David Rockefeller

When you have a lot of resources, the most important thing is to have had good parents and to have been brought up by people who gave one the proper values.

Mother's interest in contemporary American artists emerged during the 1920s.

Much corporate giving is charitable in nature rather than philanthropic.

My grandfather, along with Carnegie, was a pioneer in philanthropy, which my father then practiced on a very large scale.

Only once in my life was I on the edge of incivility. I do not like to be unkind.

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.

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 Christian ethic played an essential part in my upbringing.

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.

The Japanese banks are not having an easy time as they once had.

They decided to establish a museum of modern art where works by contemporary artists would be shown. Mother was viewed as a very progressive person, and not everybody liked the paintings she bought.

When I see something I like, I buy it, but I do not look for it madly.

MoMA is doubling its space, and I decided to raise the money for it.

I am never angry, although sometimes distressed.

I realize how fortunate I have been; mine has been a wonderful life.

I was brought up feeling that art is a very important part of one's life. It's something that I not only enjoy, it's something I can share with others.

For more than 40 years, I have advocated the creation of a 'round the clock' community. This would mean, at the least, housing, schools and shops of various kinds alongside the commercial buildings. That kind of community had appeared in lower Manhattan in nascent form before Sept. 11, 2001.

I think of art as the highest level of creativity. I was exposed to it since I was very small.

I am a passionate traveler, and from the time I was a child, travel formed me as much as my formal education. In order to appreciate cultures of another nation, one needs to go there, know the people and mingle with the culture of that country. One way to do that, if one is lucky enough, is to buy things from those cultures.

Money can add very much to one's ability to lead a constructive life, not only pleasant for oneself, but, hopefully, beneficial to others. My grandfather, along with Carnegie, was a pioneer in philanthropy, which my father then practiced on a very large scale. The Christian ethic played an essential part in my upbringing.

My own interest in art was because of my mother. My father didn't like contemporary art, so he didn't give her large sums to spend. So, she began buying prints and drawings. During my school days, I remember sitting in on many of the early meetings.

Harvard has played an important role in my life. I was a student, Class of 1936, and I've been on the board of overseers. My experiences there shaped who I am.

Mother liked beauty wherever she found it, and she found it in many different places, both in nature and in contemporary art. And that's where they pretty much parted company. Father... anything that was abstract would to him automatically be not very good.

It is true that I am often startled and even angered and repulsed by the strange directions and provocative content of new forms that seem to pop up every few months.

I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one's life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important.