Plot

Portrait of Christian Gerhartsreiter, who posed as a Rockefeller heir for decades, but who was, in fact, a con artist and a murderer.

Christian Gerhartsreiter, a man eventually known as "Clark Rockefeller", lived a life of deception; the FBI called it "the longest-running con in FBI history." After ingratiating himself into New York society and marrying a top banker with a Harvard MBA, "Clark" settled into his new luxurious life. The two had a daughter, before they divorced after 13 years. When his wife won custody, a distraught Clark abducted his beloved daughter. Ironically, it was the search for the missing child that not only exposed a web of lies and multiple identities, but a double murder committed decades earlier. How was Gerhartsreiter able to dupe so many people - from the very cream of society? What buttons did he press? We followed his trail and collected the reflections of those close to him. His friends who were left in the wake of his roller-coaster journey: from a Bavarian village to the most exclusive clubs on the American East Coast - to the grand finale in a Los Angeles court room. Here a jury recently found him guilty of murder, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison. After the sentencing we interviewed him exclusively together with best-selling author Walter Kirn.—Steffi Kammerer

My Friend Rockefeller" is a film about trust, illusions and a deadly secret. Christian Gerhartsreiter, a man eventually known as "Clark Rockefeller", lived a life of deception; the FBI called it "the longest-running con in FBI history." After ingratiating himself into New York society and marrying a top banker with a Harvard MBA, "Clark" settled into his new luxurious life. The two had a daughter, before they divorced after 13 years. When his wife won custody, a distraught Clark abducted his beloved daughter. Ironically, it was the search for the missing child that not only exposed a web of lies and multiple identities, but a double murder committed decades earlier. How was Gerhartsreiter able to dupe so many people - from the very cream of society? What buttons did he press? We followed his trail and collected the reflections of those close to him. His friends who were left in the wake of his roller-coaster journey: from a Bavarian village to the most exclusive clubs on the American East Coast - to the grand finale in a Los Angeles court room. Here a jury recently found him guilty of murder, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison. After the sentencing we interviewed him exclusively together with best-selling author Walter Kirn.—Steffi Kammerer