My grandfather, along with Carnegie, was a pioneer in philanthropy, which my father then practiced on a very large scale.
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.
I think I am basically a happy person.
Successful charitable fund-raising has much in common with managing a business: It requires leadership, persistence, and creativity.
I think of art as the highest level of creativity. To me, it is one of the greatest sources of enjoyment.
Money can add very much to one’s ability to lead a constructive life, not only pleasant for oneself, but, hopefully, beneficial to others.
Philanthropy is involved with basic innovations that transform society, not simply maintaining the status quo or filling basic social needs that were formerly the province of the public sector.
I do not like to be unkind.
The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.
The attacks on the World Trade Center and the current economic recession, which is particularly powerful in New York City, have put a number of building plans on hold for the time being.
The conventional notions of art have changed, and a lot of things done today are considered works of art that would have been rejected in the past.
Eventually, most people felt MoMA had filled a very important gap.
I learned more from my mother than from all the art historians and curators who have informed me about technical aspects of art history and art appreciation over the years.
Much corporate giving is charitable in nature rather than philanthropic.
The Christian ethic played an essential part in my upbringing.
The Japanese banks are not having an easy time as they once had.
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.
I owe much to mother. She had an expert’s understanding, but also approached art emotionally.
The role of a museum of modern art is to make a good selection and identify what we believe to be the coming movements, and that requires taste.
I can only say that I have had a wonderful life.