David Rockefeller

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.

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.

Only once in my life was I on the edge of incivility.

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

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.

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

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

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

I think it’s sad when people make a lot of money and they want the biggest boat or the biggest car or the biggest plane.

I would be a billionaire if I was looking to be a selfish boss. That’s not me.

Riches are a good hand maiden, but a poor mistress.

Of great wealth there is no real use, except in its distribution, the rest is just conceit.

Be not penny-wise. Riches have wings. Sometimes they fly away of themselves, and sometimes they must be set flying to bring in more.

I am the wealthiest man, not just in Europe, but in the whole world. I collect emotions. I am wealthy in that the people of Russia have twice entrusted me with the leadership of a great nation such as Russia – I believe that is my greatest wealth.

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.

90% of all millionaires become so through owning real estate.

The only wealth I have to give is not material and if you need much more than that, I’m not available.

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.

Abramovich’s got six yachts which are just gigantic and you think, ‘What a waste of money. He could transform so many people’s lives if he put that money to good use.

very day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work.

He is richest who is content with the least.