John D. Rockefeller: The Report His Father NEVER Saw

In 1934 a man of sixty signed trust deeds written to govern people who would not be born for another eighty years. They are still running, and nobody outside the family has read them. Told in 16 parts across about 66 minutes, from contemporary photographs, official records and first-hand accounts. Every claim in the narration is sourced; where the record is contested, the film says so rather than choosing the better story. Chapters 0:00 Ledger A 3:48 Job Day 6:45 The machine that made it 9:42 Forest Hill, and one bicycle 12:43 The wife's name on the building 15:34 Hiring the minister 18:48 Three institutions in eight years 23:32 Tainted money 27:38 Congress says no 31:31 Ludlow 37:44 The people it made strangers 41:00 The plan, in writing 46:45 What the son bought with it 51:12 One checkbook, and what the century bought 56:28 The one who wanted votes 1:01:01 The great-grandson in the coalfields Attribution Archive material in this film comes from Wikimedia Commons and the Internet Archive. 230 images in this film are public domain or CC0 and carry no attribution condition. CC BY 2.0 - Brian Gratwicke from DC, USA; Henning Klokkeråsen from Oslo, Norway; James St. John; Jorge Láscar from Australia; Kheel Center; Michael Vadon; rosemanios CC BY 3.0 - John Bohlinger; Kla.TV CC BY 4.0 - APK; Jeffrey Beall; Los Angeles Times (?); source credits the Los Angeles Daily CC BY-SA 2.0 - Ben Brooksbank; InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA; Joetography LLC; Patrick Nouhailler; Ted Eytan; Tim Evanson; Tim Evanson from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA CC BY-SA 3.0 - Globetrotter19; Pechristener CC BY-SA 4.0 - Alvaro77777; CraigPattersonPhotographer; Dietmar Rabich; John D. Rockefeller Jr.; Kenneth C. Zirkel; Smash the Iron Cage; Steven Lek; unsigned Every image is listed individually, with its source URL and licence, in the film's own credits file. Disclosure This film is narrated with a synthetic (text-to-speech) voice. The photographs and footage are archival and are listed above. Where no archive image of a described moment exists, a small minority of shots may be AI-generated; these are the exception, not the body of the film.