Abraham Freiherr von Oppenheim (1804–1878)

Abraham Oppenheim (24 May 1804 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

– 9 October 1878 in Cologne), titled in 1868 as Abraham Freiherr von Oppenheim, was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

banker and patron.

Life and career

Oppenheim was the second son among the twelve children of banker Salomon Oppenheim, Jr. and his wife Therese Stein (1775–1842). Stein (also known as Deigen Levi) was the daughter of a businessman from Dülmen. The eldest son of Salomon Oppenheim, Jr., , joined his father's banking house in 1821. Abraham followed in the same year, and their mother Therese Oppenheim was given signatory power. In 1826, Salomon Oppenheim gave his sons Simon and Abraham general power of attorney to continue the banking business. In 1828, Abraham was made a partner. The brothers transformed their father's commission and exchange house into a major

private bank Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a general Partner (business rank), partner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are not incorporation (business), incorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "enti ...

. Through Abraham's marriage in 1834 to , the Oppenheim family became relatives of the Rothschild family. Abraham Oppenheim figured prominently in the finances of the German railway system, insurance industry, and the engineering and cotton industries. In 1868, he became the first unbaptised Jew to be ennobled in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, being created a Baron and being admitted to the inner circle of

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the ...

. Together with Gerson Bleichröder and other bankers, he advised the monarch on financing the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 through government bonds. The Prussian ruler rejected the plan of Oppenheim and Bleichröder, advocated by Bismarck, to finance the war by privatizing state-owned mines in the Saar.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oppenheim, Abraham 1804 births 1878 deaths 19th-century German Jews Court Jews German bankers 19th-century German businesspeople

Life and career

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