World oldest billionaire, David Rockefeller dies at 101

by Dolapo Adelana

U.S. billionaire, banker and philanthropist, David Rockefeller has died, aged 101.

Rockefeller, who was the world’s oldest billionaire died on Monday at his home in Pocantico Hills, New York, according to an emailed statement from Fraser P. Seitel, a family spokesman. The cause was congestive heart failure.

Rockefeller was the youngest and last-surviving grandson of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller, the nation’s first billionaire.

Of the five sons of his father, John D. Rockefeller Jr., he was the only one who spent his entire professional career in the corporate world, rising to chief executive officer of Chase Manhattan Bank during his 35 years at the company.

Rockefeller was also a well known philanthropist. In 2005 he donated $100 million each to two New York institutions: the Museum of Modern Art, which was co-founded by his mother, and Rockefeller University, a medical-research school started by his grandfather. The following year, he bequeathed $225 million to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which he and his brothers established in 1940 to promote social change worldwide.

In 2008 Rockefeller gave $100 million to his alma mater, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“No individual has contributed more to the commercial and civic life of New York City over a longer period of time than David Rockefeller,” former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. “During my time in City Hall, he was always there for the city when we called,” said Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

One comment

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail