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Rothschild family

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[citation needed]

For the German surname "Rothschild", see Rothschild (disambiguation). For one of the investment banks founded by the family, see N M Rothschild & Sons. For one of the private banks founded by the family, see LCF Rothschild Group.
Rothschild Coat of Arms
Current regionMonaco, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom, Cayman Islands
Place of originFrankfurt am Main
Waddesdon Manor
One of the many estates built by the Austrian branch of the family, Schloss Hinterleiten

The Rothschild family (known as The House of Rothschild,[1] or more simply as the Rothschilds) is a European family of German Jewish origin that established European banking and finance houses from the late eighteenth century. Five lines of the Austrian branch of the family were elevated into the Austrian nobility, being given hereditary baronies of the Habsburg Empire by Emperor Francis II in 1816. The British branch of the family was elevated into the British nobility at the request of Queen Victoria.[2][3]

Origins

The family's rise to European prominence began in 1744, with the birth of Mayer Amschel Rothschild in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the son of Amschel Moses Rothschild (born circa 1710),[4] a money changer, who had traded with the Prince of Hesse. Born in the ghetto (called "Judengasse" or Jewish Alley) of Frankfurt, Mayer developed a finance house and spread his empire by installing each of his five sons in European cities to conduct business. Unlike the old court Jews, the new kind of international firm the Rothschilds created was impervious to local attack. In 1819, as if to demonstrate that newly acquired Jewish rights were illusionary so far, anti-Semitic violence broke out in many parts of Germany. These Hep-Hep riots, as they were called, included an assault on the Rothschild house in Frankfurt. It made no difference. Nor did a further attack during the 1848 revolution. The money was no longer there. It was paper, circulating through the world. Henceforth their real wealth was beyond the reach of the mobs, almost beyond the reach of greedy monarchs.[5] Another essential part of Mayer Rothschild's strategy for future success was to keep control of their businesses in family hands, allowing them to maintain full discretion about the size of their wealth and their business achievements. About 1906, the Jewish Encyclopedia noted: "The practise initiated by the Rothschilds of having several brothers of a firm establish branches in the different financial centers was followed by other Jewish financiers, like the Bischoffsheims, Pereires, Seligmans, Lazards, and others, and these financiers by their integrity and financial skill obtained credit not alone with their Jewish confrères, but with the banking fraternity in general. By this means Jewish financiers obtained an increasing share of international finance during the middle and last quarter of the nineteenth century. The head of the whole group was the Rothschild family...". It also states: "Of more recent years, non-Jewish financiers have learned the same cosmopolitan method, and, on the whole, the control is now rather less than more in Jewish hands than formerly."[6]

Following a royal and aristocratic technique, which also was copied later by business dynasties such as the Du Pont family,[7] Mayer Rothschild successfully kept the fortune in the family with carefully arranged marriages, including between first or second cousins, although by the later 19th century, almost all Rothschilds had started to marry outside the family, usually into the aristocracy or other financial dynasties.[7] His sons were:

The Rothschild coat of arms contains a clenched fist with five arrows symbolizing the five sons of Mayer Rothschild, a reference to Psalm 127: "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior". The family motto appears below the shield, in Latin, Concordia, Integritas, Industria, (Harmony, Integrity, Industry).[8] The German family name means "Red Shield". Today, it would be spelled "Rotschild", and is pronounced approximately ROT-shillt in German, not wroth(s)-child as it is in English.

Families by country:

International High Finance

"I have not the nerve for his operations. They are well-planned, with great cleverness and adroitness in execution – but he is in money and funds what Napoleon was in war." —Baron Baring on Nathan Rothschild[9]
Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire

In 1816, four of the brothers were each elevated to the hereditary nobility by Austrian Emperor Francis I; moreover, a fifth brother, Nathan, was elevated in 1818. All of them were granted the Austrian title of baron or Freiherr on 29 September 1822. As such, some members of the family used "de" or "von" Rothschild to acknowledge the grant of nobility. In 1885, Nathan Mayer Rothschild II (1840–1915) of the London branch of the family, was granted the hereditary peerage title Baron Rothschild in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

The Frankfurt terminus of the Taunus railroad, financed by the Rothschilds. Opened in 1840, it was one of Germany's first railroads.

Rothschild family banking businesses pioneered international high finance during the industrialisation of Europe and were instrumental in supporting railway systems across the world and in complex government financing for projects such as the Suez Canal. The family bought up a large proportion of the property in Mayfair, London. Major businesses directly founded by Rothschild family capital include Alliance Assurance (1824) (now Royal & SunAlliance); Chemin de Fer du Nord (1845); Rio Tinto Group (1873); Société Le Nickel (1880) (now Eramet); and Imétal (1962) (now Imerys). The Rothschilds financed the founding of De Beers, as well as Cecil Rhodes on his expeditions in Africa and the creation of the colony of Rhodesia. From the late 1880s onwards, the family controlled the Rio Tinto mining company.


After amassing huge fortunes, the name Rothschild became synonymous with extravagance and great wealth, and the family was renowned for its art collecting, for its palaces, as well as for its philanthropy. By the end of the century, the family owned, or had built, at the lowest estimates, over 41 palaces, of a scale and luxury perhaps unparalleled even by the richest Royal families.[10] The soon to be British Prime Minister Lloyd George claimed, in 1909, that Lord Nathan Rothschild was the most powerful man in Britain.[11][3]

In 1901, with no male heir to take it on, the Frankfurt House closed its doors after more than a century in business. It was not until 1989 that they returned when N M Rothschild & Sons, the British investment arm, plus Bank Rothschild AG, the Swiss branch, set up a representative banking office in Frankfurt.

French branches

Main article: Rothschild banking family of France
Chateau de Ferrieres, the largest Chateau of the 19th century, was built in 1854 to house James Mayer de Rothschild, east of Paris. It is set in a 30 km² estate.

There are two branches of the family connected to France. The first was son James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868), known as "James", who established de Rothschild Frères in Paris. Following the Napoleonic Wars, he played a major role in financing the construction of railroads and the mining business that helped make France an industrial power. James' sons Gustave de Rothschild and Alphonse James de Rothschild continued the banking tradition and was the guarantor of the 5 billion in reparations [12] demanded by the occupying Prussian army in the 1870s Franco-Prussian War. [citation needed] Ensuing generations of the Paris Rothschild family remained involved in the family business, becoming a major force in international investment banking. The Rothschilds have since led the Thomson Financial League Tables in Investment Banking Merger and Acquisition deals in the UK, France and Italy.

In 1961, the 35 year old Baron Edmond purchased the company Club Med, after he had visited a resort and enjoyed his stay.[13][14] His interest in Club Med was sold off by the 1990s. In 1973, he bought out the Bank of California, selling his interests in 1984 before it was sold to Mitsubishi Bank in 1985.

The second French branch was founded by Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812–1870). Born in London he was the fourth child of the founder of the British branch of the family, Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836). In 1850, Nathaniel Rothschild moved to Paris, ostensibly to work with his uncle, James Mayer Rothschild. However, in 1853 Nathaniel acquired Château Brane Mouton, a vineyard in Pauillac in the Gironde département. Nathaniel Rothschild renamed the estate, Château Mouton Rothschild and it would become one of the best known labels in the world. In 1868, Nathaniel's uncle, James Mayer de Rothschild acquired the neighboring Chateau Lafite vineyard. By 1980, Guy de Rothschild's business had an annual turnover of 26 billion francs (in the currency rates of 1980).[15] But then the Paris business suffered a near death blow in 1982 when the Socialist government of François Mitterrand nationalized and renamed it Compagnie Européenne de Banque.[needs citation] Baron David de Rothschild, then 39, decided to stay and rebuild, creating a new entity Rothschild & Cie Banque with just three employees and $1 million in capital. Today, the Paris operation has 22 partners and accounts for a significant part of the global business.

Austrian branch

Grüneburgschlößchen, Frankfurt, 1845, one of the Rothschilds' many German garden-mansions. This particular estate was destroyed in an allied bombing raid, 1944.

In Vienna, Salomon Mayer Rothschild established a bank in the 1820s and the family became admired and respected citizens. The Austrian Rothschilds were elevated to nobility by the Austrian emperor for their services. . Their Rothschild palaces, a collection of vast palaces in Vienna built and owned by the family, were confiscated, plundered and destroyed by the Nazis. The palaces were famous for their sheer size, and for their huge collections of paintings, armour, tapestries, statues (some of which were restituted to the Rothschilds by the Austrian government in 1999). All family members escaped the Holocaust, some of them moving to the United States, and only returning to Europe after the war. In 1999, the government of Austria agreed to return to the Rothschild family some 250 art treasures looted by the Nazis and absorbed into state museums after the war.

Modern business

Château Lafite Rothschild, Bordeaux. Alongside Château Mouton Rothschild, it is perhaps the most prestigious of the many Rothschild wine estates
The family owns a 99 year lease and has fully restored Spencer House, St. James's Park, London

Since the end of the 19th century, the family has taken a low-key public profile, donating many of their most famous estates, as well as vast quantities of art, to charity, keeping full anonymity about the size of their fortunes, and eschewing conspicuous displays of wealth.[16] The family once had one of the largest private art collections in the world, and a significant proportion of the art in the world's public museums are Rothschild donations which were sometimes, in the family tradition of discretion, donated anonymously.[17]

Since 2003, Rothschild investment banks have been controlled by Rothschild Continuation Holdings, a Swiss-registered holding company (under the chairmanship of Baron David René de Rothschild). Rothschild Continuation Holdings is in turn controlled by Concordia BV, a Dutch-registered master holding company. Rothschild et Cie Banque controls Rothschild banking businesses in France and continental Europe, while Rothschilds Continuation Holdings AG controls a number of Rothschild banks elsewhere, including N M Rothschild & Sons in London.[18] Twenty percent of Rothschild Continuation Holdings AG was sold in 2005 to Jardine Strategic, which is a subsidiary of Jardine, Matheson & Co. of Hong Kong. In November 2008, Rabobank Group, the leading investment and commercial bank in the Netherlands, acquired 7.5% of Rothschild Continuation Holdings AG, and Rabobank and Rothschild entered into a co-operation agreement in the fields of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) advisory and Equity Capital Markets advisory in the food and agribusiness sectors.[19] It was believed that the move was intended to help Rothschild Continuation Holdings AG gain access to a wider capital pool, enlarging its presence in East Asian markets.[20]

Paris Orleans S.A. is an investment banking and holding company, founded in 1838, and registered in France. It has over 2000 employees. The company has offices in France, the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, Switzerland, North America, Asia, Australia, and other European countries. Directors of the company include Eric de Rothschild, Robert de Rothschild, and Count Philippe de Nicolay.[21] A London investment bank, N M Rothschild & Sons does most of its business as a mergers and acquisitions advisor. In 2004, the investment bank withdrew from the gold market, a commodity the Rothschild bankers had traded in for two centuries.[12] In 2006, it ranked second in UK M&A with deals totalling $104.9 billion.[22] In 2006, it publicly recorded a pre-tax annual profit of £83.2 million with assets of £5.5 billion.[23]

One member of the (non-winemaking) Paris branch of the family, Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild (1926–1997) founded the LCF Rothschild Group, based in Geneva, with €100 billion in assets, which today extends to 15 countries across the world. Although this Group is primarily a financial entity, specialising in asset management and private banking, its activities also cover mixed farming, luxury hotels, and yacht racing. The LCF Rothschild Group's committee is currently being chaired by Benjamin de Rothschild, Baron Edmond's son.

Rothschild family banks include, amongst others, Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild, RIT Capital Partners, St James's Place Capital, Banque privée Edmond de Rothschild, La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild S.A., and COGIFRANCE.

During the 19th century, the Rothschilds controlled the Rio Tinto mining corporation, and to this day, Rothschild and Rio Tinto maintain a close business relationship. The Rothschild family also owns many wine estates: their estates in France include Château Clarke, Château de Ferrières, Château des Fontaines, Château Lafite, Château de Laversine, Château des Laurets, Château Malmaison, Château de Montvillargenne, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château de la Muette, Château Rothschild d'Armainvilliers, Château Rothschild, Boulogne-Billancourt. They also own wine estates across North America, South America, South Africa and Australia.

In 1980, Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild resigned from N M Rothschild & Sons and took independent control of Rothschild Investment Trust (now RIT Capital Partners, one of the UK's largest investment trusts.) He went on to found J. Rothschild Assurance Group (now St James's Place Capital) with Sir Mark Weinberg in 1991.[24] In December 2009, Jacob Rothschild invested $200 million of his own money in a North Sea Oil company. He also currently chairs another Rothschild family investment trust, RIT Capital Partners, which has reported assets of $3.4 billion in 2008.[25][26] In January 2010, Nathaniel Philip Rothschild bought a substantial share of the Glencore mining and oil company's market capitalization. He is also buying a large share of the aluminium mining company United Company RUSAL.[27]

In late 2010, Baron Benjamin Rothschild said that the family had been unaffected by the financial crisis of 2007–2010, due to their conservative business practices: "We came through it well, because our investment managers did not want to put money into crazy things." He added that they were still a small-scale, traditional family business, and took greater care over their clients investments than American companies, adding: "The client knows we will not speculate with his money". [28]

Rothschildschloss, Waidhofen
Kasteel de Haar

The story of the Rothschild family has been featured in a number of films. The 1934 Hollywood film titled The House of Rothschild, starring George Arliss and Loretta Young, recounted the life of Mayer Amschel Rothschild. Excerpts from this film were incorporated into the National Socialist (Nazi) propaganda film Der ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew) and another German film Die Rothschilds (also called Aktien auf Waterloo) was directed by Erich Waschneck in 1940. A Broadway musical entitled The Rothschilds, covering the history of the family up to 1818, was nominated for a Tony Award in 1971. Nathaniel Mayer ("Natty") Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild appears as a minor character in the historical-mystery novel Stone's Fall, by Iain Pears.

In France, the word "Rothschild" was throughout the 19th and 20th centuries a synonym for seemingly endless wealth, neo-Gothic styles, Byzantine splendour, grand manners and epicurean glamour.[29] The family also has lent its name to "le goût Rothschild," a suffocatingly glamorous style of living whose decorative elements include neo-Renaissance palaces, extravagant use of velvet and gilding, vast collections of armour and sculpture, a sense of Victorian horror vacui, and the highest masterworks of art. Le goût Rothschild has much influenced interior designers such as Robert Denning, Vincent Fourcade, and others.

The name Rothschild used as a synonym for extreme wealth inspired the song "If I Were a Rich Man", which is based on a song from the Tevye the Dairyman stories, written in the Yiddish as Ven ikh bin Rotshild, meaning "If I were a Rothschild".

The German surnames "Rothschild" and "Rothchild" are not related to the Protestant surname "Rothchilds" from the United Kingdom. The surname "Rothschild" is originally derived from "Rote Schild". This is the German phrase for Red Shield and refers to the red shield emblem that used to be over the doorway to the original bank owned by the Bauer family in Frankfurt.

Prominent descendants of Mayer Amschel Rothschild

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Prominent lineal descendants of Mayer Amschel Rothschild include amongst many others:

Baron David René de Rothschild, current French chairman of N M Rothschild & Sons and formerly of De Beers
A Rothschild Villa, photographed in 1900, Königstein, Germany
Lord Ferdinand von Rothschild (1839–1898)
Countess Sibyl Sassoon (1894-1989)
Halton House, England
Lionel de Rothschild, whose colt won the 1879 Epsom Derby
Vermeer's The Astronomer, donated to charity by the family in 1982
Beatrice de Rothschild's villa on the Côte d'Azur, France

Prominent marriages into the family include, amongst many others:

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The House of Rothschild: Money's prophets, 1798-1848, Volume 1, Niall Ferguson, 1999
  2. ^ The House of Rothschild: Money's prophets, 1798-1848, Volume 1, Niall Ferguson, 1999, introduction
  3. ^ a b The House of Rothschild: Money's prophets, 1798-1848, Volume 1, Niall Ferguson, 1999, page 481-85
  4. ^ Pohl, Manfred (2005), "Rothschild, Mayer Amschel", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 22, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 131–133
  5. ^ Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews, p.317.
  6. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia c.1906 Finance
  7. ^ a b Go Ahead, Kiss Your Cousin by Richard Conniff, From the August 2003 issue, published online August 1, 2003
  8. ^ "Concordia, Integritas, Industria - The Rothschilds - LCF Rothschild Group". Lcf-rothschild.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  9. ^ Philip Ziegler, The Sixth Great Power: Barings, 1726-1929, (London 1988), pp.94f
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Money 2008 page 78 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ A History of the Jews, Paul Johnson (London 2004), page 319-20
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference independent.co.uk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Faith, Nicholas (4 November 1997). "Obituary: Baron Edmond de Rothschild". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  14. ^ Gilbert Trigano, a Developer of Club Med, Is Dead at 80 By JOHN TAGLIABUE Published: February 6, 2001
  15. ^ RPT-French banker Guy de Rothschild dies aged 98 Reuters, Thu Jun 14, 2007 12:26pm EDT
  16. ^ The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty, By Frederic Morton, page 11
  17. ^ The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty, By Frederic Morton, page 11-13
  18. ^ "Paris-Orléans". Paris-orleans.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  19. ^ See: http://www.rabobank.com/content/news/news_archive/020-RothschildandRabobankestablishglobalfoodandagricooperation.jsp
  20. ^ "Rothschild sells 7.5% stake to Rabobank". FT Alphaville. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  21. ^ [http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyOfficers?symbol=PROR.PA&viewId=bio People: Paris Orleans S.A. (PROR.PA)]Reuters Finance
  22. ^ "League tables". Rothschild.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  23. ^ Annual Report of N M Rothschild & Sons Limited for the year ended 31 March 2006.
  24. ^ Peippo, Kathleen (2000). "St. James's Place Capital, plc | International Directory of Company Histories | Find Articles at BNET.com". Findarticles.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  25. ^ Rothschild backs North Sea oil trio From The Sunday Times December 6, 2009
  26. ^ "RIT Capital Partners". Miranda.hemscott.com. 2003-10-28. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  27. ^ Bloomberg Businessweek, Glencore May Expand to Rival BHP, Rothschild Says January 06, 2010, Simon Casey
  28. ^ Family values, Haaretz, Magazine, 11:15 05.11.10, By Eytan Avriel and Guy Rolnik
  29. ^ The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty, By Frederic Morton (1998), page 5
  30. ^ 1.[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, page 3416. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
  31. ^ Eco-warrior sets sail to save oceans from 'plastic death'The Observer, Sunday 12 April 2009, Robin McKie
  32. ^ The Rothschilds and their 200 years of political influence By Andy McSmith, Thursday, 23 October 2008, The Independent
  33. ^ [http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyOfficers?symbol=PROR.PA&viewId=bio People: Paris Orleans S.A. (PROR.PA)]Reuters Finance
  34. ^ Young love will cement marriage of Britain's top three dynasties Ingrid Mansell, The Times April 21, 2003
  35. ^ a b 1.[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, page 3416. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
  36. ^ People:Paris Orleans S.A. (PROR.PA)Reuters Finance
  37. ^ Carola W. Rothschild, Ex-Girl Scout Official NY Times, Published: Tuesday, September 1, 1987
  38. ^ The secret life of the Jazz Baroness, From The Times April 11, 2009, Rosie Boycott
  39. ^ Baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar and baroness Hélène de Rothschild
  40. ^ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, page 3416. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

Further reading

  • Niall Ferguson: The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets, 1798–1848 (ISBN 0-14-024084-5)
  • Niall Ferguson: The House of Rothschild: The World's Banker, 1849–1998 (ISBN 0-14-028662-4)
  • Frederic Morton: The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty (ISBN 1-56836-220-X)
  • Amos Elon: Founder: A Portrait of the First Rothschild and His Time, 1996. (ISBN 0-670-86857-4)
  • Egon Caesar Conte Corti: Rise of the House of Rothschild, B. Lunn (translator), Books for Business 2001 (reprint of 1928 translation published by Gollancz), ISBN 978-0894990588, Amazon.co.uk searchable online view
  • Joseph Valynseele & Henri-Claude Mars, Le Sang des Rothschild, L’Intermédiaire des Chercheurs et Curieux, Paris, 2004 (ISBN 2-908003-22-8)
  • Derek A. Wilson: Rothschild: A Story of Wealth and Power (ISBN 0-233-98870-X)

Documentary film

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