Carl Mayer von Rothschild
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Carl Mayer ''Freiherr'' von Rothschild (24 April 1788 – 10 March 1855) was a German-born
banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
in the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
and the founder of the
Rothschild banking family of Naples The Rothschild banking family of Naples ( it, Famiglia di banchieri Rothschild) was founded by Calmann (Carl) Mayer von Rothschild (1788–1855) who was sent to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 1821. Endogamy ...
.


Biography

Born Kalman Mayer Rothschild in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, he was the fourth of the five sons of
Mayer Amschel Rothschild Mayer Amschel Rothschild (23 February 1744 – 19 September 1812; also spelled ''Anschel'') was a German-Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Referred to as a "founding father of international finance", Rothschild w ...
(1743–1812) and Gutlé Schnapper (1753–1849). He would become known as "Carl" by the family except for his English relatives who translated it as "Charles". Raised in an increasingly prosperous family, he was trained in his father's banking business and lived at home until age twenty-nine when he acquired a modest residence at 33 Neue Mainzer Strasse in Frankfurt am Main in preparation for his marriage on 16 September 1818 to Adelheid Herz (1800–1853). They would have the following children: *
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
(1819–1884) married
Lionel de Rothschild Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (22 November 1808 – 3 June 1879) was a British Jewish banker, politician and philanthropist who was a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of England. He became the first practising Jew to sit ...
* Mayer Carl (1820–1886) * (1823–1900) * Wilhelm Carl (1828–1901) * Anselm Alexander Carl (1835–1854) Wanting to expand the family business across
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, the eldest Rothschild son Amschel remained in Frankfurt, while each of the other sons were sent to different European cities to establish a banking branch. The 1821 occupation of
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
by the
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n army provided the opportunity for the Rothschilds to set up business in the Kingdom. Carl Rothschild was therefore sent to Naples where he established
C M de Rothschild & Figli C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" ...
to operate as a satellite office to the
Rothschild banking family of Germany Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...
headquarters in Frankfurt am Main. Carl Rothschild has sometimes been seen as the least gifted of the five brothers. However, he proved himself in Naples as a strong financial manager and someone very capable at developing all-important business connections. He established a good working relationship with
Luigi de' Medici Luigi de' Medici (22 April 1759 - 25 January 1830) was an Italian nobleman, legal scholar, diplomat and statesman, who served as Prime minister of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the legal representative at the Congress of Vienna. Early life ...
, the "Direttore della Segreteria di Azienda del Regno di Napoli" (Finance Minister), and his operation became the dominant banking house in Naples. As a result of Carl's success, the Rothschilds had a substantial banking presence in England and three other major European capitals, giving the family considerable influence and an advantage over their competitors. Carl Mayer gained a significant influence with the Bourbon king in Naples. Clients of the Naples bank also included the Vatican, the dukes of Parma and the dukes of Tuscany.Die Rothschild-Dynastie - 2 Jahrhunderte einer Finanzdynastie
''Bornpower.de''
In 1822, Carl Rothschild and his four brothers were each granted the title of
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
, or ''
Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
'', by ''
Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...
'' Franz I of Austria. During the winter of 1826,
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Lou ...
, future
King of the Belgians Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's h ...
, was a guest of Carl ''
Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
'' von Rothschild at his villa in Naples. In 1829, Carl was appointed consul-general of Sicily at Frankfurt and in January 1832 the
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish banker was given a ribbon and star of the
Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...
at a ceremony with the new
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
,
Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...
. Reports that Rothschild was permitted to kiss the Pope's hand, rather than his foot, as was customary at the time, led to controversy in the Catholic world that the Pope was selling Rome out to "a Jew." Carl von Rothschild maintained homes in Frankfurt am Main and in Naples. In 1837 he built the Villa Günthersburg on a large country property outside Frankfurt am Main owned by his father at what is now Günthersburg Park. In 1841, he bought the
Villa Pignatelli The Villa Pignatelli is a museum in Naples in southern Italy. The villa is located along the Riviera di Chiaia, the road bounding the north side of the Villa Comunale on the sea front between Mergellina and Piazza Vittoria. History and Decoratio ...
at Riviera di Chiaia with a spectacular view of the Sea and Vesuvio Volcano. The family lived there until 1860. Two years after his wife Adelheid (née Hertz) died in 1853, and one year after their son Anselm Alexander Carl died at the age of eighteen, Carl ''Freiherr'' von Rothschild died in Naples, "sad and morose". One seventh of his estate went to his daughter Charlotte with the rest divided equally between his three surviving sons. Adolf Carl took over the business in Naples from his father and Mayer Carl and Wilhelm Carl succeeded their childless uncle Amschel in Frankfurt, even though Carl Mayer had wished his son Mayer Carl would succeed him in Naples. In 1861, the Rotschild bank closed in Naples, and the bank's assets were transferred to Frankfurt.


In popular culture

In the 1934 movie ''
The House of Rothschild ''The House of Rothschild'' is a 1934 American pre-Code historical drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring George Arliss, Loretta Young and Boris Karloff. It was adapted by Nunnally Johnson from the play by George Hembert Westley ...
'', Carl Mayer von Rothschild is played by
Noel Madison Noel Madison (born Noel Nathaniel Moscovitch; April 30, 1897 – January 6, 1975) was an American character actor in the 1930s and 1940s and appeared in 75 films, often as a gangster. Born in New York City, Madison was the son of actor M ...
.The House of Rothschild (1934) Full Cast & Crew
''Imdb.com''


References


Bibliography

* ''The Rothschilds; a Family Portrait'' by
Frederic Morton Frederic Morton (October 5, 1924 – April 20, 2015) was an Austrian-born American writer. Life Born Fritz Mandelbaum in Vienna, Morton was the son of a blacksmith who specialized in forging (manufacturing) imperial medals. In the wake of the ...
.
Atheneum Publishers Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since its acquisition of Macmillan in 1994 and it created Athen ...
(1962) (1998 reprint) * ''The Rothschilds, a Family of Fortune'' by
Virginia Cowles (Harriet) Virginia Spencer Cowles OBE (August 24, 1910 – September 17, 1983) was an American journalist, biographer, and travel writer. During her long career, Cowles went from covering fashion, to covering the Spanish Civil War, the turbule ...
.
Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
(1973) * ''Rothschild: The Wealth and Power of a Dynasty'' by Derek Wilson. Scribner, London (1988) * ''House of Rothschild : Money's Prophets: 1798-1848'' by
Niall Ferguson Niall Campbell Ferguson FRSE (; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson
.
Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...
(1998) * ''The House of Rothschild (vol. 2) : The World's Banker: 1849-1999'' by Niall Ferguson. Diane Publishing Co. (1999)


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothschild, Carl Mayer Von 1788 births 1855 deaths Businesspeople from Naples
Carl Mayer Carl Mayer (20 November 1894 – 1 July 1944) was an Austrians, Austrian screenwriter who wrote or co-wrote the screenplays to ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), ''The Head of Janus'' (1920), ''The Haunted Castle (1921 film), The Haunted C ...
German art collectors 19th-century art collectors German bankers 18th-century German Jews 19th-century Neapolitan people Italian art collectors Italian bankers 19th-century German businesspeople 19th-century Italian businesspeople German emigrants to Italy