildly shouts into the ear of a peacefully working colleague: "I am doomed to become rich!" The poor fellow shied away, and just in time - a jubilant cry is repeated two more times. Rockefeller does not drink (even coffee!) And does not smoke, does not go to dances and to the theater, but he gets acute pleasure from the look of a check for four thousand dollars - he takes it out of the safe all the time and examines it again and again. The girls call him on dates, and the young clerk replies that he can only meet with them in church: he feels like God's chosen one, and the temptations of the flesh do not bother him.

At the age of 19, he decided to become independent and opened his own thrift store with a capital of a thousand dollars. The money was given to him by his father at a fairly high percentage: 10 percent a year! Rockefeller was lucky - the southern states announced their withdrawal from the Union and a civil war began. The federal government needed hundreds of thousands of uniforms and rifles, millions of cartridges, mountains of jerky, sugar, tobacco and biscuits. The golden age of speculation had arrived, and Rockefeller, who co-owned a $4,000 brokerage firm, made some good money.

But a year later, John was diagnosed with a serious illness - a stomach ulcer. For two years he had to eat only biscuits and curdled milk, and in general the doctors predicted his inevitable quick death. His hair and eyebrows fell out, his face wrinkled like a squeezed lemon. At 20, he was already as wrinkled and old as at the end of his life - at 98, when he buried the 37th family doctor.

In 1862, when Rockefeller was 23 years old, he was also seized by the "oil fever", which, however, swept the entire state of Ohio, and without hesitation, he built an oil refinery about 200 miles from Cleveland. Rockefeller chose this place not by chance. The man with the face of a mummy was one of the first in the United States to appreciate the importance of transport for oil production. Evaluated and concluded: Cleveland, lying near the American Great Lakes, at the crossroads of two railway lines, will soon play a key role in the delivery of produced oil to the most developed industrial areas on the US East Coast.

Rockefeller acquired a controlling stake in the Southern Refinery Society. This company supplied crude oil to refineries and therefore, willy-nilly, was associated with the largest railway joint-stock companies. At that time, three large railroad companies operated in the territory where oil was extracted and processed - Erie, Central and Pennsylvania. Rockefeller first entered into secret agreements with the leaders of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The details of these agreements became known to the public only much later, when the lawsuit against the "oil king" began. The essence of the agreements was that Rockefeller guaranteed contracts for the transportation of a certain amount of crude oil to the railroad companies. For this, Pennsylvania was obliged to transport his oil at half the price, and even pay Rockefeller a share of the profits that the railroad would receive by charging higher transportation rates from Rockefeller's competitors. In short, this meant that Rockefeller's oil was cheaper than his competitors, and they faced the choice of either going bankrupt or getting rid of their enterprises as soon as possible. And it was still the most delicate trick in Rockefeller's struggle with his competitors. In general, he bought up barrels and tanks so that his competitors had nothing to transport oil. He organized the first system of industrial espionage in the capitalist world and, with the help of this spy network, bought up plots of land on which his competitors were going to lay their oil pipelines. He organized oil distillation companies that seemed to be Rockefeller's competitors, but were actually in his hands. And when his real competitors made deals with his imaginary competitors, confident that now they, together with their new allies, would fight against Rockefeller, they, to their horror, were convinced that they had practically given their enterprises into the hands of the enemy!

By 1870, Rockefeller had swallowed up all his dangerous competitors and, with a fixed capital of $ 1 million, organized the Standard Oil Company. It was then that he ran into the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, with whom he had previously worked very well. The fact is that the owners of Pennsylvania have already watched with concern that they are increasingly dependent on Rockefeller's oil supplies. In the end, they decided to throw all their forces into battle on the side of Rockefeller's only surviving competitor, the Empire oil refinery. In response, Rockefeller and his Standard Oil company flooded all the oil producing enterprises with their agents, who began to buy up all the crude oil at much higher prices than the representatives of the Empire company. After first raising the price of crude oil, Standard Oil then began to sell crude oil, already distilled for kerosene, much cheaper in the very cities where Empire also sold its refined oil. This, of course, meant greater material costs and increased commercial risk for Rockefeller, but he knew that if he succeeded in destroying the Empire-Pennsylvania alliance, then later he would more than return the money he had staked on this dangerous game. And a “price war” began against competitors from the Empire-Pennsylvania alliance, as a result of which the allies found themselves in such a desperate situation that Pennsylvania was forced to literally transport Empire oil for free, but still could not resist dumping Rockefeller.

Meanwhile, dissatisfaction began among the workers of the Pennsylvania transportation company, as the railroad company tried to compensate for its losses in free oil transportation by laying off workers and reducing wages. Among the railroad workers appeared agents of the Rockefeller spy and counterintelligence service, dressed in work clothes. It was they who began to incite the railroad workers, calling for violent, and even armed protests. The provocateurs and their masters were not afraid that the workers of the "Pennsylvania" would have to pay in blood for this unprepared rebellion. In July 1877, the famous "depot riot" broke out in the locomotive depot of the city of Pittsburgh. The leaders of the "Pennsylvania" called the police, and they killed 20 rebellious workers with the first salvo. After this volley, a real uprising began. For a while, the rioters dispersed the police, and a crowd of railroad workers began to set fire, dousing with oil, Pennsylvania locomotives and fuel tanks. By morning, Pennsylvania turned to Washington for help, in White House, from where they were sent and thrown against the rebellious workers of the federal army. New gun salvos followed, more and more dead and wounded fell to the ground. Of course, Rockefeller's agents, having fulfilled their provocative role, disappeared. And when the volleys ceased and the smoke from the burnt trains cleared, it became obvious that Rockefeller, at the cost of the blood of the railroad workers, put an end to the alliance between the Empire and Pennsylvania firms. 500 oil tanks, 1 thousand freight cars, 120 locomotives perished in the fire. The Pennsylvania Company bowed to Rockefeller and accepted all of his terms. By the end of the negotiations, the owner of Standard Oil, like an almighty sovereign, distributed among the transport companies, on favorable terms, the shares of each company in oil supplies. From that day on, in America, without the permission of Standard Oil, practically no one had the right to supply oil anywhere.

As a result of the victory over the Pennsylvania firm, in 1899 in the United States of America the entire oil refining industry was in the hands of the Standard Oil group. The 34 joint-stock companies that were part of the Rockefeller trusts included 80 oil refineries, which employed more than 100 thousand people. The eminent industrial historian of the United States, Ida Tarbell, wrote in her famous book on the formation of the Rockefellers' wealth: "In the second half of the 19th century, the fear of American entrepreneurs over Standard Oil can only be compared with the awe of the rulers of Europe before Napoleon at the beginning of the century." It was then that a grandiose campaign began in the American Congress for the fragmentation of the giant Standard Oil into parts under the capitalist slogan of "defending free competition."
Rockefeller, already in the first round of this struggle, hastened to preempt state legislative measures. He took advantage of the fact that different American states had different laws against trusts. In Ohio, where Standard Oil was actually born, these laws were quite strict. Rockefeller found among 80 of his enterprises located in a state where the laws against trusts were the least severe and it was easier to bribe local politicians. So the choice fell on the state of New Jersey. Rockefeller agents "worked" with large sums, bribing officials and politicians. In just a few weeks, they achieved legislative assembly state of New Jersey to pass laws favorable to Standard Oil. So the old wine "Standard" managed to be poured into new wineskins.

The entire structure of the company was changed. 34 joint-stock companies, which united 80 oil refineries, turned into 20. Organizationally, they were now “independent from each other”, in fact, all of them were subordinate to the until then almost unknown company Standard Oil of New Jersey. Another trick was done: they disaggregated the general management of the Standard Oil company. Of course, only nominally. The directorate continued to meet in the same house at 26 Broadway, New York. Only she no longer had her former name. In official correspondence, the decisions of this directorate from now on began like this: “The gentlemen who have gathered in the 1400th room at 26 Broadway believe ...”

However, the war did not end there. Rockefeller's actions caused such outrage throughout the United States of America that the fight against him became an internal political battle that swept the whole country, and an integral part of the president's pursuit of popularity. In the early years of the century, it was for these reasons that Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, launched a new offensive against the already rebuilt Standard monopoly. The case slowly crept through the American courts of all degrees, until at last it found itself in a very important instance; he was taken to US Federal Court. This court fined one of the Rockefeller enterprises for using clandestine transportation rates. The company was Standard Oil of Indiana. And the verdict of the court read: for each case of using illegal transportation rates, the perpetrator must pay a fine of $ 20 thousand. This meant a total of no less than $ 29 million, which at that time was tantamount to as if all citizens of the United States, including babies, paid 35 cents each.

Rockefeller, in a white wig on a wrinkled head like a dry mushroom, was playing golf when the messenger brought a message about a fine. The oil tycoon opened the letter, read it, and tipped the messenger 10 cents. And then, turning to his golf partners, he said: “Well, gentlemen, shall we continue the game?” One of them, unable to stand it, asked: “How much will you have to pay?” To this, Rockefeller calmly replied: "$29 million." And, as Albert Carr, one of Rockefeller's biographers, points out, he never played golf as well as he did on this day. (Rockefeller's composure will become clear if we remember that in the period from 1882 to 1906, that is, in 24 years, he, having a capital of $ 70 million, earned $ 700 million in profit, that is, more than 40 % in year.)

Of course, Rockefeller knew that the “crusade” undertaken against him would never be carried out consistently: after all, capitalism had long been established in the United States, its era of free enterprise, free competition, had ended. And that the same Theodore Roosevelt, who, due to the demands of domestic politics, for the sake of public opinion, began a whole series of lawsuits against Standard Oil, at the same time gradually allowed another predator - the big banker Morgan, to buy up and devour the independent medium-sized American iron and steel companies. factories to create from them then a huge steel monopoly "United States Steel". So Rockefeller knew perfectly well that any sentence or decision directed against him would inevitably become formal over time, no matter how strict and inflexible they may seem at first glance.

In the summer of 1911, the Standard Oil case reached the Supreme Court, which issued a final verdict that ordered Rockefeller to divide the Standard Oil monopoly into several smaller enterprises. It was then that Standard Oil took on its present form. But the monopoly was shattered into pieces just for the sake of appearances. In fact, Rockefeller kept all his factories, only changing the name of each of the enterprises. So the power of the Rockefeller trust did not decrease at all, and even, perhaps, increased. Albert Carr gives an interesting example in this connection. After the court decision on the division of Standard Oil into parts, public opinion considered that Rockefeller had been defeated, and as a result, Standard's shares on the stock exchange began to plummet. With what surprise it learned later that stock speculators and financiers in general perfectly understood the essence of what was happening. Shortly after the court decision, Standard shares began to rise in price. As Carr writes, "it was the greatest fireworks display in the history of Wall Street." After all, it was clear that a new campaign against the "Standard" could no longer be undertaken. In this way the monopoly in its new form will become even stronger and more stable than hitherto. When the "fireworks" flashed with lights, it became clear that the shares of the (now "independent") enterprises of Standard were collectively worth $200 million more than they had hitherto. And Rockefeller himself, as a result of the speculations on the stock exchange that followed the court decision, amassed $ 56 million. And it was then that American newspapermen calculated that if he exchanged all his personal fortune for five dollar gold coins and folded them in the New York port one on another, then the height of this golden pillar would be equal to 25 statues of Liberty. The most famous political cartoonist of the time, in the Chicago Tribune, depicted the leaders of large American monopolies standing in line in front of the US Supreme Court and pleading: "Divide us into small enterprises."

Rockefeller. part 2. BLOODY MASSACRES IN LUDLOW. KEROSENE LAMPS "STANDARD"

At the head of the new (and really old) "Standard" Rockefeller continued to acquire wealth. The Standard became a regular customer of the Berghof service, the notorious enterprise for crushing strikes. The head of this enterprise, Mr. Berghof, who called himself "the king of strikebreakers," also mentions Standard Oil in his memoirs as "the first of his clients." It was the Berghof and his gang of thugs who in the summer of 1913 sadly distinguished themselves in the famous "Ludlov massacre." Ludlow is a small town in the state of Colorado, near which was one of the mines that belonged to the Rockefeller empire. The miners, in protest against the inhuman conditions of life and work, left the mines and revolted against Standard. At the direction of Rockefeller, the mine management, in agreement with the Colorado state police, first brought strikebreakers there - retired policemen, fugitive soldiers and wanted criminals and tried to use them to disrupt the strike. They were led by the people of the Berghof. However, the strike was not broken, and despite the hardships, the Rockefeller mine workers held out for many months. The thugs built a tent camp around the barracks, where the workers dug in and did not let the scabs through. Finally, regular American troops were thrown against the miners. The soldiers, defending the interests of Rockefeller, opened salvo fire on the strikers.

John Reed, a major American journalist of the day who later published a book on the Great October Socialist Revolution, wrote in an impassioned letter addressed to Rockefeller after the Ludle massacre: “These are your mines, your soldiers and your bandits. So you are the killer!”
The "Rockefeller Empire" trampled down the workers who fought for their rights. She prepared the same fate for her competitors. Of course, not with volleys of guns, but with the most sophisticated means of commercial struggle. The oil king, already in the initial period of expansion and growth of Standard, was looking for how to put down roots and then stand on a firm foot at home and abroad. The largest, second largest oil fields in the world at that time were in Tsarist Russia. Here, oil wells increased the wealth of the Nobel family, originating from Sweden, and the English Rothschilds. Standard managed to conclude a business agreement with representatives of these firms, creating a joint company to develop oil fields in Russia. But Rockefeller failed to establish himself here. First of all, because the Anglo-Dutch concern Royal Dutch-Shell, which emerged at the end of the century, had much stronger ties with the then owners of Baku oil.

By the way, the Royal Dutch-Shell concern was the most serious competitor of the Standard in other regions of the planet. The conflict that broke out between these two oil predators was perhaps the most merciless war in the history of oil. This happened because of the possession of the Chinese market. At the turn of the century, when oil was still mainly used for lighting, China, with its 400 million inhabitants, despite the unusual backwardness of the country, was an attractive market. Out in the middle of nowhere, in thousands of Chinese villages, Standard handed out kerosene lamps to poor peasants for free, hoping that they would then be filled with Rockefeller kerosene. Since, however, Royal Dutch-Shell owned the giant oil fields of Indonesia, which was much closer to the Chinese market than Rockefeller, Standard lamps were mainly filled in Chinese villages with kerosene from Shell refineries. To conquer the Chinese market, Rockefeller attempted to replicate on a world scale the same "price war" method by which he had conquered the American domestic market. However, in China the situation was less favorable, and in the end Rockefeller was forced to seek agreements with the owners of Royal Dutch-Shell.

Of course, this "price war" goes far beyond Standard Oil's history. It is also, last but not least, part of the history of Royal Dutch-Shell. It should be noted that this “price war” led, in particular, to the fact that in 1928 the large oil trusts divided the world among themselves, and subsequently created an international oil cartel: the very union of predators that is still fighting for life , but to death with economically underdeveloped countries with oil fields.
On the experience of this "price war" Rockefeller had to make sure that he was not alone in the world. But at the same time, the opportunities for further growth have increased even more. And first of all - in the field of the automotive industry that came into its own. In 1895, in America, Ford built his first, still primitive automobile workshop in the city of Detroit. In 1901, there were already 10,000 motor vehicles in the world, and by 1914 their number approached a million. And ship engines! Only 3% of the world navy by the First World War, it was switched to diesel fuel, and by 1937 - already 50%.

It is possible to calculate with an accuracy of up to a month when (back in the First World War) Rockefeller saw new growth opportunities for the oil industry. In 1915, he was still afraid that the war would undermine the Standard, which was gradually gaining international proportions. In 1915, he miscalculated again when he declined to participate in an American war loan in favor of an Anglo-French alliance. But big banker Morgan, who collaborated with Rockefeller, noticed the opportunities opening up for him much earlier and already signed generously for the first war loan - for several hundred million dollars. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil woke up from their hibernation only in 1917, and during the second American loan they also entered the game, "coming off the ace" of $ 70 million.

At the end of 1917, when not only the German army, but also the French began to experience difficulties with oil, French Prime Minister Clemenceau turned to the then President Wilson for help. In this appeal, words that turned out to be prophetic sounded: "In subsequent battles, kerosene will be as important (for war) as blood." Standard Oil, which knew how to make use of any kind of liquid, delivered almost 15 million tons of oil to Europe in the last 18 months of the war. At the time, only Standard Oil of New Jersey's earnings reports were published. For 18 months, its profit amounted to $ 200 million. Of course, this amount does not include the profit received by the Standard subsidiaries, which became nominally independent after the partition, which, of course, also migrated into the pockets of the Rockefeller clan.

Rockefeller. part 3. WAR, PROFIT AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION.

After the First World War, the growth of "Standard" accelerated on an international scale, although now more often from the production it was necessary to give way to its main competitor, the company "Royal Dutch-Shell". (So, for example, when in 1921 the Venezuelan dictator Gomez began to squander the country's oil treasures, one of Rockefeller's subsidiaries, Standard Oil of Indiana, sent a delegation to the dictator. She was sitting in the reception room of the President of Venezuela, while James Rothschild, meanwhile, on behalf of the company Shell haggled with the dictator over the price of oil treasures.)

A similar but much more complex example of the division of oil wealth took place between the two world wars in the Middle East. Here in separate countries - from Iran to Saudi Arabia- The Standard Oil concern shared oil wealth with its allies, depending on how great the military or political influence of England or France was in a particular country and how much this could interfere with Rockefeller's appetite. Before the Second World War, the British were stronger masters in this area, which means that the share of Standard was, accordingly, more modest. Of the Middle East oil, it accounted for "only" 15%, but this 15% included the oil deposits of the largest oil supplier - Saudi Arabia. The discovery of Saudi oil was the second most important event after the collapse of the British Empire at the end of World War II, leading to the creation of an American oil empire in the Middle East. Ibn Saud, the father of the current king of Saudi Arabia, sold the first region of the country's oil deposits to the Rockefellers in the 1930s for $247,000. Since then, the Rockefeller dynasty has received an average of 500% return on investment per year from these oil fields.

The dynasty itself, of course, was aging, and the old predator John D. Rockefeller Sr. did not live to see the beginning of the Second World War. A few years before his death, the affairs of the dynasty passed to his son - John D. Rockefeller II. The commercial techniques that the successors later used were in any case worthy of the founder. After the outbreak of the Second World War, it turned out that Standard Oil had its own branches and stakes in almost all areas of the German military industry. So, for example, Standard Oil had a secret cartel agreement with the I. G. Farben”, who played such an important role in Hitler's wars of conquest. According to this agreement, "Standard" left the German market of artificial rubber and gasoline, and the trust "I. G. Farben undertook not to appear with its products on the American markets. When, after the Second World War, the US Senate appointed an investigation into this case, one of the directors of Standard Oil stated before the Senate commission: “... In October 1939, that is, a month after the start of the Second World War, I met with a representative . G. Farben "on Dutch territory ... We did everything to find a solution to the issue that would help us get through the war years without damage, regardless of whether the United States enters the war or not." In practice, this meant that the concern "I. G. Farben” and during the war years made profits from oil products manufactured under American patents. In exactly the same way, Standard Oil raked in for its patents from I. G. Farben "high profits, for example, for aviation gasoline, produced by the Germans throughout the war years using a special technology for refining oil. These amounts were transferred by members of the cartel to each other through South America. Moreover, in the initial period of the war, Standard Oil, also via South America, supplied Goering's air armadas with first-class aviation gasoline.

It is clear that the Rockefellers had a hand in the selection of members of the Nuremberg court: after all, they had to ensure that their agreement with the Nazi trust did not surface. A man named Howard Peterson, the senior American War Department official who appointed American judges to the Nuremberg Trials, was one of Standard Oil's lawyers before serving in the army and, as such, handled Standard Oil's business with E. G. Farben. His boss Forrestal (the same one who later went insane and committed suicide), before becoming US Secretary of Defense, was one of the leaders of the Dillon-Reed Banking House, which also belonged to the Rockefeller concern. The Rockefeller dynasty played a decisive role in ushering in the Cold War era. It cannot be considered accidental that in the most critical years, that is, from the end of 1947, John McCloy, former legal adviser to the largest Rockefeller bank, Chase Manhattan, became the American High Commissioner of War in Germany, the absolute dictator of the American occupation zone.

The Rockefeller dynasty, terrifying in its power, and especially its founder, the son of a horse trader and traveling pharmacist, occupied the thoughts not only of economics researchers, but also of psychiatrists and psychologists. John D. Rockefeller was, to put it mildly, a strange man, probably one of the greatest false saints the earth has ever seen. He was firmly convinced - or at least pretended to be his firm conviction - that he received his wealth from the Almighty, and anyone who tries to take this wealth from him is a sinner and an atheist. When the American legislature first undertook to investigate the affairs of the Standard Oil monopoly, John D. Rockefeller made this statement: the cent that I invest in my enterprises has further served the interests of society and its well-being.
After a successful period of great acquisitiveness and accumulation of wealth, he was bombarded with resentful accusations by competitors, but he authorized the minister of the largest Baptist church in New York to declare: “Standard Oil is, in fact, an angel of mercy who visits people and gives them advice: "Save yourself, as in Noah's ark, take all your good on it, and we take full responsibility for the safety of your good."

This behavior has been characteristic of the dynasty throughout its history. A few years ago, an employee of the American weekly "Time" in the luxurious office of the president of the Chase Manhattan bank interviewed David Rockefeller, one of the grandsons of the founder of the dynasty. And this is what he said about his grandfather, and at the same time about his father, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.: “Father and grandfather never allowed us to think that we had an unlimited amount of money. They said: money belongs to God, and we only manage it.
To prove his words, he gave the following example: at the age of seven, when he wanted to buy some sweets for himself, he had to rake the leaves in the garden on his father's estate for six hours. For this work he was paid two dollars. If he was given the task of pulling weeds, he would receive one cent for each weed pulled out. For pocket money, he received 25 cents a week. What he spent them on, David had to record in the ledger, which his father checked every week. For inaccuracies in the records, a fine of 10 cents was due.

It is not difficult to discern the essence of this posture. As Jung, a colleague of the Austrian psychologist Freud, wrote, D. D. Rockefeller is an absolute egocentrist who judges everything in the world through the prism of his own "I". And to such an extent that he simply considers everyone whose interests contradict his own as villains. The true exposer of this posture was the financial power itself, which the dynasty never let go of its hands. And, of course, their lifestyle. In America, for example, the Rockefellers acquired a huge estate of 5 thousand hectares, on the territory of which a palace was built for each member of the dynasty. This estate (it is called Kaiquit) in the Pocantico Hills, not far from New York, exists to this day. High walls, iron gates, armed guards and trained shepherd dogs protect the estate from uninvited guests. The main building of the estate is a 50-room granite palace in the style of King George, which, when erected in the 30s, cost $ 2 million. However, now no one lives in it. Each of the Rockefellers has their own castles in this common area. And, of course, there are countless other residences: Nelson Rockefeller has a huge estate in Venezuela, Lawrence has a plantation in the Hawaiian Islands, Winthrop has a plantation in Arkansas. And that's not counting dozens of luxury apartments around the world - from the Bahamas to the Riviera and from London to Rome.

Rockefeller. part 4. FIVE SONS AND ONE DAUGHTER.

At present, the wealth of the Rockefeller dynasty is ruled by the third generation, if it began to be considered not from a traveling apothecary and a horse dealer, but from its true founder and collector of great wealth, a symbol of "absolute selfishness" - from John D. Rockefeller - Sr. His son, John David, had five sons and one daughter, endowed with the right to dispose of property, although formally, in addition to them, it is administered by various foundations and charitable institutions. (This last way of "sharing power" is good for hiding tens of millions from taxation. After all, charitable institutions, for example, are exempt from taxes. And the Rockefellers do not pay inheritance taxes at all: according to family tradition, all members of the dynasty in advance, even before death, donate their property to their heirs, and thus formally die almost destitute. Taxes on donations are much lower than taxes on inheritances.)

As a result of this device, the dynasty's property is increasingly spread out, divided among an ever-increasing number of heirs, lost in the jungle of all kinds of funds, and the legal control of all the wealth of the dynasty becomes more and more difficult. And more and more it seems that the “Rockefeller empire” and its management are becoming, as it were, impersonal. The Rockefellers' largest oil company, Standard Oil of New Jersey, was meanwhile renamed Exxon. Three thousand managers manage its day-to-day operations. They are constantly searched for and selected at universities by people from special departments. The staff of these departments then carefully and carefully monitor the learning and growth of the selected young people throughout the entire period of their education. Practically and theoretically, the path is open for each of them to the very top of the Exxon management, to the board of five directors, the executive committee of the company. The economic plans of the firm are impersonal. True, every year the Exxon company issues the so-called "Green Book" on the prospects for the development of the oil industry, but the name of the author is not indicated on it either. The situation is exactly the same in three other American oil monopolies (SOK.AL, Gulf Oil and Mobil), behind which are actually the branches of Standard Oil created by the old Rockefeller. So in the union of the so-called "Seven Sisters", the largest oil monopolies in the world, the "tallest", the eldest, and her three younger sisters are still the property of the Rockefellers.

In a word, even the modern forms of managing supranational monopolies cannot hide the fact that the reins of the team are in very strong hands. One of the well-known researchers of large American fortunes, Ferdinand Landberg, in his book “The Rich and the Super-Rich” writes about it this way: “Today, the Rockefellers seem only to be “quiet companions” in the Standard Oil empire. But as soon as some problem arises, for the solution of which it is necessary to exercise true power, such an opportunity is immediately realized. And every Standard Oil CEO around the world knows this, from Saudi Arabia to Venezuela."
And it is easy to prove the validity of this phrase by naming very specific individuals. At the top of the pyramid, the division of labor system is well developed, which, after the death of John Rockefeller Jr., looks like this.

John Rockefeller III runs foundations and charitable institutions that have become of extraordinary importance both in terms of political and in terms of tax calculation.


David Rockefeller became the commercial director of the dynasty. In his hands is the Chase Manhattan Bank, which still plays a decisive role in managing the finances of not only Rockefeller enterprises, but also other oil monopolies belonging to the Seven Sisters group (such as Shell or British petroleum"). Landsberg, quoting one of Standard Oil's CEOs, talks about the level of David Rockefeller's business contacts: get to David. He continually conferred with top foreign leaders and various politicians, regardless of their party affiliation, who directed American policy. This is no longer just a world of high business, but of super-business, where the dividing line between the practically powerful government and the top of the business circles disappears.


The third of the brothers, Lawrence, is empowered to make decisions regarding new investments of the Rockefeller dynasty.

The fourth brother, Nelson Rockefeller, their "representative in the public eye", reached the heights of American politics. At this point, it makes sense to stop a little.

Rockefeller. part 5. FIRM IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

The personality of Nelson Rockefeller allows us to get an idea of ​​the role played by the descendants of Rockefeller and their chosen ones in the actual political leadership of the largest capitalist power in the world. Nelson Rockefeller died in the spring of 1979 at the age of 70, during his life he was elected four times to the post of governor of the state of New York. During Ford's tenure as president of the United States, he was vice president, running twice for the presidency. (And he lost both times. Nelson Rockefeller was the candidate of the left wing of the Republican Party, which represents the old financial oligarchy of the American East Coast, and therefore is more liberal than the "new rich" who recently broke into the highest circles. The main cohort of Republicans, such as Nixon, hated In addition, Rockefeller's party colleagues probably feared that voters would not want to cast their votes for a person with the last name Rockefeller.) The official posts that Nelson Rockefeller held at the top of American politics were honorary, but not particularly significant. They did not reflect the actual political influence that Nelson Rockefeller and the clan he represented actually had. To understand this, let's get acquainted with several episodes from the life of the clan.

After serving as an "apprentice" in the director's office of the Chase Manhattan family bank, Nelson Rockefeller, as Secretary of State, entered the government of President Roosevelt in 1940. He worked out after the Second World War the foundations of American policy in Latin America. In 1952, he was elected governor of New York for his first term. Since that time, he was considered one of the leaders of the Republican Party. Regardless of the posts he occupied at that time, in reality he determined in American foreign policy the candidacies of two secretaries of state of the United States of America one after another - at a very crucial period in the formation of the country's foreign policy! One of them was Dean Raek, who during the Vietnam War led the US State Department, and before that for eight years - the president of the Rockefeller Foundation. He was appointed to the post of Secretary of State on the personal recommendation of Nelson Rockefeller. The other is Kissinger, who served in the Nixon Administration as a political advisor before becoming Secretary of State. national security. Later he became secretary of state and almost single-handedly led (especially during the scandals that erupted around Nixon himself) foreign policy U.S.A. Kissinger was in literally of this word by Nelson Rockefeller's man. By the time he was "promoted" to the administration, he was a professor at Harvard University. He first became a political adviser to Nelson Rockefeller. Kissinger himself admitted: "The person who had the greatest influence on my life was Nelson Rockefeller."

When Nixon was elected president, the Rockefellers began to attach great great importance in order to put his man in a key position, since both Nixon himself and his entourage were not sympathetic to them. But it just so happened that one fine day, when Kissinger was having lunch with Nelson Rockefeller, Nixon called him and asked the professor to come to Washington the next day. The president offered him the post of national security adviser in his administration. Of course, Kissinger was a prominent political thinker with a wide range of political views. If Nixon did not appreciate this talent of his, he would not have invited him to his advisers. And yet, when Kissinger returned from Washington to New York, he immediately hurried to Nelson Rockefeller and in the end, only with his approval, accepted the post offered to him by the president. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Kissinger became that trusted person of Nelson Rockefeller, who was needed by their entire dynasty at the heights of US state power.

However, the instructive story does not end there. The fall of Nixon was followed by a short tenure as president of J. Ford, and then the Republican Party lost power, and an administration came to it Democratic Party led by J. Carter. This administration was more militant, operated "from a position of strength" and pursued a pronounced policy of American military superiority. However, the “gray eminence” of this cabinet was the protege of the Rockefeller clan - Zbigniew Brzezinski. In 1973, David Rockefeller, who ran the Chase Manhattan Bank on behalf of the clan, agreed with his brother Nelson Rockefeller to create the so-called "trilateral commission." (The most important task of this commission was to organize cooperation between the United States, Japan and Western Europe and coordinate actions against the Soviet Union.)

So, Nelson Rockefeller invited Kissinger to go to political work from Harvard University. Nelson and David jointly tracked down at Columbia University Brzezinski, who became secretary of the "trilateral commission." It was here, in the commission created by the Rockefellers, that Brzezinski met with the future President Carter and Harold Brown, who later, in the Carter administration, became secretary of defense. Here it is, the vaunted "above-partisanship" of supercapital: Kissinger became national security adviser and then secretary of state in the administration of the Republican Party, Brzezinski became national security adviser in the administration of the Democratic Party. In their political views on many private issues, they differed from each other, and to no small extent. In addition, they did not really complain about each other. However, they also had a common feature. And she is decisive: both of them worked for the Rockefeller dynasty.

Administrations come and go. American politics changes its face depending on the strategic situation and how the financial interests of capitalism develop. The Rockefellers themselves are also changing, depending on what the situation and interests require of them at the moment. But no matter what form their momentary demands take, no matter what style of work they adhere to, the financial interests of the dynasty at all times and everywhere turn out to be above all. Perhaps that is why Landberg, in his book on the "super-rich", informing the reader in ten pages of small print of an endless list of firms within the sphere of interest of the Rockefellers, ends the boring statistics with such a dull remark: "The world is a huge Rockefeller plantation."

10 secrets from the life of the richest dynasty.

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There is a lot of gossip and legend about millionaires - people want to know how they managed to hold on to their vast empire, while other companies arose, went bankrupt or merged with others.

In a row famous families Rockefellers occupy a special place, the surname has become associated with wealth. However, few people know what was at the heart of the financial empire. Secrets of one of the richest dynasties in the world that you did not know.

horse thief

The father of the first billionaire in history, William Rockefeller (then his last name sounded like "Rockenfeller", was born in 1810. Officially, he was engaged in the sale of medicines. However, he was not an ordinary pharmacist, did not have a special education and traded drugs, collaborating with various healers.

William traveled the northeastern United States selling suspicious medicinal potions. In 1849, when John Rockefeller, William's son, was 10 years old, the family urgently had to change their place of residence, and the move was like an escape. The reason for it, as evidenced by the documents, was very weighty - William Rockefeller was accused of horse stealing.

Marry a swindler

Eliza Davison was the mother of the richest man in the world. When she first saw William, who, participating in another fraud, posed as a deaf-mute, she exclaimed: “I would marry this man if he were not deaf-mute!”

William quickly realized that this was a profitable party - his father gave Eliza $ 500 dowry. Soon they got married, and two years later John was born.

Rockefeller Sr.

Eliza did not part with her husband, finding out that he not only hears everything perfectly, but, on occasion, swears no worse than a drunken lumberjack. She did not leave her husband even when he brought his mistress Nancy Brown into the house, and she - in turn with Eliza - began to give birth to William's children.

My husband went to work at night. He disappeared into the darkness, without explaining where and why he was going, and returned a few months later at dawn - Eliza woke up from the sound of a pebble hitting the window pane. She ran out of the house, threw back the bolt, opened the gate, and her husband drove into the yard - on a new horse, in a new suit, and sometimes with diamonds on his fingers.

A handsome man made good money: he took prizes at shooting competitions, he briskly traded glass under the sign "The best emeralds from Golconda in the world!" He also successfully posed as a well-known herbal doctor, selling various supplements, which today are called dietary supplements.

He went door to door in different parts of America and sold "miracle" remedies to housewives. Neighbors called him Bill the Devil: some considered William a professional player, others considered him a bandit.

After several years of wandering life, the Rockefeller family finally settled in Cleveland, but not because Big Bill - as William Rockefeller was nicknamed among horse dealers - settled down.

Just one fine day in 1855, he left for an unknown destination, marrying a certain Margaret, 25 -year-old girl who knew him as Dr. William Livingston. Moreover, he never divorced Eliza, which means, in fact, he was a bigamist.

Little businessman

“From a young age, my mother and priest inspired me to work and save,” recalled John Rockefeller. Doing business was part of family education. Even in early childhood, John bought a pound of sweets, divided it into small piles and sold it at a premium to his own sisters.

At the age of seven, he sold the turkeys he had grown to his neighbors, and he lent the $50 he earned from this to a neighbor at 7% per annum. Subsequently, John highly appreciated these lessons. And from communication with his father, he made a firm conviction that alcohol and tobacco are a vice, and this is very bad. And looking at how his mother suffers from the frequent betrayals of her husband, he decided as a child that he would never do this.

“He was a very quiet boy,” one of the townspeople recalled many years later, “he was always thinking.” From the side, John looked distracted: it seemed that the child was constantly struggling with some kind of insoluble problem.

The impression was deceptive - the boy was distinguished by a tenacious memory, grip and unshakable calmness: playing checkers, he harassed his partners, thinking for half an hour over each move.

At the same time, he was a sensitive boy: when his sister died, John ran into the backyard, threw himself on the ground, and lay there all day. Yes, and having matured, Rockefeller did not become such a monster as he was sometimes portrayed: once he asked about a classmate whom he once liked and, having learned that she was widowed and in poverty, the owner of Standard Oil immediately assigned her a pension.

Work "for uncle"

John Rockefeller never graduated from high school. At 16, with a three-month accounting course under his belt, he began looking for work in Cleveland, where his family then lived. Six weeks later, he took a job as an assistant accountant at Hewitt & Tuttle, a trading company.

First he was paid $17 a month, and then $25. When receiving them, John felt guilty, finding the reward excessively high. In order not to waste a single cent, the thrifty Rockefeller bought a small ledger from his first salary, where he wrote down all his expenses, and carefully kept it all his life.

As for work, it was his only job for hire. At the age of 18, John Rockefeller became the junior partner of the businessman Maurice Clark. The Civil War of 1861-1865 helped the new company to get on its feet. The warring armies paid generously for provisions, and partners supplied them with flour, pork and salt.

By the end of the war in Pennsylvania, near Cleveland, oil was discovered, and the city was at the center of an oil rush. By 1864, Clark and Rockefeller were already in full swing with Pennsylvania oil.

A year later, Rockefeller decided to focus only on oil, but Clark was against it. Then, for $72,500, John bought his share from a partner and plunged headlong into the oil business.

Oil at any cost

In 1870, Rockefeller created his famous "Standard Oil". Together with his friend and business partner Henry Flagler, he began to gather disparate oil producing and oil refining enterprises into a single powerful trust. Competitors could not resist him,

Rockefeller put them before a choice: unification or ruin. If beliefs did not work, the most severe methods were used. For example, "Standard Oil" reduced prices in the local market of a competitor, forcing him to work at a loss. Or Rockefeller sought to stop the supply of oil to recalcitrant refiners.

By 1879 the war was effectively over. The Rockefeller Company controlled 90% of the refinery capacity in the United States. But in 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed, aimed at combating monopolies.

Until 1911, Rockefeller and his partner managed to circumvent this law, but then Standard Oil was divided into thirty-four companies (virtually all of today's major American oil companies trace their history back to Standard Oil).

home economics

Rockefeller was married to Laura Celestina Spelman. He once remarked: "Without her advice, I would have remained a poor man." Biographers write that Rockefeller did his best to teach children to work, modesty and unpretentiousness. John created a kind of mock market economy at home: he appointed his daughter Laura as "director" and told the children to keep detailed ledgers.

Each child received a few cents for killing a fly, for sharpening a pencil, for an hour of music lessons, for a day of abstaining from sweets. Each of the children had his own garden bed, where the labor of cleaning the weeds also had its price. Little Rockefellers were fined for being late for breakfast.

Owner of 2.5% of US GDP

In 1917, John Rockefeller's personal fortune was estimated at $900-1200 million, which was 2.5% of the then GDP of the United States. In the modern equivalent, Rockefeller owned approximately $150 billion - he is still the richest of people.

By the end of his life, Rockefeller, in addition to shares in each of the 34 Standard Oil subsidiaries, owned 16 railroad and six steel companies, nine banks, six shipping companies, nine real estate firms, and three orange groves.

Rockefeller's donations to charity during his life exceeded $500 million. Of these, about $80 million was received by the University of Chicago, at least $100 million - by the Baptist church, of which he and his wife were parishioners.

John Rockefeller also created and funded the New York Institute for Medical Research, the Council for General Education and the Rockefeller Foundation.

military dynasty

The new head of the dynasty - John D. Rockefeller II (junior) turned out to be a worthy son of his father. The First World War brought the Rockefeller family 500 million dollars in net profit.

The Second World War turned out to be an even more profitable enterprise - tank and aircraft engines required gasoline, and it was produced at the Rockefeller factories around the clock.

The result was 2 billion dollars of net profit received during the war years. Rockefeller Jr. married the daughter of one of America's most influential political figures of the early twentieth century, Senator Nelson Aldrich, who for a long time enjoyed almost the same influence in Washington as the country's presidents.

Strange Collection

John Rockefeller Jr. left luxurious palaces and villas to his five sons and daughter. In winter, the young Rockefellers lived in New York in a nine-story family mansion.

They had their own clinic, special colleges, swimming pools, tennis courts, concert and exhibition halls. The 3,000-acre Rockefeller estate has riding arenas, a velodrome, a half-million-dollar home theater, yachting ponds, and more.

The equipment of one game room alone cost the child-loving oil king $520,000. When the youngest of the brothers (David) grew up, each received at his disposal city mansions, summer villas and other real estate necessary for social life.

As for David, who heads the family's financial business today, according to the American press, his only hobby is collecting beetles. There are 40 thousand of them in the collection, David Rockefeller, according to newspapers, always carries with him a bottle for caught insects.

No longer the richest

Rockefeller Financial Services now manages $34 billion in assets. Among them are the Vallares oil and gas group, a stake in Johnson & Johnson, Dell, Procter & Gamble and Oracle. The majority of the company's shares are owned by the Rockefeller family.

But David Rockefeller's personal fortune is estimated (according to Forbes) at only $2.5 billion. Russian businessman Roman Abramovich is estimated by Forbs at $10.2 billion.

The Russian is now actively investing in foreign companies. One of the latest major purchases was a 23.3% stake in the British telecommunications group Truphone, which cost £75 million.

Experts estimate that Abramovich's art collection is worth at least a billion dollars. In January 2013, he bought a collection of 40 works by Ilya Kabakov, the approximate cost of which is $60 million.

A few years ago, Abramovich became the buyer of a 70-acre estate on the island of St. Barth in the Caribbean. The land on which the estate is located once belonged to David Rockefeller.

Abramovich's new acquisition is valued at $89 million. The estate includes several oceanfront bungalows, tennis courts, swimming pools and dance pavilions.

http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/es/49280/ROCKEFELLERS: "(Rockefeller), a US financial group. Formed at the end of the 19th century. Its founder is J. D. Rockefeller Sr. (1839-1937) The industrial core is the oil company Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) (since 1973 Exxon), the financial center is the Chase Manhattan Bank Sphere of influence: industry (electrical engineering, mechanical engineering) and credit and financial institutions, life insurance. Since the 1980s, the role of the group has diminished and much of the property it controls has been sold. Of the Rockefeller family, the best known are J. D. Rockefeller Sr.'s son John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (1874-1960; York and built the Rockefeller Center), his sons - John Davison III (1906-1978; contributed to the founding of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts), Nelson Aldrich (1908-1979; US Vice President in 1974-77).

Daughter Anna was given at the age of 18 to marry the youngest son of the French king (1785-1760). As a dowry, he received the kingdom of Poland and was crowned under the name of Sigismund (1803). During the birth of her daughter (1804-1901), Anna Ivanovna died. The second daughter Sophia was given in marriage to a widower, and as a dowry he received the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1805) under the name of Vitovt. Sofya Ivanovna gave birth to her husband an heir (1806-1824), on the date of which the chronology is kept (Christ (0-33) is one of his images).

Sophia hated her relatives. She did not have a relationship with her stepmother. She considered her younger brother guilty of the death of her mother. She did not recognize children from her stepmother, tk. her mother by social status she was taller than her stepmother. She hated her father for cheating on her mother.

In 1812, Ivan Vasilyevich was poisoned on the orders of his daughter and son-in-law, and a world war began. In 1813, Alexei Ivanovich died in the battle on the Kosovo field in Serbia, in 1814 Semyon Ivanovich became the Russian Tsar, who in 1829. As a result, power went to the Romanov clan.

The usurper had an older brother (1783-1868), he had a wife (1783-1871), his wife had an older sister (1780-1844), married to the Polish nobleman Poniatowski (1783-1834). After the death of the heir of the Usurper in 1824, Poniatowski seized power in the empire. In 1834 he was killed by a relative of the Usurper (1782-1836), who briefly outlived him. In the end, the Romanov clan divided power.

And here are other images of John Rockefeller:

Images of his son:

Http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/es/49280/ROCKEFELLERS: "(Rockefeller), a US financial group. Formed at the end of the 19th century. Its founder is J. D. Rockefeller Sr. (1839-1937) The industrial core is the oil company Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) (since 1973 Exxon), the financial center is the Chase Manhattan Bank Sphere of influence: industry (electrical engineering, mechanical engineering) and credit and financial institutions, life insurance. Since the 1980s, the role of the group has diminished and much of the property it controls has been sold. Of the Rockefeller family, the best known are J. D. Rockefeller Sr.'s son John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (1874-1960; York and built the Rockefeller Center), his sons - John Davison III (1906-1978; contributed to the founding of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts), Nelson Aldrich (1908-1979; US Vice President in 1974-77).

Wikipedia: "John Davison Rockefeller (eng. John Davison Rockefeller; July 8, 1839, Richford, New York - May 23, 1937, Ormond Beach, Florida) is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, the first dollar billionaire in the history of mankind. Had four daughters and one son, who inherited the management of the Rockefeller Foundation.Rockefeller was the second of six children in the family of Protestant William Avery Rockefeller (October 13, 1810 - May 11, 1906) and Louise Celanto (September 12, 1813 - March 28, 1889). but if the surname Rockefeller (Rockefeller) is divided into two parts and translated separately from English into Russian, then it will turn out - "rock" - rock, stone and "felller" - lumberjack, woodcutter. And as you know from the biography of John Rockefeller , the father of the future millionaire William Avery Rockefeller was first a lumberjack, engaged in logging."

According to traditional history, the Rockefellers are the embodiment of the American dream: the father was a lumberjack, and the son became the richest man in the world.

Within the framework of my version of world history, everything is more prosaic and began in Russia.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich (1761-1812) ruled the world. His 1st wife (married in 1783) Greek princess Irina Konstantinovna (1766-1789) bore him three children: Anna (1785-1804), Sophia (1787-1881) and Alexei (1789-1813). 2nd wife (marriage 1790) - the daughter of the Crimean Khan gave birth to the second heir, Semyon (1791-1829).

Daughter Anna was given at the age of 18 to marry the youngest son of the French king (1785-1760). As a dowry, he received the kingdom of Poland and was crowned under the name of Sigismund (1803). During the birth of her daughter (1804-1901), Anna Ivanovna died. The second daughter Anna was given in marriage to a widower, and as a dowry he received the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1805) under the name of Vitovt. Sofia Ivanovna gave birth to her husband an heir (1806-1824), on the date of which the chronology is kept (Christ (0-33) is one of his images).

Sophia hated her relatives. She did not have a relationship with her stepmother. She considered her younger brother guilty of the death of her mother. She did not recognize children from her stepmother, tk. her mother was higher in social status than her stepmother.

In 1812, Ivan Vasilyevich was poisoned on the orders of his daughter and son-in-law, and a world war began. In 1813, Alexei Ivanovich died in the Battle of Kosovo in Serbia, in 1814 Semyon Ivanovich became the Russian Tsar, who in 1829 died during the storming of Constantinople by the troops of the usurper.
As a result, power went to the Romanov clan. The usurper had an older brother (1783-1868), he had a wife (1783-1871), his wife had an older sister (1780-1844), married to the Polish nobleman Poniatowski (1783-1834). After the death of the heir of the Usurper in 1824, Poniatowski seized power in the empire. In 1834 he was killed by a relative of the Usurper (1782-1836), who briefly outlived him. In the end, the Romanov clan divided power.

J. D. Rockefeller Sr. (1839-1937) is one of the images of the son of the elder brother of the Usurper.

Images of the elder brother of the usurper and his wife:

Jerome (Jerome, Girolamo) Bonaparte (fr. J; r; me Bonaparte, Italian. Girolamo Buonaparte, November 15, 1784, Ajaccio - June 24, 1860) - King of Westphalia, younger brother of Napoleon I Bonaparte; brought up in a military college; after 18 Brumaire he entered the fleet as a lieutenant.

Friederike Catherine Sophia Dorothea of ​​Württemberg (German: Friederike Katharina Sophie Dorothea von W; rttemberg; February 21, 1783 - November 29, 1835) - Princess of Württemberg, Queen of Westphalia, second wife of King Jerome Bonaparte of Westphalia, younger brother Napoleon I.

Karl of Prussia (Friedrich Karl Alexander of Prussia, German Friedrich Carl Alexander von Preu; en; June 29, 1801 - January 21, 1883) - Prince of Prussia, Colonel General with the rank of Prussian Field Marshal General (February 5, 1857).

Maria of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (German: Maria von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach), at birth - Maria Louise Alexandrina (German: Maria Luise Alexandrina; February 3, 1808 - January 18, 1877) - Princess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, married - Princess of Prussia, granddaughter of Emperor Paul I.

Willem II, Wilhelm II (Dutch. Willem II, German Wilhelm II., French Guillaume II), Willem Frederik Georg Lodewijk (Dutch. Willem Frederik George Lodewijk; December 6, 1792 - March 17, 1849) - King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from October 7, 1840, Duke of Limburg. Eldest son and successor of King Willem I.

Anna Pavlovna (January 7 (18), 1795, St. Petersburg - March 1 (13), 1865, The Hague) - the daughter of Pavel I Petrovich and Maria Feodorovna. Queen of the Netherlands and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg 1840-1849.

And here are other images of Rockefeller:

Henry of Orange-Nassau ((Dutch. Hendrik van Oranje-Nassau) at birth Willem Frederik Henry of Orange-Nassau (Dutch. Willem Frederik Hendrik van Oranje-Nassau), July 13, 1820, Soestdijk Palace, Barn, Netherlands - January 14, 1879, Castle Walferdeng, Luxembourg) - Prince of the Netherlands and Orange-Nassau, second son of King Willem II and Anna Pavlovna, governor of Luxembourg.

Henry Ford (eng. Henry Ford; July 30, 1863 - April 7, 1947) - American industrialist, owner of car factories around the world, inventor, author of 161 US patents.

I think, a real man lived 1819-1919.

Images of his son:

Wikipedia: "John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. (born John Davison Rockefeller, Jr.; January 29, 1874, Cleveland, Ohio - May 11, 1960, Tucson, Arizona) is a major philanthropist and one of the key members of the famous Rockefeller family. The only son of a businessman and Standard Oil owner John D. Rockefeller and father of five famous Rockefeller brothers.

Edsel Bryant Ford (Eng. Edsel Bryant Ford; November 6, 1893 - May 26, 1943) - son of Henry Ford, president of the Ford Motor Company from 1919 to 1943.

The bright American dream was won in bloody battles in Russia.

In the photo: J. D. Rockefeller Sr. with his son, Edsel Bryant Ford,
Henry Ford, J. D. Rockefeller Sr., Henry of Orange-Nassau.

– molten

Among the famous families, the Rockefellers occupy a special place. While others have lost their money or influence, the Rockefellers continue to hold on to their vast empire.

The Rockefellers mostly immigrated to the US from Germany in the 1720s.

The surname was originally pronounced "Rockenfeller".

John Davison Rockefeller was born in 1839

His father worked odd jobs; In 1832 the family moved to Cleveland.

John's finest hour came during the Civil War

At the age of 20, he formed his own manufacturing business partnership, and with the proceeds from selling food to the Allied forces, he made a fortune. By the end of the war, he had earned $250,000.

The end of the war coincided with the beginning of the oil boom in the country

Cleveland has become a major logistics hub. John was not committed to the fruit and vegetable trade, and in 1865 he cashed out his interest in the partnership to invest in the oil refining industry.

The business grew, and in 1870 John consolidated his holdings in Standard Oil.

The company was worth one million dollars when it was founded.

It was the largest company in the country.

The real breakthrough for Standard Oil was the so-called. recoil scheme

Competition for traffic between railways was cruel. So in 1872, John Rockefeller, along with like-minded people, creates the Southern Improvement Company in order to crush the small oil refining business by undermining their activities at the expense of railroad tariffs.

The scheme proved infamously effective and led to what became known as the Cleveland Massacre.

When things finally settled down, Standard Oil owned 22 of Cleveland's 26 refineries.

September 18, 1873: "Black Thursday" leads to a worldwide 6-year depression. But not for Standard

The company takes over oil refineries from the Allegheny Mountains to New York.

At the age of 38, Rockefeller controls almost 90 percent of the country's oil refinery capacity.

In 1879, he is among the 20 richest people in the country.

In 1883, John Rockefeller and his family decided to move to New York.

The headquarters for the Standard was built in the center of Broadway. Initially, the building had only 9 floors.

Rebuilt in the 1920s, it remains known as the Standard Oil Building to this day.

In the 1880s, Rockefeller consolidated his power in the country and in the world.

And according to the scandalous journalist Ida Tarbell, in order to strengthen his power, he terrorizes competitors.

A letter she found from a small manufacturer describes how a representative of Standard Oil " chased him for about two days«, « threatened in every possible way" and " talked to the household while I was gone«.

After all, the country was fed up with Rockefeller. In 1890, Congress passed the Sherman Act.

The law remains in force today.

Led by President Roosevelt, the government filed at least three lawsuits against Standard.

Oddly enough, the government only enriched John D. Rockefeller even more.

The sale of Standard's assets brought him a net income of $900 million.

Rockefeller lived to be 98 years old.

He is considered the richest man in US history.

John Rockefeller had only one son, John Jr.

But there were also four daughters - and in the first half of the 20th century, the list of family achievements increased dramatically.

John Jr. opened an oil company, but then went into real estate.

In 1930, he invested $250 million to build Rockefeller Center. It was completed in 1939 and became the largest private commercial development at the time.

Also, in 1930, John Jr. became the largest co-owner of Chase Bank.

The bank purchased his company Equitable Trust, which has since become associated with the bank's name. Later, John Jr.'s son would be CEO of Chase Bank for 11 years. David turns 98 this June.

After World War II, the Rockefellers donated $8.5 million worth of land that became home to the United Nations.

The land was declared an international territory.

After John Jr., the next head of the Rockefeller family was his other son, Nelson.

He entered politics at an early age, and by the age of 36 was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Relations.

In 1958, he ran for governor of New York.

Defeating his rival Averill Harriman, he would serve four terms in office until 1973.

Meanwhile, Nelson's brother, John III, donated $175 million to build Lincoln Center.

which was completed in 1966.

Nelson died in 1979 of a heart attack.

The circumstances of the incident were somewhat ... piquant ... since at the time of the attack he was visiting a 25-year-old lady named Megan Marshak.

The most famous Rockefeller today is Senator Jay Rockefeller.

You may also have heard of ExxonMobil.

She is the successor to Standard Oil.

In 2011, it was the largest company in the world in terms of revenue.

The name Rockefeller has long been synonymous with wealth. And this is not surprising, since it was to this dynasty that the first dollar billionaire in the history of mankind belonged. People have always loved to count other people's money, so it is not surprising that many are interested in the question, what is the state of the Rockefellers at the moment.

Only a select few know the exact answer, but this article can help shed light on the origins of the wealth of this famous family.

How it all started

John Rockefeller, whose fortune at the time of entering adulthood was barely a couple of hundred dollars, was born in 1838 in the city of Richford, located near New York, and was the second of 6 children of William Avery Rockefeller and Louise Celanto.

His father worked as a lumberjack in his youth, but over time he avoided hard physical labor in every possible way and became a "botanical doctor". For whole months he was on the road, selling all kinds of herbal medicines, not paying attention to the discontent of his wife, who, in the absence of her husband, could hardly cope with a large crowd of children and did not know how to make ends meet.

Nevertheless, over time, William managed to earn some money and buy a plot of land. He invested the rest of his savings in various enterprises. At the same time, he was very impressed by the interest shown by his son John in his financial affairs. Despite his very young age, the smart boy wanted to know all the details of his father's transactions and constantly pestered him with questions. Already an adult, Rockefeller fondly recalled William, who, in his words, taught him "to buy and sell ... and coached ... to enrich himself."

How to Raise a Billionaire

John Rockefeller, whose fortune in 1905 was equal to $ 1 billion, at the age of 7 dug potatoes from his neighbors and fed turkeys for sale. Having barely learned to write and count, he started a notebook in which he recorded all his expenses and financial receipts. He carefully kept the money in a porcelain piggy bank and did not like to spend it on trifles. At the age of 13, he already had a small amount, which allowed the young businessman to lend a neighbor farmer $ 50, subject to paying 7.5 percent per annum.

With great reluctance, John went to school, where he did not like it at all, as studying was difficult. However, Rockefeller successfully completed it and became a college student in Cleveland, choosing to specialize in Fundamentals of Commerce. Soon the young man realized that it was not necessary to spend money and 4 years of life on obtaining the same knowledge that any 3-month accounting course would provide him with.

Career

John Davison Rockefeller (the fortune at the time of death was $ 1.4 billion) at the age of 16 began to look for a permanent job. A certificate of completion in accounting courses and a good knowledge of mathematics allowed him to become an employee of Hewitt & Tuttle, which was engaged in real estate and shipping. The young man quickly established himself as a competent professional and eventually made a career breakthrough from an accounting assistant to a manager. However, Rockefeller soon learned that his predecessor was paid $2,000, while he was only $600. He immediately left Hewitt & Tuttle and never again became an employee.

Starting your own business

Rockefeller David, whose fortune at that time was only $ 800, did not remain out of work for long. He managed to find out that one of his acquaintances was looking for a partner with a capital of 2 thousand dollars. The young man borrowed the missing amount from his own father at 10% per annum and in 1857 became a junior partner in the firm of John Morris Clark and Rochester. With the outbreak of the Civil War, this small company that traded in grain, hay, meat and other goods had excellent prospects, as the federal authorities of the United States had a need for large-scale food supplies to supply the army.

It was obvious that the start-up capital for the development of the company would not be enough. However, to miss the chance to get rich on military supplies would be madness. Therefore, the company, one of the owners of which was Rockefeller, needed a loan. It was obtained thanks to John, as the young businessman, with his sincerity, made the most positive impression on the director of the bank.

successful marriage

Today, many ordinary people, brought up on glossy magazines, are surprised when they see the appearance of which, to put it mildly, is far from being a model. At the same time, they do not even think about what an important role a smart woman can play in a career, as well as in increasing and preserving her husband's capital. This fully applies to Rockefeller's wife. Before marrying a young promising businessman, Laura Celestina Spelman, who can hardly be called a beauty, was a school teacher and was distinguished by exceptional piety. They met during the short student days of Rockefeller, but got married only after 9 years. The girl attracted John's attention with her piety, practicality of mind and the fact that he reminded him of his mother. According to Rockefeller himself, without the advice of Laura, he would have "remained a poor man."

money in oil

It is hard to believe, but until the middle of the 19th century, black gold had a very low demand. However, it was it that became the commodity on the sale of which the huge fortune of the Rockefellers was made.

The founder of the dynasty had an unsurpassed business sense, and when they were invented, he quickly guessed what the prospects would be for someone who would take over the oil production and refining business. Rockefeller became interested in reports of a black gold deposit discovered by Edwin Drake in 1859 and met the chemist Samuel Andrews. The latter agreed to take over the scientific and technical side of the project and become a partner in the new business. Soon the firm "Andrews and Clark" was created, engaged in the construction of the oil refinery "Flats" in Cleveland. It later grew into the Standard Oil Company.

Secret of success

As already mentioned, at one time the fortune of the Rockefeller family began to grow dramatically thanks to a business based on oil production. However, before this happened, John had to take a number of measures. In particular, he noticed that everyone who tried to work in this area before him acted chaotically and inefficiently.

First of all, Rockefeller created the company's charter, and to motivate employees, he refused wages by issuing shares in the enterprise. Thus, each employee was interested in the success of the business, which soon had a positive effect on his income.

Then he began to buy small firms one at a time, trying to concentrate the entire oil production business in his hands. In addition, Rockefeller agreed with the railroad on lower prices for the transportation of Standard Oil products. In particular, the company paid 10 cents for transporting one barrel of oil, while its competitors paid 35 cents, that is, more than 3 times more expensive. Soon they were faced with a choice: either to merge with Standard Oil or go bankrupt. Most company owners, without thinking twice, chose to accept Rockefeller's offer in exchange for a share of the stock.

Oil Tycoon N 1

By 1880, 95% of the oil production of the United States was already concentrated in the hands of Rockefeller. After becoming a monopoly, Standard Oil immediately raised prices sharply. Soon she was recognized as the richest in the world at that time. It was then that the fortune of the Rockefeller family became and their name became a symbol of wealth.

End of monopoly

The Americans, who were always interested in what the state of the Rockefellers were at the moment, soon realized that they were in their trap of Mr. John Davison, and now the price of fuel will depend only on goodwill. As a result, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed.

Rockefeller had to split Standard Oil into 34 small companies. At the same time, in all of them, the businessman retained a controlling stake and even increased his capital. As a result of the division, such well-known companies as ExxonMobil and Chevron arose. Their assets today are a significant part of what the Rockefellers own (the state today is more than three billion).

The state of the Rockefeller clan at the end of the 19th century

In addition to the oil business, which brought in $ 3 million annually, the businessman owned 16 railway and 6 steel companies, 9 real estate firms, 6 shipping companies, 9 banks and 3 orange groves.

Although the family lived in great comfort, they did not flaunt their wealth as other New York 5th Avenue millionaires did. At the same time, the state of the Rockefellers was constantly the subject of gossip. Both their Pocantico Hills villa and a 283-hectare plot in Cleveland were discussed, and luxury houses in Florida and New York State, as well as a golf course in New Jersey, etc.

Children

Rockefeller dreamed of living to be 100 years old, but did not live up to this date for three years, dying of a heart attack in May 1937.

He raised his children very strictly, trying to instill in them respect for money and the desire to earn it. He appointed one of his daughters director, and she made sure that the brother and sisters were not too lazy to fulfill their duties. At the same time, children received a specific reward for any housework, and they were fined for being late.

There was no question of any pampering in the Rockefeller family. In particular, as adults, they recalled how one day their father wanted to give them a bicycle, but their mother advised them to buy one for all so that the children could learn to share with each other.

The only son of John Davison Rockefeller, who was the full namesake of his father, fully justified his hopes. He did not seek to make a brilliant career, but devoted his life to his family and to being useful to society. As for the daughters, one of them died at a young age, the other went crazy, and only Alta and Etid lived a long life, enriching their clan with new connections.

John Davison Rockefeller Jr.

After the death of his father, who gave him $ 460 million in his will, he spent a significant part of his fortune on charity. In particular, it was on the initiative of John that New York became the headquarters of the UN. The construction of a complex of buildings for this organization cost Rockefeller Jr. $ 9 million. John had six children. They received a fortune equal to $240 million from their father.

Margaret Rockefeller Strong

Not many people know that John Davidson Jr. was not at all the man who inherited most of his father's money. The Rockefeller fortune, which in 1937 was estimated at $ 1.4 billion, or rather more than half of it, went to the granddaughter of the founder of the dynasty, Margaret. The young woman was the daughter of Bessie Rockefeller and Charles A. Strong. Large sums from the inheritance also went to Margaret's children and the medical research institute founded by her great grandfather.

Grandchildren in the direct male line

John Davison Rockefeller Jr. had six children. Daughter Abby, like her brother John, were major patrons. Thanks to them, many foundations and organizations were founded, including the Institute of Pacific Relations, etc. Nelson Rockefeller, who was Vice President of the United States in 1974-1977, achieved particular success. Another grandson of Rockefeller - Winthrop - was the governor of Arkansas.

David Rockefeller: Status Today and Brief Biography

The oldest member of the clan was born in New York in 1915. He is the last of the children of John Davidson Rockefeller Jr. In 1936 he graduated and then was sent to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In 1940, John defended his thesis on "Unused Resources and Economic Waste" and received a doctorate in economics. In the same year, he began his career in public service, becoming the secretary of New York's Fiorello LaGuardia. During World War II, David Rockefeller first worked in the Departments of Health, Defense and Welfare, and in May 1942 he went to the front as a private. There he was sent to work in intelligence, and he carried out various government assignments in German-occupied France and North Africa.

As a result, he met the victory in the rank of captain, and then participated in various family business projects. In 1947, David Rockefeller became director of the Board of international relations, and 14 years later - President of Chase Manhattan Bank. In April 1981, on the eve of his 66th birthday, he resigned from this post, as he had reached the legal age limit.

At the moment, David Rockefeller (the fortune today is $ 2.5 billion) has reached a very old age and he is already over 100 years old. Recently, there were reports in the press that he had another one. Apparently, the billionaire strives to live forever. At the same time, he is known as the main ideologist of birth control, as he believes that the Earth is overpopulated.

The name of David Rockefeller is often heard during speeches by famous conspiracy theorists. In particular, they call him the founder of the Trilateral Commission, created in 1973 to coordinate the approaches of the United States, Canada, Japan and the richest countries of Western Europe to the most important political and economic issues facing humanity. The activities of this organization are hidden for the broad masses by such a dense veil of secrecy that, compared with the Trilateral Commission, the activities of the no less famous Bildelberg Group can be called absolutely transparent. At the same time, no one knows exactly the program of this organization.

At the moment, the right considers the Trilateral Commission a world government, and the left is a club of the rich who do not want to obey anyone.

Rothschilds

Often, when the general condition of the Rockefellers is discussed, they also remember representatives of one of the most successful financial clans in Europe. We are talking about the Rothschilds, whose family business was founded more than 250 years ago, and began with a small shop of a Jewish money changer in the Frankfurt ghetto.

There is no exact information about the state of this dynasty, which operates not only in the USA, but also in Europe, and cannot be, since according to the will of its founder, this information cannot be announced.

The current head of the family is Nathaniel Rothschild. He has a sister, Emma, ​​who is a world-famous economic scientist. Few people know that Nathan Rothschild is a member of the international advisory board of the Russian

The Two Greatest Financial Dynasties in History: Allies or Foes

The Rockefellers and the Rothschilds in the history of their existence have worked more than once within the framework of a fairly close business partnership, participating in projects and acquiring shares in each other's assets. At the moment, no particularly intense competition has been noticed between the families, since their representatives prefer to negotiate on all issues.

To date, the Rockefellers (the current fortune is 300 billion) and the Rothschilds have come to an agreement on a strategic partnership. In addition, they announced the merger of some of their assets. In particular, RIT Capital Partners (the investment company of the Rothschilds) acquired a stake in the Rockefeller group. The latter manages $34 billion in assets. These include the oil and gas group Vallares, as well as stakes in well-known companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Dell and Oracle.

As for the assets of RIT Capital Partners, they are estimated at 1.9 billion pounds, most of which is invested in shares and government bonds.

By the way, while people are arguing about what Rockefeller's fortune is (150 or 300 billion), the clans, at least some publications say so, are preparing to destroy the euro, because they no longer see the need for such a currency. They are also credited with a sharp economic breakthrough in China, which could not have been predicted some 30-40 years ago.

According to experts, the rapprochement of the Rothschild and Rockefeller clans will continue in the future.

Charity

The Rockefellers (estimated today, according to some sources, at $ 300 billion) have always been great benefactors. These traditions are still alive today. In particular, it was recently estimated that during his long life, the elder of the family, David, gave away 900 million dollars. In 2014 alone, he transferred to the maintenance of various charity projects about $79 million.

Today, no one will undertake to say exactly what state the Rothschilds and Rockefellers have. However, of course, these two dynasties are among the richest clans on the planet and influence the policy of the United States and many other countries of the planet.

Billionaire David Rockefeller died on March 20 at the age of 102. The death of one of the most famous representatives of a long-term dynasty and the owner of a fortune of 3.3 billion dollars once again reminded of the influence of clans in world politics and economics. Ruposters has studied what lies behind the famous Rockefeller and Rothschild dynasties and what place they occupy in the world today.

Semi-legal business

The beginning of the history of the famous Rockefeller clan was laid by the American charlatan doctor William Rockefeller. The man, who understood how direct selling worked, taught the art to his two sons, John and William. In 1870, the two heirs jointly opened the Ohio Corporation, destined to become the Standard Oil Company. She helped bring the first billionaire into the world. The new business of producing and selling oil was illegal. Due to the fact that, according to the laws of those times, a company could only work normally within one US state, the brothers had to resort to various tricks.

A staunch supporter of the idea of ​​​​large diversified production, John D. Rockefeller decided to start his own production of barrels when he learned in what luxury home their supplier lives. As a result, the price per container decreased by 2.5 times.

Standard Oil used clever tricks to expand its business into neighboring states. At first, the forms of covert takeover of other oil companies were not very intricate. In 1872 Bostwick & Co. acquired by paying the former owner in cash and shares of his own firm. Subsequently, a different scheme was used. The brothers bought the securities of competitors in the name of one of their partners.

John Rockefeller in old age

In 1879, the Rockefellers found a more intricate way to cover up their actions. They took as a basis the scheme of boards of trustees (trusts), which were created to manage the finances of dependent persons. A kind of "board of trustees" of Standard Oil managed several dozen firms in different states, formally operating only within the state of Ohio. A convenient asset management model was soon adopted by competitors from other industries.

In 1878, the Rockefeller brothers actively interfered with the construction of the Riverside pipeline, bandits began to sabotage.

Company share certificate

During the conflict between the owners of the oil pipeline and the criminals, Standard Oil managed to build its own infrastructure and buy out the competitors' project. They could not prove the connection of the attacks with the Rockefellers. Nevertheless, in 1879, at the suggestion of the Association for the Protection of Employers, the two brothers had to give up preferential preferences on the railways. For each firm that enjoyed railway benefits, it was necessary to conduct a separate trial. Even in court with representatives of another oil company, Rockefeller claimed that he was in no way connected with the subsidiaries, as assumed, enterprises. By the early 1880s, the Standard Oil Trust controlled 80% of all oil refining capacity and 90% of pipelines.

Dissolution of the empire

By 1890, the trust's net income reached $19 billion, and John D. Rockefeller became the world's first dollar billionaire. In 1906, the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt used the Sherman Antitrust Act to dissolve the Standard Oil Trust. In 1911, the empire was divided into 34 companies, but in each of them the enterprising family retained a large block of shares. The Rockefeller family invested in expensive skyscrapers and universities. They founded the University of Chicago, built the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. To date, one of the largest fragments of the empire - the Rockefeller Foundation. He manages about $3.5 billion. Another important building block is Rockefeller & Co. The wreckage of the oil empire was turned into BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Rockefeller Center

If in 1916 the fortune of the founder of the dynasty was estimated by modern standards at 30 billion dollars, then today the total fortune of the family is estimated at 10 billion. The richest member of the family - David Rockefeller - in certain moment was a director of a large bank Chase National Bank (currently JPMorgan Chase) and disposed of a fortune of $ 3 billion. He was offered positions in the American government, but each time he refused. In the early 1980s, he tried to help resolve the issue of American hostages in Iran, this is the most famous case his public involvement in politics. Nevertheless, his brother Nelson held the second most important political office in the country, being vice president under Gerald Ford.

Nelson Rockefeller

David's other brother, Winthrop Aldrich Rockefeller, was the Republican governor of Arkansas, and his son served as lieutenant governor until his death in 2006. Another distant relative of the deceased businessman became a US Senator from West Virginia.

Ties with the USSR and Russia

An interesting fact in the biography of David Rockefeller is his repeated contacts with representatives of the Soviet and Russian leadership, prominent public and politicians. Back in 1964, he met with the head of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Nikita Khrushchev. With the Soviet leader, who was ousted two months after the meeting, the tycoon discussed the need to boost trade between the two countries. In 1973, after a successful meeting between Nixon and Brezhnev, Rockefeller met with Soviet Prime Minister Kosygin. According to official data, they discussed the possibility of the US Congress rejecting the Jackson-Vanik amendment. This normative act could seriously limit trade relations between the two countries. Ultimately, the business conversation led nowhere, and the amendment was adopted.

Gorbachev with Rockefeller

Rockefeller often met with the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1989, together with Henry Kissinger and some other eminent statesmen, he visited the USSR to discuss the country's integration into the world economy. In 1991, the meeting of foreign guests with the leader of the "evil empire" was repeated in the same format. Finally, on May 12, 1992, Gorbachev, who had already resigned from the presidency of the Soviet Union, personally visited New York. It is believed that he wanted financial assistance from a billionaire for his foundation. It was about 75 million dollars. Rockefeller last visited Moscow in 2003. Presenting the translation of his memoirs, he met with the capital's mayor Yuri Luzhkov.

Remaining capital

To date, the Rockefeller wealth is divided among hundreds of trusts and corporations, but it is difficult to accurately estimate their number and value due to the large number of heirs. According to some estimates, today in the world there are about 150 direct heirs of the successful co-owner brothers of Standard Oil. The history of the dispute between the Rockefeller family and the American oil company ExxonMobil (until recently it was headed by the current head of the US State Department Rex Tillerson) about the attitude to global warming is indicative.

ExxonMobil

The Rockefellers tried to convince the company's management to stop funding the naysayers and accept the reality of global warming. They met with management and even wrote open letter. So, under it were the signatures of almost 100 direct heirs of the billionaire.

The business interests of the family are very extensive. So, the Rockefellers built the World Trade Center, which became a victim of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, regularly funded Harvard, Princeton, the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford, Yale, MIT and many other well-known universities. The family is also actively involved in the work international organizations: Bilderberg Club and the G30, the World Economic Forum and the United Nations. In 2014, the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation announced its intention to stop investing in fossil fuels.

Bankers of the New Age

Other famous family billionaires began their activities much earlier on another continent, but the methods of doing business of the two great families often turn out to be very similar.

In Europe, by the second half of the 18th century, many banks already had centuries-old traditions, but the commission and interest on loans were high. They had no desire to get involved in risky operations. Therefore, talented entrepreneurs gradually began to appear on the continent. One of them was Mayer Amschel Rothschild. Born into the family of a Jewish money changer in 1744, the young man spent his childhood in the ghetto. After studying banking in Hannover at the age of 20, he returned home to Frankfurt am Main and decided to continue his father's work. The parent firm operated under a red shield sign. In German it was called "Rothschild". Thus, the family got its own surname.

Ancestor of the dynasty

Mayer began his rapid rise to the top by selling a batch of rare coins to General von Eschtorf from Hanover. With his help, Rothschild got acquainted with the entourage of the heir to the Hessian house, Prince Wilhelm. One of the richest families in Europe, which sold a trained army to warring neighbors and lent money to foreign rulers for interest, entrusted the management of the crown prince's finances to the son of one of the tutors, Karl Buderus. It was with him that Rothschild began a close relationship - he really wanted to improve his financial situation. Already in 1769 Mayer received the title of court sales agent under the prince and began to earn family capital. He specialized in shadow operations and was allegedly even responsible for the safety of the black bookkeeping of the heir to the throne.

When Wilhelm became Landgrave in 1785, Rothschild suggested to the sovereign that he wisely dispose of the bills that England gave to the House of Hesse for the rent of the army. These securities were used to purchase English textiles, which were then resold in Germany for money. The financier kept part of the profit for himself. Mayer taught his five children everything he knew and included in all his shadow operations. In 1804, the Rothschilds became creditors to Denmark, which at that time was on the verge of bankruptcy. Wilhelm himself could not provide a loan at interest to a relative and took advantage of the help of an enterprising family. When in 1806 the House of Hesse was formally destroyed by Napoleon and annexed to the kingdom of Westphalia, the Rothschild family helped the ex-monarch to scroll through money on the London Stock Exchange and collect debts from numerous borrowers.

Areas of interest

The family, which had grown rapidly and became rich in the 19th century, hid at the beginning of the 20th century. Many art objects and land holdings were donated to charity. Today, the interests of the Rothschilds are limited to the real estate market, financial services, agriculture, energy, wine production, mining and philanthropy. The main business is still connected with the banking sector. Their main company's revenue in 2015 was 424 million pounds, with a net profit of 50 million. A significant role in the banking business is occupied by advisory services for mergers and acquisitions of financial institutions. The company occupies a particularly strong position in Western Europe, but is also active in Asia and America.

Nathaniel Rothschild

Among the competitors of the Rothschilds among investment banks can be attributed to the American JPMorgan Chase. When it was Chase Bank, David Rockefeller held the position of executive director of the organization. But even now, the financial structure is closely connected with the numerous trusts of a wealthy American family.

The Rothschilds own the Edmond de Rothschild Group. It is engaged not only in the provision of financial services, but also in agriculture, the luxury hotel business and yacht racing. The Rothschilds boast close ties to Russia. In 2010, Nathaniel Rothschild acquired Oleg Deripaska's stake in RUSAL. The media have repeatedly discussed his close relationship with Vladimir Potanin. In his company Norilsk Nickel, Rothschild even ran for the board of directors.

Alliance of dynasties

In 2012, the two dynasties agreed to form a strategic alliance. The issues of cooperation between the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds have been discussed since 2010. Two years later, it became known that the Rothschild investment company RIT Capital Partners would become the owner of a 37 percent stake in Rockefeller Financial Services. This trust manages the assets of the family and other members of the financial community. The total amount of assets at its disposal is estimated at 34 billion dollars. At the same time, the Rothschild RIT manages "only" 3 billion. The purchase price of such a block of shares was estimated at 155 million US dollars.

David Rockefeller

The stake was previously held by French bank Societe Generale, which bought it in 2008 at its peak for half a billion dollars. Financial difficulties forced the organization to abandon this acquisition just a few years later. As the media wrote, there were several contenders for the shares, but David Rockefeller supported the Rothschild candidacy. Representatives of the two clans said shortly after the deal that the new form of partnership would help their families become closer than before.

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A large American family of industrialists, bankers and politicians, which traces its origins to oil tycoons and billionaires John Davison Rockefeller (John Davison Rockefeller, 1839-1937) and his younger brother William Avery Rockefeller Jr. (William Avery Rockefeller, Jr., 1841-1922 ), who founded the Standard Oil Company. The Rockefeller family owned one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th century, largely through the Standard Oil Company. In addition, the Rockefellers are known for many years of cooperation with the Chase Manhattan Bank - today it is JP Morgan Chase - in which they had a financial interest. As a rule, the Rockefellers are considered one of the most influential families in the history of the United States (United States).

In the 20th century, the family was heavily involved in building projects, resulting in many buildings associated with the name throughout the United States. The most famous of these is, of course, the Rockefeller Center, a massive Art Deco office complex built at the start of the Great Depression in midtown Manhattan, entirely funded by the family. In addition, this is the New York Museum of Modern Art (Museum of Modern Art); the grandiose neo-Gothic Riverside Church; "The Cloisters" ("Monasteries"), a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), which contains a stunning collection of medieval art; skyscrapers "One Chase Manhattan Plaza" and "Empire State Plaza"; the famous arts center Lincoln Center, as well as the infamous twin towers of the World Trade Center (World Trade Center), destroyed as a result of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.

Large donations from the Rockefellers led in 1889 to the creation of the University of Chicago (University of Chicago), within the walls of which the first American Nobel Prize winner in physics, Albert Abraham Michelson, awarded in 1907, worked. In addition, the family has traditionally, from generation to generation, financially supported Ivy League universities and other major colleges and universities, a total of 75 institutions of higher education, including Harvard University and Columbia University (Columbia University) , Dartmouth College, Princeton University, Stanford University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, Cornell University and Pennsylvania University (University of Pennsylvania). The Rockefellers also provide financial assistance to overseas universities, including the London School of Economics, University College London, and many others.

The older and younger generations of Rockefellers also participated in the creation of Rockefeller University (Rockefeller University) in 1901, the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission in 1910, the Bureau of Social Hygiene and the International Health Commission in 1913, and the Rockefeller Museum (Rockefeller Museum) in Israel (Israel) in 1925-1930.

In addition, the Rockefeller Foundation has established a number of awards, grants, and fellowships to support scientific progress. For generations, the Rockefellers have been interested in environmental conservation, and through their money and efforts, more than twenty national parks and open protected areas have been created throughout the United States.

Currently, the head of the family, its patriarch is David Rockefeller Sr. (David Rockefeller Sr.), born June 12, 1915, is a banker, statesman and grandson of the first dollar billionaire in the history of mankind, John Davison Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil.

The Rockefeller Archive Center, which until 2008 was a division of the Rockefeller University, has a three-story underground bunker under the mansion on the family estate in Pocantico. It is a huge repository of personal and official documents, as well as correspondence of family members and many historical documents, which in total contains more than 70 million pages of documents and collections of 42 scientific, cultural, educational and charitable organizations. Only censored documents of deceased family members are open to researchers, and records relating to living Rockefellers are not yet available to historians.

It is curious that the state of the family - their total assets and investments, plus the individual states of family members - has never been exactly known, this information is closed to researchers. In addition, from the very beginning to this day, the well-being of the family is under the complete control of the male representatives of the dynasty.

Among the famous families, the Rockefellers occupy a special place. While others have lost their money or influence, the Rockefellers continue to hold on to their vast empire.

The Rockefellers mostly immigrated to the US from Germany in the 1720s.

The surname was originally pronounced "Rockenfeller".

John Davison Rockefeller was born in 1839

His father worked odd jobs; In 1832 the family moved to Cleveland.

John's finest hour came during the Civil War

At the age of 20, he formed his own manufacturing business partnership, and with the proceeds from selling food to the Allied forces, he made a fortune. By the end of the war, he had earned $250,000.

The end of the war coincided with the beginning of the oil boom in the country

Cleveland has become a major logistics hub. John was not committed to the fruit and vegetable trade, and in 1865 he cashed out his interest in the partnership to invest in the oil refining industry.

The business grew, and in 1870 John consolidated his holdings in Standard Oil.

The company was worth one million dollars when it was founded.

It was the largest company in the country.

The real breakthrough for Standard Oil was the so-called. recoil scheme

Competition for traffic between railroads was fierce. So in 1872, John Rockefeller, along with like-minded people, creates the Southern Improvement Company in order to crush the small oil refining business by undermining their activities at the expense of railroad tariffs.

The scheme proved infamously effective and led to what became known as the Cleveland Massacre.

When things finally settled down, Standard Oil owned 22 of Cleveland's 26 refineries.

September 18, 1873: "Black Thursday" leads to a worldwide 6-year depression. But not for Standard

The company takes over oil refineries from the Allegheny Mountains to New York.

At the age of 38, Rockefeller controls almost 90 percent of the country's oil refinery capacity.

In 1879, he is among the 20 richest people in the country.

In 1883, John Rockefeller and his family decided to move to New York.

The headquarters for the Standard was built in the center of Broadway. Initially, the building had only 9 floors.

Rebuilt in the 1920s, it remains known as the Standard Oil Building to this day.

In the 1880s, Rockefeller consolidated his power in the country and in the world.

And according to the scandalous journalist Ida Tarbell, in order to strengthen his power, he terrorizes competitors.

A letter she found from a small manufacturer describes how a representative of Standard Oil " chased him for about two days«, « threatened in every possible way" and " talked to the household while I was gone«.

After all, the country was fed up with Rockefeller. In 1890, Congress passed the Sherman Act.

The law remains in force today.

Led by President Roosevelt, the government filed at least three lawsuits against Standard.

Oddly enough, the government only enriched John D. Rockefeller even more.

The sale of Standard's assets brought him a net income of $900 million.

Rockefeller lived to be 98 years old.

He is considered the richest man in US history.

John Rockefeller had only one son - John Jr.

But there were also four daughters - and in the first half of the 20th century, the list of family achievements increased dramatically.

John Jr. opened an oil company, but then went into real estate.

In 1930, he invested $250 million to build Rockefeller Center. It was completed in 1939 and became the largest private commercial development at the time.

Also, in 1930, John Jr. became the largest co-owner of Chase Bank.

The bank purchased his company Equitable Trust, which has since become associated with the bank's name. Later, John Jr.'s son would be CEO of Chase Bank for 11 years. David turns 98 this June.

After World War II, the Rockefellers donated $8.5 million worth of land that became home to the United Nations.

The land was declared an international territory.