Nathaniel de Rothschild
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Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812–1870), was a businessman, banker and winemaker. He established the
Château Mouton Rothschild Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc region, 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France. Originally known as ''Château Brane-Mouton'', its red wine was renamed by ...
.


Biography


Early life

Nathaniel de Rothschild was born on 2 July 1812 in London. He was the fourth child of
Nathan Mayer Rothschild Nathan Mayer Rothschild (16 September 1777 – 28 July 1836) was an English-German banker, businessman and financier. Born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany, he was the third of the five sons of Gutle (Schnapper) and Mayer Amschel Rothschild, an ...
(1777–1836) and Hannah W. Cohen (1783–1850). He was a member of the
Rothschild banking family of England The Rothschild banking family of England was founded in (1798) by Nathan Mayer von Rothschild (1777–1836) who first settled in Manchester but then moved to London (at the time in the Kingdom of Great Britain). Nathan was sent there from his ...
, closely connected to the
Rothschild banking family of France The Rothschild banking family of France (french: Famille banquière Rothschild) is a French banking dynasty founded in 1812 in Paris (at the time in the First French Empire) by James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868). James was sent there from ...
.


Career

He moved to Paris, France in 1850 to work in the banking business owned by his uncle,
James Mayer Rothschild James Mayer de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (born Jakob Mayer Rothschild; 15 May 1792 – 15 November 1868) was a German- French banker and the founder of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Early life James de Rothschild was born ...
(1792–1868). In 1853, he acquired the Château Brane Mouton, a vineyard in
Pauillac Pauillac (; oc, Paulhac) is a municipality in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The city is mid-way between Bordeaux and the Pointe de Grave, along the Gironde, the largest estuary in western Europe. Popul ...
in the
Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
département from a Paris banker named Thuret who had previously bought it from Baron Hector de Branne in 1830. Rothschild paid 1,175,000 francs for Brane-Mouton's 65 acres (263,000 m2) of vineyards and renamed the estate,
Château Mouton Rothschild Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc region, 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France. Originally known as ''Château Brane-Mouton'', its red wine was renamed by ...
. It would become one of the world's best known winemakers. In 1868, his uncle James acquired the neighboring
Château Lafite A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...
vineyard. A prestigious
first growth First Growth (french: Premier Cru) status is a classification of wines primarily from the Bordeaux region of France. The best of the best wines were assigned the highest rank of Premier Cru; only five wines, Château Lafite Rothschild, Châtea ...
(premier cru) property more than three times the size of Chateau Mouton, it created a family rivalry. In the
Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from ...
, Château Mouton was ranked second, something that upset its owner a great deal. In response, he composed the motto: ' ("First I cannot be, second I do not choose to be, Mouton I am."), a hint on the
apocryphal Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
motto of the
House of Rohan The House of Rohan ( br, Roc'han) is a Breton people, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan (commune), Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët ...


Personal life

In 1842, he married
Charlotte de Rothschild Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild (6 May 1825 – 20 July 1899) was a French socialite, painter, and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France. Early years She was born in Paris, the daughter of Betty von Rothschild (1805 ...
(1825–1899), daughter of
James Mayer Rothschild James Mayer de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (born Jakob Mayer Rothschild; 15 May 1792 – 15 November 1868) was a German- French banker and the founder of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Early life James de Rothschild was born ...
. They had the following children: * Nathalie de Rothschild (1843–1843) * Nathan James Edouard de Rothschild (1844–1881), married Laura Thérèse von Rothschild ( 1871) * Mayer Albert de Rothschild (1846–1850) *
Arthur de Rothschild Baron Arthur de Rothschild (28 March 1851 – 10 December 1903) was part of the French branch of the prominent Rothschild family. He was the son of Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812–1870) and Charlotte de Rothschild (née de Rothschild) (1825–189 ...
(1851–1903) In 1856, Nathaniel and his wife purchased the property at 33
Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré The Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré () is a street located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Relatively narrow and nondescript, especially in comparison to the nearby Avenue des Champs-Élysées, it is cited as being one of the most luxu ...
in Paris from Denis, duc Decrès. At the time it was rented to the
Russian Embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...
but when the lease ran out in 1864, he renovated the building and made it his city residence. Passed down to his son
Arthur de Rothschild Baron Arthur de Rothschild (28 March 1851 – 10 December 1903) was part of the French branch of the prominent Rothschild family. He was the son of Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812–1870) and Charlotte de Rothschild (née de Rothschild) (1825–189 ...
, he sold it in 1918 to the Cercle de l'Union interalliée. In 1878, Nathaniel bought the
Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...
in
Cernay-la-Ville Cernay-la-Ville () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. See also * Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey * Communes of the Yvelines department An intentional community is a voluntary residential commu ...
in the
Vallée de Chevreuse Vallée de Chevreuse (Chevreuse Valley) is the valley of the Yvette River in the Yvelines and Essonne departments. It encompasses the communes around Chevreuse ( Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, Choisel, Dampierre, etc.) within the Parc naturel r ...
, at the time only a ruins of a
Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...
built in 1118. He and his wife undertook extensive restoration work and new construction to turn the lakeside property into a luxurious country home. The property of
Château Mouton Rothschild Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc region, 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France. Originally known as ''Château Brane-Mouton'', its red wine was renamed by ...
will pass to his son James Nathan and through him, to his great grandson
Philippe de Rothschild Philippe, Baron de Rothschild (13 April 1902 – 20 January 1988) was a member of the Rothschild banking dynasty who became a Grand Prix motor racing driver, a screenwriter and playwright, a theatrical producer, a film producer, a poet, and one ...


Death

He died on 19 February 1870 in Paris, France.


Legacy

After his death, his children and grandchildren showed little enthusiasm for the wine business. It would be 118 years later before Château Mouton, under the leadership of Nat's great-grandson
Philippe de Rothschild Philippe, Baron de Rothschild (13 April 1902 – 20 January 1988) was a member of the Rothschild banking dynasty who became a Grand Prix motor racing driver, a screenwriter and playwright, a theatrical producer, a film producer, a poet, and one ...
(1902–88), would become the only French vineyard to ever achieve reclassification to first growth.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothschild, Nathaniel de 19th-century British Jews French bankers French viticulturists
Nathaniel de Rothschild Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812–1870), was a businessman, banker and winemaker. He established the Château Mouton Rothschild. Biography Early life Nathaniel de Rothschild was born on 2 July 1812 in London. He was the fourth child of Natha ...
Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate A ...
19th-century French businesspeople 1812 births 1870 deaths