Alida Rockefeller Messinger | |
---|---|
Born | Alida Ferry Rockefeller 1948 (age 74–75) New York, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouses | |
Children | 3 |
Parent(s) | John D. Rockefeller III Blanchette Ferry Hooker |
Relatives | See Rockefeller family |
Alida Rockefeller Messinger (born 1948) is an American philanthropist who is an heir to the Rockefeller family fortune. [1]
A donor to Democratic candidates and environmentalist causes, she is the former of wife of Minnesota governor and U.S. Senator Mark Dayton. [2] Messinger is also a sister of ex-West Virginia governor and U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller. She has notably been a major donor to progressive political causes in her home state of Minnesota. [3]
Outside of activism, she is a former trustee of the Rockefeller Family Fund, a public charity started by her father and his siblings. Her great-grandfather is John D. Rockefeller, the founder of the Standard Oil Company and widely considered to be the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. [4]
Messinger was born in 1948. She is the youngest daughter of John Davison Rockefeller III (1906–78) and Blanchette Ferry Hooker (1909–92), [5] and a fourth-generation member of the Rockefeller family. Her brother is former Senator John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born 1937). [6]
Messinger's father began to teach her about philanthropy when she was five years old. [7] She has said, "My father and mother's greatest fear was that their four children might take their wealth for granted and grow up spoiled and arrogant ... They wanted us to learn early that with wealth comes responsibility." [7]
Messinger is a major donor to conservation [8] and environmental organizations. Her Alida R. Messinger Charitable Trust also funds conservation and environmental groups, as does the Rockefeller Family Fund, founded in 1967, of which she is a trustee.
Messinger also contributes financially to the Center for Public Integrity. [6] She is a significant political donor to progressive and Democratic causes, donating millions of dollars. [9] [3]
From 1978 to 1986, she was married to Mark Dayton (b. 1947), the son of Bruce Dayton, who was part of a family that started the retail store that eventually became Target. Dayton later served as a United States senator for Minnesota from 2001 until 2007 and as Governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. Before divorcing in 1986, Messinger and Dayton had two sons together, Eric and Andrew Dayton. [10]
After the divorce, she married William Messinger, president of Aureus, an addiction recovery organization. [6] They have one daughter.
Mark Brandt Dayton is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He served as a United States Senator representing Minnesota from 2001 to 2007 and as Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to 1995. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), which affiliates with the national Democratic Party.
John Davison Rockefeller Jr. was an American financier and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in Midtown Manhattan known as Rockefeller Center, making him one of the largest real estate holders in the city. Towards the end of his life, he was famous for his philanthropy, donating over $500 million to a wide variety of different causes, including educational establishments. Among his projects was the reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. He was widely blamed for having orchestrated the Ludlow Massacre and other offenses during the Colorado Coalfield War. Rockefeller was the father of six children: Abby, John III, Nelson, Laurance, Winthrop, and David.
John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV is a retired American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Virginia (1977–1985). Rockefeller moved to Emmons, West Virginia, to serve as a VISTA worker in 1964 and was first elected to public office as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates (1966-1968). Rockefeller was later elected secretary of state of West Virginia (1968–1973) and was president of West Virginia Wesleyan College (1973–1975). He became the state's senior U.S. senator when the long-serving Senator Robert Byrd died in June 2010.
John Davison Rockefeller III was an American philanthropist. Rockefeller was the eldest son and second child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller as well as a grandson of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was engaged in a wide range of philanthropic projects, many of which his family had launched, as well as supporting organizations related to East Asian affairs. Rockefeller was also a major supporter of the Population Council, and the committee that created the Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
The Rockefeller family is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brothers John D. Rockefeller and William A. Rockefeller Jr., primarily through Standard Oil. The family had a long association with, and control of, Chase Manhattan Bank. By 1977, the Rockefellers were considered one of the most powerful families in American history. The Rockefeller family originated in Rhineland in Germany and family members moved to the Americas in the early 18th century, while through Eliza Davison, with family roots in Middlesex County, New Jersey, John D. Rockefeller and William A. Rockefeller Jr. and their descendants are also of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
Abigail Aldrich Rockefeller was an American philanthropist and the daughter of American financier John D. Rockefeller Jr. and a granddaughter of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller.
Christy Ruth Walton is the widow of John T. Walton, one of the sons of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart.
Hope Aldrich Rockefeller is a retired American newspaper publisher and businesswoman.
Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman Rockefeller was an American abolitionist, philanthropist, school teacher, and prominent member of the Rockefeller family. Her husband was Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial were named for her.
Margaret Anne Cargill was an American philanthropist and heiress to part of the Cargill fortune.
Sharon Lee Percy Rockefeller is the wife of former West Virginia Senator John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV and served as that state's First Lady from 1977 to 1985.
Jon Lloyd Stryker is an American architect, philanthropist, and billionaire heir to the Stryker Corporation medical technology company fortune.
Blanchette Ferry Rockefeller was an American art sponsor, twice president of the Museum of Modern Art, and wife of John D. Rockefeller III and mother of Jay Rockefeller.
Evelyn D. Haas was a San Francisco Bay Area civic leader and philanthropist. She was the co-founder of the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund which has contributed more than $364 million to Bay Area cultural, civic, and social service organizations.
Ken Martin is an American political figure from Minnesota. He is currently Chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party, President of the Association of State Democratic Committees, and a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Bruce Bliss Dayton was an American retail executive, businessman, heir to the Dayton's Company fortune, and philanthropist. Dayton was the last surviving member of the five Dayton brothers – all grandsons of George Dayton, the founder of The Dayton Company – who expanded Dayton's department store founded by their grandfather in downtown Minneapolis from a single location into the national Target Corporation, one of the largest retail store chains in the United States. Dayton served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Dayton Hudson Corporation, the company now known as the Target Corporation, before becoming the chairman of Dayton Hudson from 1970 to 1977.
Katharine Ordway was an American philanthropist who used her wealth for land preservation, including protecting the prairies of the Great Plains.
Valerie Blanchette Rockefeller Wayne is an American environmentalist, philanthropist and member of the Rockefeller family. She is a great-great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller. Wayne currently serves as co-chair of BankFWD, a network to persuade banks to phase out financing for fossil fuel and to lead on climate. She previously served as chair to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
... Alida Rockefeller Messinger, 40, says she was only 5 years old ...
Funders: In 2008, League of Conservation Voters' non-federal 527 received $275,000 from Alida Messinger;
.....the following contributors have donated $1 million dollars of more to various democratic-leaning 527s..... Alida R. Messinger, trustee for the Rockefeller Family Fund, has contributed $1,177,000 this election cycle.