Editing David Rockefeller (section)

== Career==
=== Government service===
After completing his studies in Chicago, he became secretary to New York Mayor [[Fiorello La Guardia]] for eighteen months in a "[[One-dollar salary|dollar a year]]" public service position. Although the mayor pointed out to the press that Rockefeller was only one of 60 interns in the city government, his working space was the vacant office of the deputy mayor.<ref>{{harvp|Harr|Johnson|1988|p=392}}</ref> From 1941 to 1942, Rockefeller was assistant regional director of the United States Office of Defense, Health and Welfare Services.

=== Military ===
Rockefeller enlisted in the [[United States Army]] and entered [[Officer Candidate School (United States Army)|Officer Candidate School]] in 1943. He was promoted to [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] in 1945. During World War II he served in North Africa and France (he spoke fluent French) for [[military intelligence]], setting up political and economic intelligence units. He served as a "[[Ritchie Boys|Ritchie Boy]]" secret unit specially trained at [[Fort Ritchie, Maryland]].<ref>CBS, "60 Minutes," Season 53, episode 34, first presented May 9, 2021.</ref> For seven months he served as an assistant military attaché at the [[Diplomatic missions of the United States|American Embassy]] in Paris. During this period, he called on family contacts and Standard Oil executives for assistance.<ref>{{harvp|Rockefeller|2002|p=113}}</ref><!-- assistance with what? -->

=== Banking ===
[[File:Investcorp, Dr. Jawad Hashim, David Rockefeller, Nemir Kirdar.jpg|thumb|David Rockefeller meeting Iraqi financiers Jawad Hashim and [[Nemir Kirdar]] in 1979.]]
In 1946, Rockefeller joined the staff of the longtime family-associated Chase National Bank.<ref name="nytimes">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/business/david-rockefeller-dead-chase-manhattan-banker.html?_r=0 |title=David Rockefeller, Philanthropist and Head of Chase Manhattan, Dies at 101 |last= Kandell |first= Jonathan |access-date=March 20, 2017 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 20, 2017}}</ref> The chairman at that time was Rockefeller's uncle [[Winthrop W. Aldrich]].<ref name="The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives: M-Z">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IzQOAQAAMAAJ |title=The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives: M-Z |publisher=C. Scribner's Sons |year=2003 |isbn=9780684312224 |editor-last=O'Neill |editor-first=William L. O'Neill |edition=illustrated |page=270}}</ref> The Chase Bank was primarily a wholesale bank,<ref name="A Financial History of the United States: From Christopher Columbus to the Robber Barons (1492-1900)">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YRjmQLOscGoC&pg=PA308 |title=A Financial History of the United States: From Christopher Columbus to the Robber Barons (1492-1900) |last=Markham |first=Jerry W.  |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |year=2002 |isbn=9780765607300 |edition=illustrated |page=308}}</ref> dealing with other prominent financial institutions and major corporate clients such as [[General Electric]], which had, through its [[RCA]] affiliate, leased prominent space and become a crucial first tenant of [[Rockefeller Center]] in 1930. The bank is closely associated with and has financed the [[oil industry]], having longstanding connections with its board of directors to the successor companies of Standard Oil, especially [[ExxonMobil]]. Chase National became the [[Chase Bank|Chase Manhattan Bank]] in 1955<ref name="nytimes"/> and shifted significantly into consumer banking. It is now called [[JPMorgan Chase]].<ref name="International Business Law: Cases and Materials">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tblUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT97 |title=International Business Law: Cases and Materials |last=Cameron III |first=George D. |publisher=Van Rye Publishing, LLC |year=2015 |isbn=9780990367147 |page=97}}</ref>

Rockefeller started as an assistant manager in the foreign department. There he financed international trade in a number of commodities, such as coffee, sugar and metals. This position maintained relationships with more than 1,000 correspondent banks throughout the world. He served in other positions and became president in 1960. He was both the chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan from 1969 to 1980 and remained chairman until 1981. He was also, as recently as 1980, the single largest individual shareholder of the bank, holding 1.7% of its shares.<ref>"The Change at David's Bank", ''Time'', September 1, 1980.</ref>

During his term as CEO, Chase spread internationally and became a central component of the world's financial system due to its global network of correspondent banks, the largest in the world. In 1973, Chase established the first branch of an American bank in Moscow, in the then [[Soviet Union]]. That year Rockefeller traveled to China, resulting in his bank becoming the National Bank of China's first correspondent bank in the U.S.<ref name="jpmorganchase">{{Cite web |url=https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/About-JPMC/document/shorthistory.pdf |title=The History of JPMorgan Chase & Co. |website=www.jpmorganchase.com |access-date=March 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412231822/https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/About-JPMC/document/shorthistory.pdf |archive-date=April 12, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During this period, Chase Manhattan expanded its influence over many non-financial corporations. A 1979 study titled "The Significance of Bank Control over Large Corporations"<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kotz|first=David|date=1979|title=The Significance of Bank Control over Large Corporations|journal=Journal of Economic Issues|volume=13|issue=2|pages=407–426|doi=10.1080/00213624.1979.11503647|jstor=4224816}}</ref> provided an estimate for which large U.S.-based financial institutions had the most control over other corporations. The study finds that: {{blockquote|"The Rockefeller-controlled Chase Manhattan Bank tops the list, controlling 16 companies."}}He was faulted for spending excessive amounts of time abroad, and during his tenure as CEO the bank had more troubled loans than any other major bank. Chase owned more New York City securities in the mid-1970s, when the city was nearing bankruptcy. A scandal erupted in 1974 when an audit found that losses from bond trading had been understated. In 1975 the bank was branded a "problem bank" by the [[Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve]].<ref name="nytimes" />

From 1974 to 1976, Chase earnings fell 36 percent while those of its biggest rivals rose 12 to 31 percent. The bank's earnings more than doubled between 1976 and 1980, far outpacing its rival [[Citibank]] in [[return on assets]]. By 1981 the bank's finances were restored to full health.<ref name="nytimes" />

In November 1979, while chairman of the Chase Bank, Rockefeller became embroiled in an international incident when he and [[Henry Kissinger]], along with [[John J. McCloy]] and Rockefeller aides, persuaded President [[Jimmy Carter]] through the [[United States Department of State]] to admit the Shah of Iran, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], into the United States for hospital treatment for [[lymphoma]]. This action directly precipitated what is known as the [[Iran hostage crisis]] and placed Rockefeller under intense media scrutiny, particularly from ''[[The New York Times]]'', for the first time in his public life.<ref>{{harvp|Rockefeller|2002|pp=356–375}}</ref>

Rockefeller retired from active management of the bank in 1981, succeeded by his protégé [[Willard C. Butcher]]. Former Chase chairman John J. McCloy said at the time that he believed Rockefeller would not go down in history as a great banker but rather as a "real personality, as a distinguished and loyal member of the community".<ref name="nytimes" />