David Rockefeller Quotes

I think I am basically a happy person.

The negative impact of population growth on all of our planetary ecosystems is becoming appallingly evident.

Only once in my life was I on the edge of incivility. I do not like to be unkind.

Father was the eldest son and the heir apparent, and he set the standard for being a Rockefeller very high, so every achievement was taken for granted and perfection was the norm.

I think of art as the highest level of creativity. To me, it is one of the greatest sources of enjoyment.

Much corporate giving is charitable in nature rather than philanthropic.

We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost 40 years......It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supernational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national autodetermination practiced in past centuries.

Populists believe in conspiracies, and one of the most enduring is that a secret group of international bankers and capitalists, and their minions, control the world's economy. Because of my name and prominence as the head of the Chase for many years, I have earned the distinction of the "conspirator in chief" from these people.

Bilderberger Meeting: The world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government.

As children we recognized that we belonged to an unusual, even exceptional, family, but the effect was different on each of us.

By a museum, I assume you mean an institution dedicated to the events of Sept. 11 and the aftermath. If that is done with sensitivity, I think it would be most appropriate.

A museum has to renew its collection to be alive, but that does not mean we give on important old works.

Money can add very much to one's ability to lead a constructive life, not only pleasant for oneself, but, hopefully, beneficial to others.

When you have a lot of resources, the most important thing is to have had good parents and to have been brought up by people who gave one the proper values.

The Japanese have a wonderful sense of design and a refinement in their art. They try to produce beautiful paintings with the minimum number of strokes.

You know, gentlemen, that I do not owe any personal income tax. But nevertheless, I send a small check, now and then, to the Internal Revenue Service out of the kindness of my heart.

Whatever you do, if you do it hard enough you'll enjoy it. The important thing is to work and work hard.

They decided to establish a museum of modern art where works by contemporary artists would be shown. Mother was viewed as a very progressive person, and not everybody liked the paintings she bought.

I hope the Guggenheim plan will be revived.

One cannot expect to coast along and rise automatically to the top, no matter what friends you may have in the company. There may have been a time when, in large corporations, a person could rise simply because he had a stock interest or because he had friends in top management. That's not true today. Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you're not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.

Philanthropy is involved with basic innovations that transform society, not simply maintaining the status quo or filling basic social needs that were formerly the province of the public sector.

The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.

The Japanese banks are not having an easy time as they once had.

I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one's life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important.

Some even believe we (the Rockefeller family) are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.

The role of a museum of modern art is to make a good selection and identify what we believe to be the coming movements, and that requires taste.

The attacks on the World Trade Center and the current economic recession, which is particularly powerful in New York City, have put a number of building plans on hold for the time being.

My grandfather, along with Carnegie, was a pioneer in philanthropy, which my father then practiced on a very large scale.

This present window of opportunity, during which a truly peaceful and interdependent world order might be built, will not be open for too long - We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis and the nations will accept the New World Order.

I met many Russians over the years who were convinced my brothers and I were a cabal, pulling strings behind the scenes to shape American policy. The Soviets had no conception of how a pluralistic democracy works and believed elected officials, up to and including the president of the United States, were only figureheads acting out the roles dictated to them by the real "powers that be" - in this case, my family.

I realize how fortunate I have been; mine has been a wonderful life.

If the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) raises the hackles of the conspiracy theorists, the Bilderberg meetings must induce apocalyptic visions of omnipotent international bankers plotting with unscrupulous government officials to impose cunning schemes on an ignorant and unsuspecting world.

I never kept a diary, but I wrote detailed notes of my travels.

I am a passionate traveler, and from the time I was a child, travel formed me as much as my formal education.

I suspect that many corporations have begun to understand that they have an important role to play in the lives of their communities, and that allocating funds to support local groups helps them discharge that function and also burnish their image.

I think that the best hope for peace and prosperity in the world is greater cooperation among nations, which in turn will be produced if both our governments and the people of our countries travel more and get to know each other better.

I do not like to be unkind.

Mother's interest in contemporary American artists emerged during the 1920s.

Whatever the price of the Chinese Revolution, it has obviously succeeded not only in producing more efficient and dedicated administration, but also in fostering high morale and community of purpose. The social experiment in China under Chairman Mao's leadership is one of the most important and successful in human history.

Successful charitable fund-raising has much in common with managing a business: It requires leadership, persistence, and creativity.

It is true that I am often startled and even angered and repulsed by the strange directions and provocative content of new forms that seem to pop up every few months.

The Christian ethic played an essential part in my upbringing.

I am never angry, although sometimes distressed.

The conventional notions of art have changed, and a lot of things done today are considered works of art that would have been rejected in the past.

Mother's taste was eclectic and ranged from the ancient world to the contemporary from Europe to the U.S.

I owe much to mother. She had an expert's understanding, but also approached art emotionally.

If necessity is the mother of invention, discontent is the father of progress.

I believe that government is the servant of the people and not their master.