It's the family name that conjures up visions of vast wealth, power, and political intrigue – Rockefeller.
An American dynasty built on “black gold” oil would become one of the richest and most influential in history, while experiencing a wealth of tragedies too.
Yet when founder John Davison Rockefeller began his working life aged 16, his dream was to make just $100,000 dollars and live to be 100.
He'd done a ten week course in accounting and been toughened up by his con-artist father who boasted “I cheat my boys every chance I get. I want to make 'em sharp.”
Yet just 25 years later John D, Rockefeller, born appropriately in a town called Richford, New York, had become America's first billionaire.
He founded Standard Oil with his younger brother William and the eventually commanded a monopoly controlling 90 per cent of all America's oil.
By the time John died in 1937 - three years short of his centenary - he was the wealthiest man of his time and arguably of ALL time.
His assets equalled 1.5% of America’s TOTAL economic output - that's $340 billion dollars in today's terms.
So John D Rockefeller was more than four times richer that Bill Gates is today.
He retired in his late 50s and spent the final 40 years of his life enjoying the trappings of success, notably through a string of remarkable properties such as Kykuit, a six-storey home he built on the vast Westchester County estate and a 100-room holiday home called The Eyrie on Maine’s Mount Desert Island.
He also had a huge mansion on West 54th Street in New York – the site now occupied by the Museum of Modern Art which, was co-founded by his granddaughter, Abby Rockefeller.
In the 1930s his son, John D Jr, also built the famous Rockefeller Center comprising 19 skyscrapers in Manhattan.
John Jr's son David became a powerful banker.
But the tycoon’s true legacy was the remarkable philanthropy that saw him give away more than $1 billion to worthy causes, ranging from medical research to education. He is said to be the biggest medical benefactor in history.
His flagship company was broken up in 1911 but the Rockefeller family – which today has 174 members - is still worth more than $11 billion and has interests around the globe.
We look at some of the shocking secrets of the super-rich Rockefellers.
William Avery Rockefeller, John D.’s father, posed as a “deaf-mute peddler” to sell miracle potions and herbal remedies. Nicknamed “Devil Bill,” he also posed as an eye and ear specialist named Dr. William Levingston.
He had children with both his wife and mistress, the latter woman living with the family as their housekeeper.
Nelson Rockefeller John D's grandson, was a businessman turned politician and Governor of New York from 1959-1973.
When Gerald Ford took over from shamed President Richard Nixon on 1974 he appointed Rockefeller Vice President. But five years later he died from a heart attack at the age of 70.
Rockefeller Center security were said to have found him dead at his desk. But later reports issued a correction; the 70-year-old actually died a townhouse, where he was having sex with a 25-year-old aide. Nelson’s family contested this, but a longtime aide confirmed the affair.
Dr Richard Rockefeller, son of David and nephew of Nelson, devoted his life to philanthropy, rather than banking or politics. Tragically, he died aged 65, when his plane hit fog and crashed outside Harrison, New York. The 2014 flight had taken off from the nearby Rockefeller estate.
Winston Churchill almost wrote the Rockefeller story. The future Prime Minister wrote more than 40 books, earning the 1953 Nobel Prize for Literature.
But in the 1930s, the Rockefellers asked Winston to write John D.’s authorized biography. But he wanted a $250,000 advance. Even the wealthiest family in the world wasn’t willing to pay it, so they hired a Columbia University historian instead.
In 1961, Nelsons fifth son traveled to New Guinea.
Michael C Rockefeller, 23 was photographer and trustee of the Museum of Primitive Art an hoped to bring an indigenous art collection back to New York.
When his boat overturned, however, he tried to swim to shore and get help but despite a two-week search, he was never found.
Although his official cause of death is drowning, many think he was eaten by a crocodile or shark.
Some rumours suggested he made it to shore. And a month later, a Dutch priest spoke with men from the Otsjanep tribe, who admitted they killed a man who matched Michael’s description. They even showed the priest some bones. Rumours circulated that he had been eaten.
John D. Rockefeller Sr.’s great-niece killed herself and her two daughters. In 1951, Winifred Rockefeller Emeny, 46, started two cars in her Greenwich, Connecticut garage.
The socialite put her 12-year-old and six-year-old in one car and then laid on the ground nearby.
The maid discovered them dead from asphyxiation.
In the early 20th century, hookworms infected over 40% of American southerners, who experienced anaemia, exhaustion, and stunted growth. However, in 1910, John D. Rockefeller gave $1million to the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission, which mapped high-risk areas and treated infected people.
The group also improved sanitation in affected areas. Now, hookworm is under control and only found in small areas of the Deep South.
The Rockefellers are so busy and so numerous that they didn’t notice when a “Clark Rockefeller” began using their name to enter high-profile events, accept job offers, and even marry a rich woman.
Actually named Christian Gerhartsreiter, the German man was arrested in 2008 and sentenced to 27 years in prison in connection with an unrelated murder.
On the advice of a PR consultant, John D. carried around a bag of newly-minted dime coins and gave one to every person he met, from children to fellow millionaires.
A dime in the 1920s equals about $5 these days. It’s estimated that he gave away about $35,000 in dimes over his lifetime.
