As the Asian Cultural Council marks 55 years of supporting pioneering artists and cross-cultural exchange, it’s a fifth-generation member of the founding Rockefeller family, Wendy O’Neill, who's at the helm
The philanthropic reputation of the Rockerfeller family stands as strong now as it did a century ago. Throughout John D Rockefeller Sr’s life, the oil tycoon donated some US$540 million to modern medicine, including funding the Peking Union Medical College in Beijing, which opened in 1917.
But lesser known is the family’s contribution to Asian art and culture, channelled through the Asian Cultural Council founded by John D Rockefeller III in 1963 and chaired today by his great-granddaughter Wendy O’Neill.
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“More investment in the arts, that’s what the world needs,” says Wendy, who in 2009 became a trustee of the council, which helps support talented individuals pursuing a career in the visual and performing arts by offering cultural exchanges in the US or Asia.
As it celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, the council operates chapters in Hong Kong, New York, Manila, Tokyo and Taipei, and has bestowed 6,000 grants in 20 different artistic disciplines across 26 countries.
Continuing a legacy
Wendy’s background prepared her well to continue her great-grandfather’s legacy in Asia.
She grew up witnessing her parents’ involvement in philanthropy from a young age—they formed a community foundation in her US hometown and would have meetings at the house—before going on to Harvard and Radcliffe College, where her studies focused on East Asia, and to receive an MA in history (with a specialty in Chinese history) from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Philanthropy “was just always around me,” says Wendy. In 2001, by then living in Hong Kong with her husband and children, Wendy joined the charitable donations committee of the American Women’s Association of Hong Kong and was chairman for three years.
“It made my experience here in Hong Kong more rewarding,” she says. “There are a lot of really inspirational people in Hong Kong who have devoted their time to good causes.” In 2005, she joined the board of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and went on to become a trustee at the China Medical Board and the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors—all now in addition to her current position as chairman of the Asian Cultural Council.