The Rockefeller Method: The Blueprint for Protecting, Growing, and Passing on Legacy Wealth

The Rockefeller Method is a comprehensive strategy for establishing and transferring generational wealth. This proven approach works effectively whether your inheritance plans involve $1 million or $100 million.

But it’s not just about passing down financial wealth. It’s also about passing on core values, possibilities, and financial empowerment to future generations.

We are one of the few licensed professionals in the world to use the Rockefeller Method. The method originates with the Rockefeller family and was formalized by our partner Garrett Gunderson. He explains it in detail in his bestselling book What Would the Rockefellers Do?. Click here to get your free copy now.

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Benefits of the Rockefeller Method

You can do more than just leave your kids better off than you were. You can spark a financial legacy of wealth, contribution, and empowerment that lasts for generations. You can create a family fortune that lives on in perpetuity.

And you can do it without creating “trust fund babies” who know how to spend money and little else. Instead, your wealth can be used to empower future generations. It can act as a launchpad for all of their endeavors, whether professional, academic, charitable, or entrepreneurial.

The Rockefeller Method:

Enables wealth transfer from $1M to $100M+ while preserving family values.
Provides privacy protection and tax efficiency through trust structures.
Coordinates all financial advisors under unified management.
Strengthens family bonds through structured meetings and traditions.
Guides future decisions through an adaptable Family Constitution.
Protects assets using strategic life insurance policies.
Allows each generation to build on previous success.
Keeps loan interest within the family instead of paying external institutions.
And more!

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The Origins of the Rockefeller Method

The story begins with John D. Rockefeller, who established Standard Oil in 1870. His success led him to become the wealthiest individual in American history. At his passing in 1937, his fortune was worth $1.5 billion. That’s equivalent to approximately $300-400 billion in contemporary terms. Yet what’s even more remarkable is the family’s success in maintaining their wealth after John’s lifetime. Today, six generations later, the family oversees assets exceeding $10 billion. The family trust provides interest income to approximately 200 Rockefeller descendants. They collectively contribute up to $50 million to philanthropic causes annually. They’ve been able to do this by employing what Garrett Gunderson now calls the Rockefeller Method.

The Rockefeller Method is Built on the Family Legacy Rings

The Rockefeller Method is the synthesis of what we call the “Family Legacy Rings.” These crucial elements include:

The Family Office
The Family Retreat
The Family Constitution

These interconnected components work together to establish an enduring legacy.

The Family Office

The original Rockefeller family employed a dedicated team of financial specialists. These include legal counsel, accounting professionals, investment specialists, and risk management experts. They all working exclusively for the family interests. This traditional model of the Family Office typically requires assets exceeding $300 million. But modern families can access similar benefits through shared or virtual Family Office services. The key lies in maintaining cohesion among your financial advisors. You want to ensure that they share a unified vision and work collaboratively. Managing finances in isolation often creates vulnerability and leads to financial inefficiencies. It can result in coordination problems or even internal conflicts.

The Family Retreat

Creating lasting family bonds requires purposeful planning, clear structure, meaningful dialogue, and leadership through example. Essential elements include scheduled gatherings with clear objectives, established family protocols, and meaningful traditions. These regular meetings and retreats facilitate the transmission of family values. They foster the development of shared customs, rituals, and understanding.

The Family Constitution

This expanded family mission statement guides decision-making processes and ensures responsible resource allocation. It provides carefully structured incentive planning, trustee oversight, and clearly articulated principles. The goal is to only benefit your heirs when they demonstrate responsible stewardship of family resources. The Family Constitution provides adaptable guidance for an uncertain future. It establishes principles, values, and frameworks that inform decisions affecting future generations. It offers a solid structure. But it’s still flexible enough to adapt to technological and societal changes.

The Rockefeller Method Secures Your Legacy for Future Generations

The Rockefeller Method keeps your family wealth consolidation through strategically designed trusts. A key component involves securing optimally structured whole life insurance policies for family members. These provide both asset protection and generational empowerment. Trust structures offer multiple advantages. These include privacy protection, probate avoidance, and tax efficiency. They can also include provisions for maintaining consolidated assets alongside family unity. Without proper trust planning, court intervention becomes necessary. This makes your financial matters public record. Through trust implementation, you can maintain control while technically owning nothing. This is fundamental principle of the Rockefeller Method. This structure enables each generation to build upon previous success rather than starting anew. Your legacy can support entrepreneurial ventures, or fund educational pursuits without debt burden. You can empower descendants to pursue meaningful initiatives aligned with their purpose and value creation goals.

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The Role of Life Insurance in the Rockefeller Method

Within the Rockefeller Method framework, trust beneficiaries receive whole life insurance coverage from birth. They maximize their available coverage. This strategy ensures trust sustainability even if borrowed funds cannot be repaid. The death benefit serves as a crucial safety net against potential trust depletion from tax changes, inflation, or economic downturns. Protective measures ensure trust preservation through life insurance if loans remain outstanding. When loans are repaid, interest flows back into the family trust rather than to external financial institutions. This strengthens the family’s financial position. This structure can support various initiatives, from experiential learning to entrepreneurial ventures. Borrowing parameters can be customized based on trust assets and family objectives. A carefully selected board utilizes the Family Constitution to guide trust decisions. This governing body represents your interests posthumously, providing education, mentorship, and wealth protection. Without proper trust planning, court intervention becomes necessary. This makes your financial matters public record. Through trust implementation, you can maintain control while technically owning nothing. This is fundamental principle of the Rockefeller Method. This structure enables each generation to build upon previous success rather than starting anew. Your legacy can support entrepreneurial ventures, or fund educational pursuits without debt burden. You can empower descendants to pursue meaningful initiatives aligned with their purpose and value creation goals.

Your Rockefeller Method Plan Must Be Designed Properly

Successful execution of the Rockefeller Method extends beyond just getting life insurance. It demands comprehensive planning and properly structured policies. Not all insurance products or providers offer equal benefits. Policy design requires careful consideration.

Maximize Human Life Value Protection

The first job of whole life insurance is to protect your full human life value.

“Human life value” encompasses more than earnings potential. It includes character, health, knowledge, experience, education, judgment, initiative, and value creation capacity.

Optimal Policy Funding

Essential to the Rockefeller Method is strategic policy funding to maximize the living benefits of whole life. This approach involves supplementing required premiums with additional contributions, known as paid-up additions.

This accelerates early-year returns. It reduces the typical decade-plus waiting period for positive yields. Simultaneously, it increases both cash value and death benefit.

Careful attention to funding limits prevents compromise of tax advantages.

Select the Ideal Insurance Provider

Implementation requires careful insurance company selection. Understanding the distinction between stock and mutual insurers is crucial. Stock insurers trade publicly. Mutual insurers, on the other hand operate without public shares. They focus on policyholder benefits rather than external shareholder returns. Participating mutual insurance companies offer distinct advantages for the Rockefeller Method. Stock insurers splitting profits between stockholders and policyholders. But mutual companies prioritize policyholder interests as owners. Our criteria for choosing insurance companies includes:

Top-tier ratings from major agencies
Century-plus operational history
Consistent dividend payment record
Fixed-rate loan options
Term-to-whole life conversion flexibility
Rapid cash value accumulation capability
Minimal overfunding restrictions

rockefeller method life insurance provider

Few participating mutual insurers meet all these requirements.

Proper strategy implementation demands meticulous planning and policy structuring. Suboptimal design can compromise benefits or potentially erode long-term wealth.

Want to learn more about the Rockefeller Method. Claim your free copy of What Would the Rockefellers Do? now.

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