James Stillman Rockefeller

James Stillman Rockefeller (June 8, 1902 – August 10, 2004) was a member of the prominent U.S. Rockefeller family. He won an Olympic rowing title for the United States then became president of Citigroup. He was a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History and a member of the board of overseers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Parent(s)

• William Goodsell Rockefeller
• Elsie Stillman

Relatives

• James Stillman, maternal grandfather

Personal life

He was born on June 8, 1902 to William Goodsell Rockefeller and Elsie Stillman in New York City.

He graduated from Yale University in 1924, where he was elected to Scroll and Key and Phi Beta Kappa. He was also a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. That same year Rockefeller captained a crew of Yale teammates that included Benjamin Spock. They won a gold medal in rowing at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

He appeared on the cover of Time magazine on July 7, 1924.

He spent six years with the Wall Street banking firm of Brown Bros. & Co..

On April 15, 1925, he married Nancy Carnegie, grandniece of Andrew Carnegie.

During World War II, Rockefeller served in the Airborne Command.

He had four children: James Jr., Nancy, Andrew, and Georgia.

He lived in Greenwich, Connecticut in a 19,000-square-foot (1,800 m2) brick Georgian mansion, built in 1929, with 11 bedrooms and 16 marble bathrooms on four levels. There are 12 fireplaces, an elevator, an outdoor pool and English gardens.

He joined the National City Bank in New York in 1930 and was president from 1952 to 1959 and chairman from 1959 to 1967. He retired as chairman in 1967.

He became the full owner of Long Valley Farm near Spring Lake in Cumberland County and Harnett County, North Carolina in January 1937.

He died on August 10, 2004 in Greenwich, Connecticut following a stroke.

Legacy

Rockefeller was survived by four children, fourteen grandchildren, thirty-seven great-grandchildren, and one great-great granddaughter. His house was sold in 2004 for $13.4 million and resold again in 2009 for $23.9 million. His wife, Nancy Carnegie Rockefeller, died in 1994 after 68 years of marriage.

Business career

Rockefeller joined the National City Bank in 1930 after working at Brown Brothers Harriman and served as  It was during his tenure that the bank merged with the smaller First National Bank and took the name The First National City Bank of New York.

Under each of his successors, the bank's name has changed: George Moore shortened it to "First National City Bank" and formed a holding company, First National City Corp.; under Walter B. Wriston these became "Citibank" and "Citicorp"; under John Reed the firm merged with Travelers Group to become Citigroup.

James Stillman Rockefeller also concerned himself with other family investments, and prior to his death was America's oldest living Olympic champion, and the earliest living cover subject of Time magazine.