David Rockefeller — Philanthropist, Banker And Collector — Dies At 101 David Rockefeller, then chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, speaks at the Chase Investment Forum in London in 1963. David Rockefeller, who died Monday morning at the age of 101, leaves a legacy that eludes a simple description. At once the grandchild and heir of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller and a globe-trotting billionaire banker in his own right, Rockefeller also earned a reputation as a prodigious patron of the arts. Rockefeller died of congestive heart failure at his home in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., family spokesman Fraser P. Seitel confirmed to NPR. In a statement released Monday, former President George W. Bush commended Rockefeller as "one of the most generous philanthropists — and brightest Points of LED Flood Light — whose caring and commitment to the widest range of worthy causes touched and lifted innumerable lives." "David's Bank" At the time of his death, , Rockefeller's net worth was $3.3 billion — a fortune he inherited and built upon as a longtime executive at Chase Manhattan Bank. For roughly two decades, according to the family's statement, Rockefeller occupied the lofty heights of the bank's management — serving as chairman of the board and co-chief executive beginning in 1961 and ultimately taking the reins as sole CEO in 1969. He would eventually step down from that position in 1980, retiring entirely about a year later.
During that time, Rockefeller's leadership — and internationally oriented policies — became synonymous with Chase Manhattan, an institution so shaped by his reputation and vision it was occasionally tagged with the moniker "David's Bank." As , that could be a double-edged sword: "Other things which ... bring much greater satisfaction" Despite his long tenure at the top of the banking world, Rockefeller crafted a legacy as much from his philanthropy as from his time in the office. To say that Rockefeller was well off while growing up would be a remarkable understatement. In his 2002 memoir, the first such autobiography to be published by a member of his family, Rockefeller recounted a gilded youth — one in which he delivered food to the poor with the help of a chauffeur, roller-skated along Fifth Avenue tailed by a limousine in case he should grow tired, and attended dinner with a father and mother who ate every night in their formal wear.
But he said he also aimed to emulate aspects of his grandfather, the founder of Standard Oil — a man who "along with Andrew Carnegie, [was] the father of philanthropy in this country," he told NPR — and his mother, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who helped found New York City's Museum of Modern Art. David Rockefeller gave away nearly $2 billion in his lifetime, Reuters reports, and in 2010 he declared he would , signing a pledge with 39 other American billionaires to give at least half their wealth to charity during their lifetimes or after their death. On the occasion of his 100th birthday in 2015, , he donated 1,000 acres of land to the state of Maine. And he never forgot the institution his mother had a hand in creating, serving as its chairman for many years and leaving it a $100 million bequest in 2005, according to the Times.