John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Smarter in sixty minutes. Get smarter in just 60 minutes with in60Learning. Concise and elegantly written non-fiction books and audiobooks help you learn the core subject matter in 20% of the time that it takes to read a typical book. Life is short, so explore a multitude of fascinating historical, biographical, scientific, political, and financial topics in only an hour each. John D. Rockefeller Jr, 1874 to 1960, was an American financier and a prominent part of the industrial, political, and banking family, the Rockefellers, known for owing one of the world's largest fortunes. John Jr was the only son of John D. Rockefeller, the Standard Oil co-founder, and more significantly, he was the father of the five Rockefeller brothers, who include Nelson Rockefeller, the 41st Vice President of The United States and David Rockefeller, chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. John Jr attended Park Avenue Baptist Church and the Browning School, and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. After graduation, John Jr joined his father's business and quickly became a director of Standard Oil. Soon after, he also became a director at J. P. Morgan's US Steel company. John Jr was involved heavily in financing and developing the Rockefeller Centre during the Great Depression. As a result of the completion of this vast office complex project, John Jr became one of the largest real estate holders in New York City. This was followed shortly by John Jr receiving from his father 10% of the shares in the Equitable Trust Company, making him the bank's largest shareholder. John Jr was also well known for his philanthropy and his desire to use his vast wealth for the betterment of other people's lives and gave more than half a billion dollars to various educational, religious, scientific, and healthcare causes, both in the United States and internationally. John Jr died of pneumonia in 1960, leaving behind six children and twenty grandchildren and a vast legacy of financial development and philanthropic support.