Thrifty Lessons for the Grandkids
Rockefeller’s ingrained thriftiness was legendary. Even though he had many accountants, bookkeepers, and business managers, he insisted on looking at the books with his own eyes. He kept a pocket ledger, where he meticulously recorded his personal expenses every day. He wouldn’t allow his children and grandchildren to visit his offices when they were young so that they would be unaware of how wealthy the family was.
Laurance Rockefeller, Abby Rockefeller, John D. III, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, David Rockefeller, Winthrop Rockefeller, John D. Jr., and Nelson Rockefeller circa 1920. Photo by Everett Collection / Shutterstock
However, with the size of the company, their fortune was revealed to them anyway. He taught them his values about wastefulness and extravagance, even though he built luxurious houses. But he didn’t go as extreme as the rich guys of the day who built massive homes in Newport, Rhode Island, Massachusetts’ Berkshire Hills, and in the Hudson Valley of New York.