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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 1958)
u, H v ) mm i m fl m oofiTAi o pit (B e Photo by Philippe f Tga (V5ar C V fcl" - Tl Jointly worth half a billion dollars, the five grandsons of John D. are using this vast wealth to make the world a better place to live in. by Theodore Irwin 1 "p on the 56th floor of the Rockefeller Center's main edifice, the square jawed, broad-shouldered, hyper-energetic millionaire gazed thoughtfully out the window of his small, . ultramodern office at the New York panorama spread out below, "I'm completely unconscious of being a Rockefeller," he said to me. "People may think we're different, but my brothers and I maintain that we're all hu man beings." That remark, as I chatted the other day with Nelson Aid rich Rockefeller, struck me as the key to the riddle of the most extraordinary brothers of their generation. Born under a silver sword, the five grand sons John D., 3rd, Nelson, Winthrop, Laurance, and David of the world's first billion aire, once considered a money making ogre, have emerged from under the shadow of their family name to stand on their own feet as citizens dedicated to the social good. Instead of dissipating their wealth as play boys, the high-minded, third-generation Rockefellers have extended their personal power into al most every facet of life cul tural, scientific, religious, eco nomic, and political. They've sponsored scores of projects ranging from neighborhood improvement to alcoholism, educational testing, and peace ful atomic development. To pool their thinking, which often goes in five directions at once, Rockefeller brothers meet monthly in their New York headquar ters. This unusual photo of the five men together shows (I. to r.) Winthrop, 45, Laurance, 47, John, 52, David, 42, and Nelson, 50. "The responsibilities of wealth are more important than ever," Nelson told me. "As individuals with a tremen dous opportunity, my brothers and I exercise our initiative in assuming those special respon sibilities to make an original contribution. That, we feel, should be the stewardship of wealth today." The remarkable diversity of the Rockefeller team's achieve ments was recently demon strated by their far-reaching, half-million-dollar Special Studies project. Exploring the problems and opportunities confronting this country in the next 10-15 years, it develops objectives and concepts based on our heritage. To apply the nation's best brains to these problems, the Rockefeller boys recruited 250 leading authori ties in all fields. The first trail-blazing report last January, on military se curity, proposed basic changes which promptly became sig nificant parts of the Eisen-hower-McElroy plan for Pen tagon reorganization. The sec ond report in April dealt with the current recession and of fered such recommendations as tax reforms and stepping up public works. Early in June, the Rockefeller study on inter national economic policy point ed to the changing world scene and our need to evolve new ideas. A few weeks later came the penetrating analysis of education and manpower, stressing the full development of individual capacities and the roles of parents and the church in shaping a child's character. This Fall, the project will issue roundup reports on "The Dem ocratic Process" and "U. S. International Objectives." These studies, the Rocke feller quintet believes, repre sent the essence of democracy. They feel that every citizen is concerned with the magnitude of our problems, anxious to get the facts interpreted so that they can intelligently exercise their own judgment. "People want to participate and understand and have a position on issues," says Nel son, who originally sparked the project because he felt Amer ica was drifting. "Our studies try to provide the conceptual frameworks they need. If my brothers and I can thus help in some measure, the effort will be justified." Such idealism is common to all five of the Rockefellers. But beyond this, the family name, and a boundless energy, all similarity ends. Their per sonalities are so different that probably no one could identify them in a crowd as brothers. Each is a distinct individualist, with ideas and interests of his own. Each went to a different college Harvard, Yale, Dart mouth except John and Laur ance, who chose Princeton. John D., 3rd, at 52 the most conservative and gentlest, is tall, slender, pipe-smoking, and withdrawn, works quietly and prefers others to take public credit for his accomplishments. In contrast, Nelson, 50, is wavy-haired, boyish-looking, an athletic extrovert with a buoyant, persuasive manner; most ambitious member of the clan, he has the common touch and likes dealing with people. Laurance, the third eldest (he's 47) is lank and sharp featured, the shrewdest of the brothers, with the most busi ness acumen. He's a bold, hard-driving entrepreneur, an urbane intellectual sophisticate who calls himself "Bill" be cause he considers Laurance a "sissy" name. Winthrop is a handsome, hearty, 45-year-old giant, gregarious and convivial, who used to frequent cafe so ciety and once teamed up with actress Mary Martin to win a dance contest. The youngest brother, David, is 42, an aff able, moon-faced scholar who received his Ph.D. degree at the University of Chicago. 14 Family Wteklv. Anuuil 3. ma Those Fabulous Rockefeller Brothers cal work with his hands. He quit Yale after a year to work as a roughneck with a "cellar gang" in a Texas oil field. Dur ing the war, he enlisted as a private, saw plenty of combat in the Pacific, was ambushed, badly burned by a kamikase, suffered a siege of jaundice, and finished up in Okinawa as a lieutenant colonel. His un fortunate marriage to "Bobo" Obviously these five chips off the old block are neither milksops nor prigs. With their disparate temperaments, out siders often wonder how they manage to harmonize on their manifold joint enterprises. There is competition, the bro thers admit, but they say it takes the form of an "uncon scious stimulus." Binding them together is a strong feeling of family unity, a powerful sense of purpose, and always the un derlying conviction that wealth brings responsibility. "ETach of us puts something in," they explain. "At the same time, we mul tiply our individual effort by five. That way, you can pad dle your own canoe while working together. The basic idea is to stick together as a unit, despite our disagree ments." They've built their reputa tions not only through common endeavors but also through in dividual enterprises. For each has carved out for himself special fields of worthy proj ects, giving freely of his time as well as his money. Consider, for instance, the grandiose $75 million Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, soon to rise in mid-Manhattan with a new Metropolitan Opera home, a concert hall, drama and dance theaters, and the Juilliard School of Music. Because of his great skill as conciliator and negotiator, the almost ascetic John D., 3rd, was chosen to be president of the tremendous undertaking. 'To me it was a very chal lenging opportunity," he says. "With the new leisure in this country, people have been looking increasingly to the arts as a means of attaining satis faction. The center should go as far as possible in making the theater, opera, and ballet broadly available. In the past, for example, the Metropolitan Opera has been for the few; one wants to think of the cen ter as for the many. All this can contribute to the health and happiness of people be cause art is one of the basic things they are striving for." In other divergent areas, John has special interests. The chief philanthropist among the brothers, he serves as chair man of the half-billion-dollar Rockefeller Foundation for the advancement of scientific, med ical, and social conditions all over the world. Believing that the future of America and Asia are inextricably bound to gether, he works diligently to better relations between them, helped to create the Japan So ciety and the Asia Society. Among other varied activities, he established the Rockefeller Public Service Awards to give recognition to Federal em ployees who perform an out standing public service. A markedly different field, conservation of natural re sources, appeals to Laurance. He is president of Jackson Hole Preserve, a nonprofit or- Pi Nelson Rockefeller, mentioned prominently as a gubernatorial candidate, is most ambitious and versatile of the famed clan. ganization to aid in conserving areas of natural picturesque scenery and opening them to the public. His latest pet proj ect is the Island of St. John in the Virgin Islands. After he fell in love with this bit of para dise, Laurance decided the en tire nation should share in its delights and he got the Rocke feller Brothers Fund to donate $1 million toward its develop ment. Two years ago, most of the island was turned over to the Government as a national park and wildlife refuge, Laurance spends the other half of his time in such spheres as cancer research and on such adventurous investments as nuclear development, space equipment, jets, and electron ics. Of Laurance, an associate once observed that "he is amused by many things and not the least of them is being a Rockefeller." Otrancely, David the philo- sophic scion is the only brother who has pursued a nine-to-five career in finance. But he leavens his job as board vice-chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank (second largest in the U.S.) with efforts in behalf of the United Nations and urban re development. When he took over as chairman of the Rocke feller Institute for Medical Research, he revitalized it, opening new horizons. Closest to being a Rockefel ler maverick is Winthrop, the only brother to do hard, physi- An Ike-backer, Nelson was named special presidential as sistant in 1954, but he also held posts under Truman, Roosevelt. II Sears resulted in a rare type of philanthropy for the Rocke fellers, a $6 million divorce set tlement Today in Arkansas, Winthrop operates the famous 3,000-acre "Winrock" as a practical model farm. His proved farming methods, re sulting from modern scientific study, are being duplicated or adapted by smaller farmers to restore depleted land. Even from Arkansas, Win throp conforms to the Rocke feller mold, performing as chairman of Colonial Williams burg and as a leading figure with the National Urban League, which deals with social and economic problems of Negroes. "Winthrop's community has been the common man," says Laurance. Most versatile member of the team is Nelson, currently being boomed for governor of New York on the Republican ticket this Fall. An almost fanatical nonstop worker with enormous moral earnestness, he'll tackle any worthwhile assignment anywhere, anytime. At Dartmouth, where he taught a girls' Sunday School class, Nelson plugged his way into Phi Beta Kappa. Starting as a bank clerk, he turned to real estate to help rent Rocke feller Center and now is board chairman of that vast venture. Nelson's intimate knowledge of Latin America led President Roosevelt in 1940 to appoint him Coordinator of Inter American Affairs. In that post, his greatest triumph was the heroic task of compiling an 1,800-name blacklist of South American business firms with Axis sympathies. Ten years later, President Truman picked Nelson to head the Internal Development Advisory Board, charged with recommending general policy toward under developed areas. President Eisenhower in 1952 also called on Nelson to help streamline the executive branch of the Government. Out of the sprawling mass of inde pendent agencies and append ages, he was instrumental in organizing the new Depart ment of Health, Education, and Welfare. During the Salk polio vaccine snafu, it was Nelson who was hastily summoned to straighten out the mess. In 1954, for a year he was special assistant to the President for foreign affairs. Outside of his pinch-hitting Government jobs, the prodi giously busy Nelson has some how found time to be chairman Laurance Rockefeller, specialist in conservation, promoted de velopment of St. John's Island. (Continued on page IB) Family Weekly. Auuit 1, 1951 15
