HOME TO A REAL ROCKEFELLER
For most people in the UK the legacy of the Rockefeller banking dynasty boils down to one thing – a shorthand for spending lavishly.
Buy a bling pair of shoes or a flash car and your friends are likely to shout ‘oi, Rockefeller’ at you.
The family, which rose to prominence 140 years ago in the US, made its money from banking, oil and more recently investments in Apple computers.
The Rockefellers have been for many decades, and still are, one of the most influential dynasties in the US, pouring billions into philanthropic pursuits including medicine, education and the arts.
In March this year John D Rockefeller Junior, the last surviving offspring of the family’s founding father John D Rockefeller, died aged 101 leaving a fortune worth some £3bn.
In his time, he had been chairman and CEO of Chase Manhattan bank, owned huge hunks of US real estate and left an art collection that would put most national galleries to shame.
It is estimated that John D, together with his wife Peggy, gave away some $900m during their lifetimes.
Their five children inherited millions via family trusts and were given the chance to get first dibs on many of the couple’s properties, if they paid a fair market value.
But one of the homes, where the billionaire couple lived for almost 70 years, is now for sale after the children decided not to buy it.
It’s a Georgian-style eightbedroom townhouse on East 65th Street, New York, featuring four floors including a basement and a garden. Yours for $32.5m.
For more information visit TopTenRealEstateDeals.com