Alida Rockefeller Messinger (born 1948) is an American philanthropist who is an heir to the

Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family ( ) is an American Industrial sector, industrial, political, and List of banking families, banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the History of the petroleum industry in th ...

fortune. A donor to Democratic candidates and

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

causes, she is the former of wife of former Minnesota governor and former U.S. Senator

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Minnesota, 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Minneso ...

, and also sister to former West Virginia governor and former U.S. Senator

Jay Rockefeller John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is an American retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Vir ...

. She has notably been a major donor to progressive political causes in her home state of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Outside of activism, she is a former trustee of the Rockefeller Family Fund, a public charity started by her father and his siblings. Her great-grandfather is

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

, the founder of the

Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company was a corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. The ...

and widely considered to be the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history.

Early life and family

Messinger was born in 1948. She is the youngest daughter of John Davison Rockefeller III (1906–78) and Blanchette Ferry Hooker (1909–92), and a fourth-generation member of the

. Her brother is former Senator John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born 1937). Messinger's father began to teach her about philanthropy when she was five years old. She has said, "My father and mother's greatest fear was that their four children might take their wealth for granted and grow up spoiled and arrogant ... They wanted us to learn early that with wealth comes responsibility."

Philanthropy

Messinger is a major donor to conservation and environmental organizations. Her Alida R. Messinger Charitable Trust also funds conservation and environmental groups, as does the Rockefeller Family Fund, founded in 1967, of which she is a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

. Messinger also contributes financially to the Center for Public Integrity. She is a significant political donor to progressive and Democratic causes, donating millions of dollars.

Personal life

From 1978 to 1986, she was married to

(b. 1947), the son of

Bruce Dayton Bruce Bliss Dayton (August 16, 1918 – November 13, 2015) was an American retail executive, businessman, heir to the Dayton's, Dayton's Company fortune, and philanthropist. Dayton was the last surviving member of the five Dayton brothers – ...

, who was part of a family that started the retail store that eventually became

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

. Dayton later served as a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

for

from 2001 until 2007 and as

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory ...

from 2011 to 2019. Before divorcing in 1986, Messinger and Dayton had two sons together, Eric and Andrew Dayton. After the divorce, she married William Messinger, president of Aureus, an addiction recovery organization. They have one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messinger, Alida Rockefeller 1948 births Living people Rockefeller family American philanthropists Dayton family Winthrop family

Early life and family

Philanthropy

Personal life

See also

References