Laurance Rockefeller: Keeping the Legacy Going

Laurance Rockefeller was an American financier, businessman, major conservationist and philanthropist. As the fourth son of John D. Rockefeller Jr., Laurance belonged to the third-generation of the prominent Rockefeller family.

Laurance was born on May 26, 1910 in New York City. He was an alumnus of Princeton University. He took up law in Harvard Law School but quit when he decided he did not want to be a lawyer in his second year at Harvard. His first great shot in business came in 1937 when he inherited the seat of his grandfather on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1940, he became a founding trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. He served the Fund for thirty-two years, becoming its president from 1958 to 1968 and chairman from 1968 to 1980.

Together with his five brothers and only sister, Laurance became pioneer in venture capital after the siblings formed a joint partnership in 1946. Later, this venture company became known as Venrock Associates, which was the earliest investor in Apple and Intel. Laurance became the chairman of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission which focused on conservation. In 1967, he was known as “America’s leading conservationist.