Who Are the Rockefellers and How Much Power Do They Have?

For most of the 20th century, the name Rockefeller was synonymous with American wealth and power.

The family name — and, it was assumed, the family money — could get just about anything. But today, as the Rockefellers battle Exxon to get the company to adopt more green-friendly strategies, their influence is being tested.

Three of the family’s four resolutions aren’t likely to pass, according to an article by Clifford Krauss in today’s New York Times. The fourth, a bid to separate the jobs of chairman and CEO, has been a crusade for Exxon shareholders for years. (BP and Shell already split the roles.)

When the news was announced, business pundits criticized the family as spoiled rich kids trying to appease their guilt over their oil-stained fortune. On CNBC, Joe Kernan called them “limousine liberals” and said that the family should leave the business of Exxon to Exxon.

The family has also fallen financially. Exxon says the family holds only 0.006% of the company shares and shouldn’t get special treatment. (The family says it has larger holdings than that.) David Rockefeller is the only family member left on the Forbes list. With more than 150 living blood relatives of John D. Rockefeller Sr., many members of the latest generation of the family — known as the “fifth-sixth” generation — aren’t likely to be able to live off their dwindling family trusts, according to people close to the family.

Critics also point out that over the past 20 years, not a single Rockefeller has made a significant new fortune by starting a company. Last year, I interviewed a newly minted multi-millionaire in New York who told me he recently helped finance a small business project for a Rockefeller.

“Imagine that, I lent money to a Rockefeller,” he told me.

Until recently, it was almost inconceivable that I could even write the headline of this post. Today, it’s a legitimate question.

I’m agnostic about their efforts with Exxon. But even if their resolutions fail, the Rockefellers matter for one reason: They remain an example for the rest of the American rich. They can achieve things in philanthropy that others can’t — witness their efforts with quake victims in China. And their efforts to combat global poverty are unmatched.

They are also an example of how rich families can stay together over multiple generations — largely through their family rituals and constant communication. If you’ve ever tried to get three or four members of your extended family to agree on anything, you can appreciate the feat of getting 73 of 78 adult, direct descendants of John D. to sign off on the Exxon resolution.

So the Rockefellers may no longer be a force in business. But when it comes to unity and purpose, the name means as much as ever.

Who Are The Rockefellers & How Much Power Do They Have?

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