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September 5, 2008 6:05:47 PM CDT

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Rockefellers Pump Exxon Execs for Changes

Posted May 24, 08 1:58 PM CDT in Business 

(Newser) – Executives at Exxon are bracing for an onslaught from the Rockefeller family, whose patriarch founded the oil firm’s predecessor a century ago, the Wall Street Journal reports. Led by John D. Rockefeller’s great-granddaughter, the family wants Exxon to pursue renewable forms of energy and appoint an independent chairman.

Despite their powerful name, the family faces an uphill fight: They own a tiny percentage of shares, Exxon says, and the company just posted the highest profits ever for an American firm. But that hasn’t stopped four generations of Rockefellers from taking action. “They are trying to remove the stain of oil from the family name,” explained one historian.

Source Wall Street Journal

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Rex Tillerson, chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil, has rebuffed efforts by the Rockefeller family to make the company more environmentally friendly.   (AP Photo/CP, Jeff McIntosh)
Neva Goodwin Rockefeller is spearheading a family effort to persuade Exxon to give directors more say in how the company is run.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Neva Rockefeller Goodwin and Peter O'Neill, descendants of John D. Rockefeller, hold a news conference in New York.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Some members of the Rockefeller family want ExxonMobil to look for more renewable types of energy.   (AP Photo/LM Otero, file)
Members of the Rockefeller family called Exxon to split the roles of chairman and CEO and give directors more say in how the company is run.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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global warming  • oil  • shareholders  • ExxonMobil  • John D. Rockefeller  • Rockefeller family  • Rex Tillerson



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