Rogers was the son of a deceased millionaire, Colonel Henry Huddleston Rogers, a former Standard Oil executive. Colonel Rogers made millions in oil, together with the family of John D. Rockefeller, from the resources of the huge estate. The elder Rogers left virtually his entire inheritance to his wife, a daughter, and to a son from his daughter's first marriage. The residuary estate was left for the wife, daughter, and daughter's son to share equally. Henry H. Rogers III was excluded from the provisions of his father's will through the careful wording of lawyers. He lived on $500,000 annually from a trust fund provided by his father's will. The income was to go to him during his lifetime but would return to the estate when he died.