L. Francis Rooney III is the fourth generation of his family to own Manhattan Construction Company. Manhattan was founded by Laurence H. Rooney in Chandler, Oklahoma Territory, in 1896. As the first company to incorporate in 1907 in the new state of Oklahoma, Manhattan played an important role in building the Southwest. Manhattan Construction, headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has built Cowboy Stadium in Texas, the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center at the United States Capitol, the Oklahoma State Capitol, the George Bush Presidential Library, and the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Manhattan is the only construction company to work on two presidential libraries.

Francis Rooney is a former United States Ambassador to the Holy See having served from 2005-2008.