Pierre David-Weill (8 March 1900 – 14 January 1975) was a French

investment bank Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...

er.

Early life

Pierre Sylvain Désiré Gérard David-Weill was born on 8 March 1900 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, into a Jewish family. His father,

David David-Weill David David-Weill (1871–1952) was a French-American banker, chairman of Lazard Frères in Paris, who built an important collection of art. His collection was plundered by the Nazis during the Second World War and over 2000 items seized. He was ...

(1871-1952), was the chairman of

Lazard Frères Lazard Ltd (formerly known as Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's ...

; his mother was Flora Raphaël.

Career

David-Weill became a partner in the Paris office of the family's bank in 1927, when its chairman was Raymond Philippe. Along with Lazard Frères minority partner, André Meyer, Pierre David-Weill and his family fled the

German occupation of France during World War II The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

to the safety of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. There, he took charge of the firm's office in New York City, where he remained until the liberation of

by Allied Forces in 1944. On his return to Paris, he left André Meyer in charge of American operations, and along with Felix Rohatyn, they expanded the Lazard Frères business to make it a leading Euro-American investment bank.

Personal life

David-Weill married Berthe Haardt in 1932. They had a son, Michel David-Weill (born 1932), and a daughter, Eliane David-Weill (born 1935).

Death

Pierre David-Weill passed away in 1975. Despite converting to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1965, he is interred with his wife in the Jewish section of the

Cimetière du Montparnasse Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...

in the

Montparnasse Quarter Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has be ...

of Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:David-Weill, Pierre Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism French bankers 20th-century French Jews French art collectors Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery 1900 births 1975 deaths Lazard family