Herman Rockefeller

Herman Charles Rockefeller (25 January 1958 - 21/22 January 2010) was an American-born Australian millionaire businessman and property developer whose disappearance and murder received ongoing media and public interest.
Background
Rockefeller was born in Akron, Ohio to parents Herman Sr. and Enid. The family migrated to Australia in the 1960s. Herman Jr. attended Geelong College where he was dux in 1976. He subsequently studied at the University of Melbourne and Harvard Business School.
Rockefeller had extensive corporate experience in the finance and property development sectors. He was Chief Financial Officer for Visy Industries and Brierley Investments, and co-founder of Genesis Research and Development Corporation in New Zealand. Rockefeller was a director of numerous companies, including Carter Holt Harvey, Sky City, Molokai Ranch, Australian Convenience Foods and Asia Power. He was also an investment banker for Lehman Brothers.
Rockefeller and his brother Robert have extensive property interests in Tasmania. In 2005 they purchased 42 houses in the expensive suburbs of Sandy Bay, Battery Point, Dynnyrne and South Hobart from the University of Tasmania for $13.5 million. The brothers leased them to the Tasmania University Union for student housing, with plans to renovate the houses or demolish and redevelop the site. Other properties owned by the Rockefellers include a prime vacant block in the Hobart CBD and a building on Sandy Bay Road which is being redeveloped into apartments. In December 2009 one of the family's companies signed a $52 million deal to sell the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie to the Tasmanian Government. The Rockefeller family owned the hospital, built for $26 million in 1994, and leased to the Tasmanian Government. The brothers' company Nekon Pty Ltd also owns the Bayside Burnie Hotel and the Portside Building in Burnie.
On 25 January, Rockefeller's vehicle was found abandoned on Ballan-Daylesford Road, Ballan, Victoria.
Sightings of Rockefeller were reported in several areas throughout Victoria and New South Wales, including Gordon, Victoria and Kyneton, Victoria although police were not able to confirm any of the sightings.
As part of their initial investigation, Victoria Police turned to Rockefeller's Facebook page, seeking his contacts in an attempt to gather clues.
On 28 January, two Melbourne residents were charged with the murder of Rockefeller. Police alleged that Rockefeller was killed in Hadfield, Victoria on 21/22 January 2010. His burnt remains were discovered at a residential address in Glenroy, Victoria. Police are also investigating the accused couple's links with an internet swingers website.
Police discovered that Rockefeller had been using erotic websites to find partners within Melbourne's swingers network. He used five pre-paid mobile phones to organise his clandestine activities.
 
< Prev   Next >