Natural resources and commodities on a global trade were always the main core business of these families. They founded their consortium in 1536, where later on they have managed their wealth through their descendants in different main sectors and countries, assuming functions in the bottom line of the political structure and international economy.

During the XIX century, on the golden age, some believed that the family had one of the largest private fortunes in the world, as well as the most secure credit lines available in the financial sector, which it still remains today, not being diminished, since it it was shared among hundreds of descendants, but only a few elements of the main families were carefully chosen in a model of the dynastic type, and always with a lot of discretion, creating business models on an off-market basis.

The best known consortium "Standard Gold" was founded in 1536 by the Pereira Coutinho families (at the time Governor of the State of Bahia) also their descendants, and by the Marquis of Minas and Governor of Brazil (Souza family, current Pimenta de Castro) which initiated the main pillars (with the help of several agreements established between Portugal and England, where began in 1642) so that Europe and particularly England could concentrate gold reserves, which made the English banking system the main financial center. It was also possible to pursue with the financing of the English Industrial Revolution globally, since in that period the Portuguese gold reserves were being built and traded to Europe from Brazil and the main African countries.

The second important moment occurs in the XIX century (consortium “C Rockefeller Holdings” materialized in 1875) regarding the partnership between some families connected to the banking system and Portuguese ancestry like “Brochado” and John Rockefeller (family of merchants and later industrialists of importance in the global panorama regarding the future Petrochemical industry), where the alliance was known as “The Golden Triangle“.

In the financial sector, Coutinho Rockefeller Holdings started his influence in Europe as one of the most important financial institutions in Portugal (since 1875) when John Rockefeller started with the Brochado and Pereira Coutinho families the business and financial activity in Portugal, where they founded a Bank. The "Banco Lisboa & Açores" was created in 1875 by the Brochado family and a group of Lisbon and Azorean financiers, including the then Viscount of Carregoso, the Lima Mayer family, the Bensaúde family, the then Viscount of Olivais, the Pinto Leite family, Pereira Coutinho family, among others

The first president and founder was José Brochado, and the Brochado and Pereira Coutinho family maintained a strategic alliance with the Rockefeller family, which allowed a competitive advantage to the remaining Iberian bankers and, a greater proximity to Portuguese investments and emigrants residing in the American continent. The Bensaúde family was an important link between the Bank and the Azores, and as a result of the family's influential shareholder structure, the bank was a powerful institution that even provided credit instruments to the Portuguese state, contributing to help in the promotion and development of the country. The Bank integrated the participation of other institutions, including “Banco Madeira” and later the participation of Ferreira da Silva family CUF - Alfredo Ferreira da Silva (current Mello family) in “Banco Totta - Aliança” and started to have the denomination "Banco Totta & Açores".

Subsequently, the institution integrated the participation of the Botín family -shareholders of "Banco Santander" - through the "acquisition" of the stake held by the Champalimaud family in the bank, and the current name "Banco Santander Totta" was adopted commercially after it. After two world wars, Rockefeller Holdings continues to be a financial platform in Europe and all over the world, with interests in various sectors of activity.

The Brochado and Pereira Coutinho family maintained their links with several members of strategic business sectors in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, among them Gulbenkian in the oil sector, whose his Foundation is also based in Lisbon, Portugal.

In the 1980s David Rockefeller was the last direct member of the Rockefeller branch that maintained his connection with Portugal, and he was the last direct member since the founding of the consortium started by John Rockefeller in 1875, which passed on to the Pimenta de Castro family (descendants of the Governor of Brazil in the XVI century, and Co-founders of the Standard Gold). Dr António Coutinho is currently CEO & Chairman of Coutinho Rockefeller Holdings.