Rockefeller & Co. history

The company’s origins date to 1863, when Rockefeller joined Maurice B. Clark and Samuel Andrews in a Cleveland, Ohio, oil-refining business.

In 1865 Rockefeller bought out Clark, and two years later he invited Henry M. Flagler to join as a partner in the venture.

By 1870 the firm of Rockefeller, Andrews, and Flagler was operating the largest refineries in Cleveland, and these and related facilities became the property of the new Standard Oil Company, incorporated in Ohio in 1870.

1874: John Rockefeller’s son, John Jr, was born in Cleveland, Ohio

By 1880, through elimination of competitors, mergers with other firms, and use of favourable railroad rebates, it controlled the refining of 90 to 95 percent of all oil produced in the United States.

The Standard Oil Company and affiliated companies that were engaged in the production, refining, and marketing of oil were combined in the Standard Oil Trust in 1882.

In response, Congress introduced the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890, making any attempt to monopolise commerce in the US illegal.

By 1892, the Ohio Supreme Court had ruled Standard Oil was in violation of state law, causing John to dissolve the company and hand over the management of each subsidiary.

S.S. McClure, founder of McClure’s Magazine, hired her in 1894.

In 1899, however, the company renamed its New Jersey firm Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) and incorporated it as a holding company.

1901: The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller University) was founded

Another momentous act came in 1902, when John established the General Education Board in a bid to support education in the US “regardless of race, sex or creed”, with a specific emphasis on promoting higher education.

1906: John III, John Jr’s son, was born in New York City on March 21

In 1911, after dissolution of the Standard Oil empire, eight companies retained “Standard Oil” in their names, but by the late 20th century the name had almost passed into history.

Then, of course, came the Rockefeller Foundation, an institution John established in 1913 to “promote the wellbeing of mankind throughout the world”. It has done exactly that, donating millions to promote education, public health, scientific advancement, the arts, social research and more.

1915: David Rockefeller, the youngest child of John Jr, was born in New York City

Founded in 1917, Cushman & Wakefield had 21 United States branches at the time of the purchase.

Founded in 1928, Rockefeller Group is a leading national real estate developer, owner and operator, with a long history of success in the planning, construction and management of premier properties.

Radio Corporation of America agreed, in 1930, to lease what became the 70-story RCA Building, the largest of a complex of office buildings unified in gray stone facing and by details and ornamentation in the then-popular Art Deco style.

Creation and Growth of Rockefeller Center: 1931-72

Rockefeller Center earned its first operating profit in 1943.

When David joined Chase Bank in 1946, it was a $4.8bn institution.

Five years later the center still had a debt of $95 million, but in 1950 the Metropolitan Life mortgage was retired.

In 1955 these five brothers sold 46.7 percent of the center to family trusts.

1959: Opening of Time & Life Building marks expansion of the center to the west.

Rockefeller Center also bought the 28-story Sinclair Office Building at Fifth Avenue and West 48th Street in 1963.

1969: David was named Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank

Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) changed its name to Exxon Corporation in 1972.

1976: Company purchases Cushman & Wakefield, one of the nation's largest real estate brokerages.

Rockefeller Group Telecommunications Services, Inc., a subsidiary established in 1984 to serve Rockefeller Center tenants, had extended its comprehensive onsite telephone and communications services to more than 30 Class-A office towers, over 500 client firms, and more than 50,000 telephone lines.

1985: Rockefeller Group mortgages Rockefeller Center for $1.3 billion.

Rock Group, which retained management control of the complex, also achieved a striking windfall in 1986 when it sold Outlet Communications at a profit of almost $300 million.

Excluding Cushman & Wakefield, the group had 3,700 employees in 1988 and estimated annual revenue of $775 million.

1989: Mitsubishi buys a majority share of Rock Group for $846 million.

Exercising an option clause in the agreement, they sold another 29 percent of Rock Group to Mitsubishi for $527 million during 1990-91, raising the Japanese company's stake to 80 percent.

1994: The David Rockefeller Centre for Latin American Studies opened at Harvard University

By the end of March 1995 Mitsubishi had covered cash shortfalls of $623 million for the two partnerships of Rock Group that technically owned Rockefeller Center, yet the center was still $900 million in debt.

In 1997 Rock Group bought 140 acres and an existing building in what had been a research park in Florham Park, New Jersey, then built and leased two more.

In 1999 it agreed to build a 33-story office tower on this site, in partnership with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.

In return this trust won the right to convert the mortgage to a 71.5 percent stake in Rockefeller Center in 2000.

Morgan Stanley sold its share in the enterprise in 2001 for about $700 million to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which made the completed structure its headquarters.

2002: Company completes new office tower in midtown Manhattan.