Fighting Over A Dynasty’s Soul

John D. Rockefeller’s last surviving grandson, David Rockefeller, was laid to rest in April of this year. He died at age 101. Those that spoke about him painted an image of a philanthropist, world-traveler, and statesman. Despite an outpouring of warm words and his documented history of giving over $1.8 billion to charity, Rockefeller’s legacy is in turmoil.

The Rockefeller Family Fund, created by Rockefeller and his siblings, has brought allegations accusing ExxonMobil of having decades-old knowledge regarding a correlation between the consumption of fossil-fuel and climate change. This is somewhat historically ironic, as ExxonMobil is the largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, which was founded by John D. Rockefeller. The Rockefeller Family Fund announced last year that it would divest its investment portfolio of all fossil-fuel holdings; the culling began with shares of ExxonMobil. The family is not unanimously on board with actions of the fund and some have publicly questioned the intelligence of denouncing the Rockefeller legacy.

See Ian T. Shearn, Fighting Over A Dynasty’s Soul, Private Wealth Magazine, June 22, 2017.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) and Joel C. Dobris for bringing this article to my attention.