David Rockefeller

“I think of art as the highest level of creativity. To me, it is one of the greatest sources of enjoyment.”

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

“The Japanese have a wonderful sense of design and a refinement in their art. They try to produce beautiful paintings with the minimum number of strokes.”

“I am a passionate traveler, and from the time I was a child, travel formed me as much as my formal education.”

“As children we recognized that we belonged to an unusual, even exceptional, family, but the effect was different on each of us.”

“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.”

“I believe that government is the servant of the people and not their master.”

“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.”

“I hope the Guggenheim plan will be revived.”

“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.”