Rockefeller family

An American family whose fortune began with John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil interests and whose members became prominent in business, philanthropy, and public life.

John D. Rockefeller: American industrialist who founded Standard Oil and became one of the wealthiest people in modern history. His oil fortune established the family’s wealth and public prominence.
Standard Oil: An American oil company founded by John D. Rockefeller and partners that dominated refining before its 1911 breakup. The company generated the fortune that made the family nationally influential.
Rockefeller Foundation: A philanthropic organization founded in 1913 to promote human well-being worldwide. It became a principal vehicle for the family’s organized philanthropy.
Philanthrocapitalism: The use of business methods and private wealth to address social problems through philanthropy. Rockefeller giving became an influential model for large-scale, strategically managed philanthropy.
Carnegie family: An American industrial and philanthropic family whose wealth originated chiefly in Andrew Carnegie’s steel business. The Carnegie legacy offers a parallel model of industrial wealth redirected toward philanthropy.
John D. Rockefeller Jr.: American philanthropist and financier who directed major Rockefeller family projects and donations. He organized much of the family’s twentieth-century philanthropy.
Cleveland oil boom: A late nineteenth-century expansion of oil refining centered in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland’s refining industry provided the setting for Standard Oil’s early growth.
Rockefeller University: A New York biomedical research institution established in 1901 as the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. The family’s funding helped create a lasting center for biomedical research.
Corporate monopoly: A market structure in which one company controls nearly all supply of a product or service. Standard Oil’s dominance made the family a lasting reference point in debates over monopoly power.
Morgan family: An American banking family associated with J. P. Morgan and the consolidation of finance and industry. The Morgans wielded influence through banking, unlike the Rockefellers’ oil-based fortune.

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