Example of generational wealth
The Rockefeller fortune is probably the best-known U.S. example of a family that has benefited from generational wealth. John D. Rockefeller, who built Standard Oil into a monopoly that controlled oil and gas production in the United States in the early 1900s, built a business empire that's been estimated to be worth as much as $400 billion in current dollars.
Instead of directly handing his wealth to his three children when he died in 1937, Rockefeller created a series of trusts, foundations, and other holdings that avoided probate and many taxes. Even though the number of direct descendants who receive money from the trusts is estimated to be 150 or more, his family fortune remains estimated in the billions.