Kidnapper not one of us, say Rockefellers

The Rockefellers, who made its fortune from Standard Oil and became one of American's most prominent dynasties, are on the warpath - adamant that a man calling himself Clark Rockefeller, who is being sought by federal agents after abducting his own daughter in Boston, is not a member of their illustrious family.

'Clark Rockefeller' was still on the run today with seven-year-old Reigh Storrow Boss in tow after snatching his girl last Sunday during a supervised visit from London where she lives with her mother, MacKinsey director Sandra Boss.

It was the first visit Reigh's father had been allowed since he lost custody last year. The pair were last seen outside Grand Central Station in New York. One theory is that they have set sail for the Caribbean on his 72ft catamaran Serenity. (Continued below)

The man's true identity is a mystery. The Rockefellers' family historian, Peter Johnson, who keeps detailed genealogies of all family members, has confirmed that he is an imposter. It seems he had been passing himself off as a Rockefeller for years, hobnobbing at Boston's Algonquin Club and at New York's Knickerbocker Club - where David Rockefeller (pictured), the 93-year-old financier who currently heads the clan, is himself a leading light. He also moved in Manhattan art circles, where the Rockefellers are hugely well connected.

He is not the first American to seek to improve his lot in life by pretending to be a Rockefeller. There are about 10,000 Rockefellers in the United States, according to Peter Johnson. Only 100 or so are directly descended from the dynasty's 19th century founder, John D Rockefeller, and only half of them are using the name legally.