Banker. He was well known as a leading international figure who was a key player in the drive to integrate economics and politics into a single worldwide system. He was born the youngest son of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He received a B.S. degree from Harvard University in 1936, did graduate work in economics at Harvard and at the London School of Economics, and earned his Ph.D from the University of Chicago in 1940. After serving in the United States Army during the Second World War, he joined the staff of Chase National Bank of New York where his maternal uncle Winthrop Aldrich was chairman of the board. He steadily rose in the hierarchy of the company to become senior vice president in 1952. In 1955 he was instrumental in the merger of Chase National and the Bank of the Manhattan Company that resulted in Chase Manhattan Bank. In 1969 he became chairman of the board of the bank and served in this position until 1981. During this time, he also served as the bank's CEO. His specialty became international banking, and he was a familiar figure to ministers and heads of state of various countries around the world, as well as to heads of multinational corporations. In 1973 he founded the Trilateral Commission, a private international organization designed to confront the challenges posed by globalization and to encourage greater cooperation between the United States and its principal allies (Canada, Japan, and the countries of western Europe). He attended and contributed financially to the Bilderberg Conference, an annual three-day meeting attended by approximately 100 of Europe's and North America's most influential bankers, economists, politicians, and government officials. He was also a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He dealt with both Republican and Democratic presidents during his career and served as an "unofficial" diplomat for various administrations. He, along with other members of his family, were also notable philanthropists who donated to numerous causes. At his passing, he was the oldest living member of the Rockefeller family.