David Rockefeller (1915-2017) was an American banker and philanthropist who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation from 1969 to 1981. As the grandson of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller, he wielded enormous influence across finance, foreign policy, and international development. His personal wealth and institutional reach made him one of the most powerful private citizens in the United States for much of the twentieth century. Rockefeller founded the Trilateral Commission in 1973, a private organization bringing together leaders from North America, Europe, and Japan to foster cooperation among democratic industrialized nations. He was also a longtime member and leader within the Council on Foreign Relations. These affiliations, combined with his family's vast wealth, made him a perennial target of [[Conspiracy Theory]] narratives alleging secretive global governance and so-called "New World Order" schemes. Such theories have persisted across both left-wing and right-wing populist movements for decades. His career exemplifies the intersection of [[Plutocracy]] and policy influence that characterizes twentieth-century American elite networks. Critics have pointed to the Rockefeller family's extensive philanthropic and political spending as a form of [[Dark Money]] that shaped public institutions while circumventing democratic accountability, though much of the family's giving was conducted through transparent foundations.