Rockefellers, Heirs to an Oil Fortune, Will Divest Charity From Fossil Fuels

NY Times ^ | September 21, 2014 | John Schwartz

[Zakeet]

John D. Rockefeller built a vast fortune on oil. Now his heirs are abandoning fossil fuels.

The family whose legendary wealth flowed from Standard Oil is planning to announce on Monday that its $860 million philanthropic organization, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, is joining the divestment movement that began a couple years ago on college campuses.

The announcement, timed to precede Tuesday’s opening of the United Nations climate change summit meeting in New York City, is part of a broader and accelerating initiative.

In recent years, 180 institutions — including philanthropies, religious organizations, pension funds and local governments — as well as hundreds of wealthy individual investors have pledged to sell assets tied to fossil fuel companies from their portfolios and to invest in cleaner alternatives.

[Zakeet]

If they were really sincere, those Libtards would stop heating their homes with natural gas, quit flying in planes and stop driving in cars ... and they would divest themselves of all their ill-gotten trust funds!

[Dilbert San Diego]

Good points. But liberals are not known for being intellectually honest in their positions.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Now his heirs are abandoning fossil fuels.

So what does that mean? The money all of the sudden didn't come from fossil fuels? Their vast fortune was now made in dry goods or shipping? They are a bunch of freaking hypocrites. If they really want to "abandon" fossil fuels, they would give away every penny that was derived from fossil fuels, not just sell the investments. What they want is to get the good liberal publicity that comes from not being invested in fossil fuels while still keeping the money that John D. made in fossil fuels.

[Daveinyork]

Obviously the Rockefellers have been reproducing too much and for too long.

[DariusBane]

These trust fund dolts are bored whiny and feckless. They have never known want. They have never had.physical confrontation that a body guard wouldn't handle. They have probably never known fear except when the hairdresser dyed the poodles the wrong color. Their Grandpa would throw up.

[headstamp 2]

More PC horsesh** from liberal hypocrites.

Good, maybe they can blow their money on alternative energy boondoggles instead of the US taxpayer.

[silverleaf]

Instead of wallowing in filthy lucre, maybe they should give all of ol’ grandpa JD’s fossil fuel money to the UN and start a new empire founded on Chinese windmills and solar panels

Walk the Walk and all that

[SECURE AMERICA]

So fossil fuels run the world and will do so for the for see able future and because people want to “feel good” about themselves they are all walking away from it? Asshats!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

In recent years, 180 institutions — including philanthropies, religious organizations, pension funds and local governments — as well as hundreds of wealthy individual investors have pledged to sell assets tied to fossil fuel companies from their portfolios and to invest in cleaner alternatives.

Sounds like a buying opportunity . . . if you actually think that they are selling to get out instead of selling to make money. But in any event, they are hypocritical to claim that it is immoral to own the stock, but moral to sell it to someone less moral than themselves.

They should give it to me.

[boycott]

If they’re truly so honorable, they all need to give up all their inheritance. I am pretty sure they hypocrites won’t be doing that.

[drypowder]

but they’re hanging on to their Federal Reserve Bank investment and control?

[wjr123]

What is it about multigenerational wealth that makes the heirs stupid?

[woodbutcher1963]

With few exceptions almost ALL liberals are hypocrites. The "actor" Ed Begley Jr. is one of the very few that seems to walk the walk. I have a coworker that is married to a liberal woman. She came from money. We got into a discussion at a company gathering about our towns transfer station/dump. We do not have trash pick up in our town of 12K. You must take it to the transfer station at the site of the former landfill. It costs money to haul the trash away. Therefore, everything recycled either saves money(per ton)or actually makes money. When the 30' aluminum dumpster fills up it is worth about $25K. Anyway it turned out that they(the liberals) had NEVER recycled. It was too much of a bother for them. Another rich democrat in my office has always paid to have someone else come collect their trash and also never recycles. I personally look at it as a way to save my town money and keep my taxes lower.

[Graybeard58]

Their Grandpa would throw up.

Their grand father (John D.) served his local church for years as the volunteer janitor.

[mj1234]

I am not so sure it is stupid..

My feeling their “divestment” is a way of
moving LARGE sums of cash to other “ventures”
and NOT HAVING to account for that movement.

Again- ..look at the Clintooon global initiative-
TAX free philanthropy??- hardly- at the top of that CESS pool- (Just like the Rockefeller’s) Chelsea Clintooon
HAs NOT A CLUE WHAT SHE SHOULD BE DOING— bUT GETS A
HEFTY 6-FIGURE CHECK for ....nothing- Oh well onto Hawaii!

[minnesota_bound]

#12 What is it about multigenerational wealth that makes the heirs stupid?

They do not work at the company business. With any luck all the Rockefeller money will be gone by the next generation. Example is the Vanderbilt family members who were once very rich but now are broke except 2 who struck out on their own.
http://www.earlytorise.com/how-the-worlds-richest-family-went-broke/#

My grandfather started a business in 1908 and was successful and the 4 sons expanded the business a bit then coasted (2 lived elsewhere in the country and were engineers). My dad sold his interest back in the 1980’s.

The son who was left passed away and the first thing his 2 sons wanted was a raise in pay. They eventually bought out their 2 uncles (after a dozen years) as the uncles were in their 80’s. They then sold the business to a competitor without telling the other family members that same year. The plan all along was to get the money and run. They are in their 50’s and will spend much of it before they pass away.

In short it takes only a few dummies or greedy family members to lose all the money. Their kids in all likelihood will have very little to inherit.