Philanthropy for Asian Families

What was it like growing up as part of one of the most storied American families? For Eileen Rockefeller Growald, great-granddaughter of John D Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil Company and the wealthiest man of his time, her mother had imbued in her a belief that just because you were born into wealth doesn’t mean you have to be different or treat people differently.

“Start from a place of acceptance, devise a purpose and passion to make the world a better place,” the Rockefeller scion shared with guests at a fireside chat, alongside her husband Paul Growald and Milken Institute president and COO, Richard Ditizio, at the National Gallery Singapore in June.

The Growalds are doing just that through the Growald Family Fund, a venture philanthropy fund focused on helping to reduce climate change through the use of clean energy. Eileen put it in perspective: climate change poses the greatest risk to all the issues we care about.

This was food for thought for the fellow philanthropists as well as business and community leaders in attendance. To tackle the problem, Paul believes in connecting organisations and people for a common purpose: “Look for the root cause and work with others to solve them.”

The Rockefellers are also avid art collectors. On how to start an art collection, Eileen enthused: “You have to love what you collect—you have to love what you live with, just like your spouse!”