LBRY Block Explorer

LBRY Claims • Rockefellers-PBS-American-Exp-Pt-2-2000

3303db005cb25eccb35f411ebf7d8836259f4c00

Published By
Created On
4 Sep 2023 19:36:10 UTC
Transaction ID
Cost
Safe for Work
Free
Yes
The Rockefellers PBS American Experience Pt 2 2000
PART 2

The Rockefellers

THE SAGA OF FOUR GENERATIONS OF A LEGENDARY AMERICAN FAMILY WHOSE NAME IS SYNONYMOUS WITH GREAT WEALTH.
FROM THE COLLECTION: THE TITANS

Film Description

They feared the temptations of wealth, yet their estate was once described as the kind of place God would have built--if only he had the money. They amassed a fortune that outraged a democratic nation, then gave much of it away. They were the closest thing this country had to a royal family, but they shunned the public eye, retreating behind the walls of their palatial home at Pocantico Hills, New York.

"The Rockefellers" is the saga of four generations of a legendary American family whose name is synonymous with great wealth.

The story begins in the Christian revivalist fervor of the 1830s with a marriage of opposites: Eliza Davison, a pious young woman, and "Devil Bill" Rockefeller, swindler, snake-oil salesman, and eventually, bigamist. Their son, John D. Rockefeller, created an industrial empire — and a personal fortune — on a scale the world had never known. He ruthlessly crushed his competitors in the process, alienating the public and leaving a stain on the family name. His dutiful son, John D. Jr., was a self-sacrificing young man who devoted his life to redeeming his family's reputation. Junior's five sons scaled the heights of the American century. One, Nelson, reached highest, exposing the very private Rockefellers once again to the harsh judgment of public opinion. In the 1960s, a fourth generation of Rockefellers — "the Cousins" — rebelled against their family, which had come to personify what was then known as "the establishment."

The world's first billionaire, John D. Rockefeller Sr. held 90 percent of the world's oil refineries, 90 percent of the marketing of oil, and a third of all the oil wells. Working methodically and secretly, he did more than transform a single industry. When he formed his feared monopoly, Standard Oil, in 1870 he changed forever the way America did business.

Because of the ruthless war he waged to crush his competitors, Rockefeller was to many Americans the embodiment of an unjust and cruel economic system. Yet he lived a quiet and virtuous life. "I believe the power to make money is a gift of God," Rockefeller once said. "It is my duty to make money and even more money and to use the money I make for the good of my fellow men." By the end of his life he had given away half his fortune. But Rockefeller's vast philanthropy could not erase the memory of his predatory business practices. In 1902, when McClure's magazine published journalist Ida Tarbell's scathing expose of Standard Oil, it unleashed a torrent of rage. In 1911, Standard Oil was declared in violation of antitrust laws and dissolved.

John D.'s only son, Junior, faced an almost impossible task, says biographer Ron Chernow: "He had to figure out a way to change the image of this family without openly repudiating the father he loved." The struggle took its toll. Junior suffered from incapacitating headaches and was forced to take rest cures to relieve the strain. In his quest for redemption and respectability, Junior would give away hundreds of millions of dollars, and would demand impeccable behavior from his six children. John D. III became a philanthropist and a valued expert on Asian affairs; Laurance, a leading venture capitalist and conservationist. Nelson was four times governor of New York and vice president of the United States. David, president of The Chase Manhattan Bank, was a leading figure in international finance. Winthrop was elected governor of Arkansas. Abby was deeply involved in cancer research.

The Rockefellers transformed America, helping build many of the institutions that defined the United States in the 20th century: the United Nations, Spelman College, Acadia National Park, Grand Teton National Park, the United Negro College Fund, Lincoln Center, Chase Manhattan Bank, Riverside Church, Pan American Airlines, Radio City Music Hall, The Cloisters, The University of Chicago, Rockefeller Center, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare – to name just a few. Junior's wife, Abby, a leading patron of the arts, co-founded the Museum of Modern Art, known to the third generation of Rockefellers as "Mother's museum."

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/rockefellers/
Author
Content Type
Unspecified
video/x-matroska
Language
English
Open in LBRY

More from the publisher

Controlling
VIDEO
SMART
Controlling
VIDEO
WELCO
Controlling
VIDEO
ALDOU
Controlling
VIDEO
JEAN
VIDEO
A FUN
Controlling
VIDEO
JOHN
VIDEO
SECRE
Controlling
VIDEO
HIDDE
Controlling
VIDEO
HOLLY