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The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy
Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
family originally from
Frankfurt 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 it ...
that rose to prominence with
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 ...
(1744–1812), a
court factor In the early modern period, a court Jew, or court factor (german: Hofjude, Hoffaktor; yi, היף איד, Hoyf Id, קאַורט פאַקטאַר, ''Kourt Faktor''), was a Jewish banker who handled the finances of, or lent money to, European, mai ...
to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the
Free City of Frankfurt For almost five centuries, the German city of Frankfurt was a city-state within two major Germanic entities: *The Holy Roman Empire as the Free Imperial City of Frankfurt () (until 1806) *The German Confederation as the Free City of Frankfurt ...
,
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
, who established his banking business in the 1760s. Unlike most previous court factors, Rothschild managed to bequeath his wealth and established an international
banking family Banking families are families which have been involved in banking for multiple generations, in the modern era generally as owners or co-owners of banks, often named for their families. Banking families have been important in the history of ...
through his five sons, who established businesses in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, and Naples. The family was elevated to noble rank in the Holy Roman Empire and the United Kingdom. The family's documented history starts in 16th century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, built by Isaak Elchanan Bacharach in Frankfurt in 1567. During the 19th century, the Rothschild family possessed the largest private
fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
in the world, as well as in
modern world The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is appli ...
history.''The House of Rothschild: Money's prophets, 1798–1848'', Volume 1, Niall Ferguson, 1999, page 481-85''The Secret Life of the Jazz Baroness'', from The Times 11 April 2009, Rosie Boycott The family's wealth declined over the 20th century, and was divided among many descendants. Today, their interests cover a diverse range of fields, including financial services, real estate, mining, energy, agriculture, winemaking, and nonprofits.''The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty'', By Frederic Morton, page 11 Many examples of the family's rural architecture exist across northwestern Europe. The Rothschild family has frequently been the subject of conspiracy theories, many of which have
antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...
origins.


Overview

The first member of the family who was known to use the name "Rothschild" was Izaak Elchanan Rothschild, born in 1577. The name is derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "at the red shield", in reference to the house where the family lived for many generations (in those days, houses were designated not by numbers, but by signs displaying different symbols or colours). A red shield can still be seen at the centre of the Rothschild coat of arms. The family's ascent to international prominence began in 1744, with the birth 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 ...
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 it ...
, Germany. He was the son of
Amschel Moses Rothschild Amschel Moses Rothschild ( – 6 October 1755) was a German Jewish money changer and trader in silk cloth in the '' Judengasse'', the Jewish ghetto of the Free City of Frankfurt in present-day Germany. His son Mayer Amschel Rothschild became th ...
(born circa 1710), a money changer who had traded with the Prince of Hesse. Born in the " Judengasse", the
ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...
of
Frankfurt 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 it ...
, Mayer developed a finance house and spread his empire by installing each of his five sons in the five main European financial centres to conduct business. The Rothschild coat of arms contains a clenched fist with five arrows symbolising the five dynasties established by the five sons of Mayer Rothschild, in a reference to Psalm 127: "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth." The family motto appears below the shield: ''Concordia, Integritas, Industria'' (Unity, Integrity, Industry). Paul Johnson writes " e Rothschilds are elusive. There is no book about them that is both revealing and accurate. Libraries of nonsense have been written about them... A woman who planned to write a book entitled ''Lies about the Rothschilds'' abandoned it, saying: 'It was relatively easy to spot the lies, but it proved impossible to find out the truth.'" Johnson writes that, unlike the
court factor In the early modern period, a court Jew, or court factor (german: Hofjude, Hoffaktor; yi, היף איד, Hoyf Id, קאַורט פאַקטאַר, ''Kourt Faktor''), was a Jewish banker who handled the finances of, or lent money to, European, mai ...
s of earlier centuries, who had financed and managed European noble houses, but often lost their wealth through violence or expropriation, the new kind of international bank created by the Rothschilds was impervious to local attacks. Their assets were held in financial instruments, circulating through the world as stocks, bonds and debts. Changes made by the Rothschilds allowed them to insulate their property from local violence: "Henceforth their real wealth was beyond the reach of the mob, almost beyond the reach of greedy monarchs." Johnson argued that their fortune was generated to the greatest extent by
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, a ...
in London; however, more recent research by Niall Ferguson indicates that greater and equal profits also were realised by the other Rothschild dynasties, including
James Mayer de 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 ...
in Paris,
Carl Mayer von Rothschild Carl Mayer ''Freiherr'' von Rothschild (24 April 1788 – 10 March 1855) was a German-born banker in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the founder of the Rothschild banking family of Naples. Biography Born Kalman Mayer Rothschild in Frankfu ...
in Naples and Amschel Mayer Rothschild in Frankfurt. Another essential part of Mayer Rothschild's strategy for success was to keep control of their banks in family hands, allowing them to maintain full secrecy about the size of their fortunes. In about 1906, the Jewish Encyclopedia noted: "The practice initiated by the Rothschilds of having several brothers of a firm establish branches in the different financial centres 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 19th century. The head of the whole group was the Rothschild family..." It also says: "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." Mayer Rothschild successfully kept the fortune in the family with carefully
arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...
s, often between first- or second-
cousins Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
(similar to royal intermarriage). By the late 19th century, however, almost all Rothschilds had started to marry outside the family, usually into the aristocracy or other financial dynasties.Go Ahead, Kiss Your Cousin
by Richard Conniff, From the August 2003 issue, published online 1 August 2003
His sons were: * Amschel Mayer Rothschild (1773–1855):
Frankfurt 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 it ...
, died childless as his fortune passed to the sons of Salomon and Kalman *
Salomon Mayer Rothschild Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (9 September 1774 – 28 July 1855) was a German-born banker in the Austrian Empire and the founder of the Austrian branch of the prominent Mayer Amschel Rothschild family. Family He was born at Frankfurt am Mai ...
(1774–1855):
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
*
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, a ...
(1777–1836): London * Kalman Mayer Rothschild (1788–1855):
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 adm ...
* Jakob Mayer Rothschild (1792–1868): Paris The German family name "Rothschild" is pronounced in German, unlike in English. The surname "Rothschild" is rare in Germany. Families by country: * Rothschild banking family of Austria * Rothschild banking family of England *
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. Endogam ...
*
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 fr ...
The five sons of Mayer Amschel Rothschild were elevated to the
Austrian nobility The Austrian nobility (german: österreichischer Adel) is a status group that was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary. The nobles are still part of Austrian society today, but they no longer retain any specific priv ...
by Emperor Francis I of Austria, and they were all granted the Austrian hereditary title of ''
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 Empir ...
'' (
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 kn ...
) on 29 September 1822. The British branch of the family was elevated by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
, who granted the hereditary title of
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
(1847) and later the
hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...
age title of
Baron Rothschild Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, a member of the Rothschild banking family. He was the first Jewish memb ...
(1885).


The Napoleonic Wars

The Rothschilds already possessed a significant fortune before the start of the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
(1803–1815), and the family had gained preeminence in the
bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes fro ...
trade by this time. From London in 1813 to 1815,
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, a ...
was instrumental in almost single-handedly financing the British war effort, organising the shipment of bullion to the Duke of Wellington's armies across Europe, as well as arranging the payment of British financial subsidies to their continental allies. In 1815 alone, the Rothschilds provided £9.8 million (in 1815 currency, which is about £566 million, €717 million or US$869 million today, when using the retail price index, and £6.58 billion, €8.34 billion or US$10.1 billion when using average earnings) in subsidy loans to Britain's continental allies.''The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World'', (London 2008), page 78. The brothers helped coordinate Rothschild activities across the continent, and the family developed a network of agents, shippers and couriers to transport gold across war-torn Europe. The family network was also to provide Nathan Rothschild time and again with political and financial information ahead of his peers, giving him an advantage in the markets and rendering the house of Rothschild still more invaluable to the British government. In one instance, the family network enabled Nathan to receive in London the news of Wellington's victory at the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Sevent ...
a full day ahead of the government's official messengers. Rothschild's first concern on this occasion was not to the potential financial advantage on the market which the knowledge would have given him; he and his courier immediately took the news to the government.Victor Gray and Melanie Aspey
"Rothschild, Nathan Mayer (1777–1836)"
''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edition, May 2006. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
That he used the news for financial advantage was a fiction then repeated in later popular accounts, such as that of Morton.Victor Rothschild – "The Shadow of a Great Man" in ''Random Variables'', Collins, 1984.*Ferguson, Niall. ''The World's Banker: The History of the House of Rothschild.'' Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998, The basis for the Rothschilds' most famously profitable move was made after the news of British victory had been made public. Nathan Rothschild calculated that the future reduction in government borrowing brought about by the peace would create a bounce in British government bonds after a two-year stabilisation, which would finalise the post-war restructuring of the domestic economy. In what has been described as one of the most audacious moves in financial history, Nathan immediately bought up the government bond market, for what at the time seemed an excessively high price, before waiting two years, then selling the bonds on the crest of a short bounce in the market in 1817 for a 40% profit. Given the sheer power of leverage the Rothschild family had at their disposal, this profit was an enormous sum. Nathan Mayer Rothschild started his business in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
in 1806 and gradually moved it to London, where in 1809 he acquired the location at 2 New Court in St. Swithin's Lane,
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, where it operates today; he established N M Rothschild & Sons in 1811. In 1818, he arranged a £5 million (equal to £ million in ) loan to the
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 e ...
n government, and the issuing of bonds for government loans formed a mainstay of his bank's business. He gained a position of such power in the City of London that by 1825–26 he was able to supply enough coin to the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...
to enable it to avert a market liquidity crisis.


International high finance

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 Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...
. From 1895 through 1907 they loaned nearly $450,000,000 () to European governments. During the 19th century, the family bought up a large proportion of the property in
Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...
, London. The Rothschild family was directly involved in the
independence of Brazil The Independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Brazilian Empire. Most of the events occurr ...
from
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
in the early 19th century. Upon an agreement, the Brazilian government should pay a compensation of two million pounds sterling to the Kingdom of Portugal to accept Brazil's independence. N M Rothschild & Sons was pre-eminent in raising this capital for the government of the newly formed
Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...
on the London market. In 1825, Nathan Rothschild raised £2,000,000, and indeed was probably discreetly involved in the earlier tranche of this loan which raised £1,000,000 in 1824. Part of the price of Portuguese recognition of Brazilian independence, secured in 1825, was that Brazil should take over repayment of the principal and interest on a £1,500,000 loan made to the Portuguese government in 1823 by N M Rothschild & Sons. A correspondence from Samuel Phillips & Co. in 1824 suggests the close involvement of the Rothschilds in the occasion. Major 19th-century businesses founded with Rothschild family capital include: * Alliance Assurance (1824) (now Royal & Sun Alliance) * Chemin de Fer du Nord (1845) * The Rio Tinto mining company (1873) (from the 1880s onwards, the Rothschilds had full control of Rio Tinto) * Eramet (1880) *
Imerys Imerys S.A. is a French multinational company which specialises in the production and processing of industrial minerals. It is headquartered in Paris and is a constituent of the CAC Mid 60 index. Imerys has operations in over 40 countries and ...
(1880) * De Beers (1888) The family funded
Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Bri ...
in the creation of the African colony of
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...
. From the late 1880s onwards, the family took over control of the Rio Tinto mining company. The Japanese government approached the London and Paris families for funding during the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
. The London consortium's issue of Japanese war bonds would total £11.5 million (at 1907 currency rates; £ in 2012 currency terms). The name of 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. The British Chancellor of the Exchequer
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...
claimed, in 1909, that Nathan, Lord Rothschild was the most powerful man in Britain. '' Niles' Weekly Register'', Volume 49 had the following to say about the Rothschilds influence on international high finance in 1836:


Changes to family fortunes

The
Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...
Rothschilds was the first branch of the family to decline when revolution broke out and
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pa ...
captured Naples on 7 September 1860 and set up a provisional Italian government. Because of the family's close political connections with Austria and France, was caught in a delicate position. He chose to take temporary sanctuary in Gaeta with the last Neapolitan king, Francis II of the Two Sicilies. However, the Rothschild branches in London, Paris, and Vienna were not prepared nor willing to financially support the deposed king. With the ensuing unification of Italy, and the mounting tension between Adolph and the rest of the family, the Naples house closed in 1863 after forty-two years in business. In 1901, the German branch closed its doors after more than a century in business following the death of Wilhelm Rothschild with no male heirs. It was not until 1989 that the family returned, when N. M. Rothschild & Sons, the British branch, plus Bank Rothschild AG, the Swiss branch, set up a representative banking office in Frankfurt. By the start of the 20th century, the introduction of national taxation systems had ended the Rothschilds' policy of operating with a single set of commercial account records which resulted in the various branches gradually going their own separate ways as independent banks. The system of the five brothers and their successor sons would all but disappear by
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. The rise of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in the 1930s led to a precarious situation for the Austrian Rothschilds under the annexation of Austria in 1937 when the family was pressured to sell its banking operations at a fraction of its real worth. While other Rothschilds had escaped the Nazis, Louis Rothschild was imprisoned for a year and only released after a substantial ransom was paid by his family. After Louis was allowed to leave the country in March 1939, the Nazis placed the firm of S M von Rothschild under compulsory administration. Nazi officers and senior staff from Austrian museums also emptied the Rothschild family estates of all their valuables. Following the war, the Austrian Rothschilds were unable to reclaim much of their former assets and properties. Later, the
fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
led to the seizure of the property of the French Rothschilds under German occupation. Despite having their bank restored to them at the end of the war, the French Rothschilds were powerless in 1982 as the family business was nationalised by the socialist government of newly elected President François Mitterrand. In addition, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote that the Rothschilds "grossly misjudged the opportunities directly across the Atlantic" and quoted Evelyn Robert de Rothschild as saying that despite the accomplishments made by the various branches of the family in international high finance for over 200 years, "we never seized the initiative in America and that was one of the mistakes my family made."


Hereditary titles

In 1816, four of the five sons of Mayer Amschel Rothschild were elevated to the
Austrian nobility The Austrian nobility (german: österreichischer Adel) is a status group that was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary. The nobles are still part of Austrian society today, but they no longer retain any specific priv ...
by Emperor Francis I of Austria. The remaining son, Nathan, was elevated in 1818. All of them were granted the Austrian hereditary title of ''
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 Empir ...
'' (
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 kn ...
) on 29 September 1822. As such, some members of the family used the
nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it is the same as a regular pr ...
''de'' or ''
von The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...
'' before their surname to acknowledge the grant of nobility. In 1847, Anthony de Rothschild was made a hereditary
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
of the United Kingdom. In 1885, Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, was granted the
hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...
age title of
Baron Rothschild Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, a member of the Rothschild banking family. He was the first Jewish memb ...
in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. This title is currently held by the 4th Baron Rothschild.


English branch

The Rothschild banking family of England was founded in 1798 by
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, a ...
(1777–1836), who first settled in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
but then moved to London. Nathan Mayer von Rothschild, the third son 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 ...
(1744–1812), first established a textile jobbing business in Manchester and from there went on to establish N M Rothschild & Sons bank in London. During the early part of the 19th century, the Rothschild family's London bank took a leading part in managing and financing the subsidies that the British government transferred to its allies during the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
. Through the creation of a network of agents, couriers and shippers, the bank was able to provide funds to the armies of the
Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...
in Portugal and Spain, therefore funding the war. The providing of other innovative and complex financing for government projects formed a mainstay of the bank's business for the better part of the century. N. M. Rothschild & Sons' financial strength in the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
became such that, by 1825–26, the bank was able to supply enough coin to the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...
to enable it to avert a liquidity crisis. Nathan Mayer's eldest son, Lionel de Rothschild (1808–1879), succeeded him as head of the London branch. Under Lionel, the bank financed the British government's 1875 purchase of
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
's interest in the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...
. The Rothschild bank also funded
Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Bri ...
in the development of the
British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expect ...
. Leopold de Rothschild (1845–1917) administered Rhodes's estate after his death in 1902 and helped to set up the
Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
scheme at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. In 1873, de Rothschild Frères in France and N. M. Rothschild & Sons of London joined with other investors to acquire the Spanish government's money-losing Rio Tinto copper mines. The new owners restructured the company and turned it into a profitable business. By 1905, the Rothschild interest in Rio Tinto amounted to more than 30 percent. In 1887, the French and British Rothschild banking houses loaned money to, and invested in, the De Beers diamond mines in South Africa, becoming its largest shareholders. The London banking house continued under the management of
Lionel Nathan de Rothschild Lionel Nathan de Rothschild, OBE (25 January 1882 – 28 January 1942), also Major Lionel de Rothschild, was a British banker and Conservative politician best remembered as the creator of Exbury Gardens by the New Forest in Hampshire. He wa ...
(1882–1942) and his brother Anthony Gustav de Rothschild (1887–1961), and then to Sir Evelyn de Rothschild (b. 1931). In 2003, following Sir Evelyn's retirement as head of N. M. Rothschild & Sons of London, the British and French financial firms merged under the leadership of
David René de Rothschild Baron David René James de Rothschild (; born December 15, 1942) is a French banker and a member of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Since 2018, he is supervisory board chairman of Rothschild & Co and chairman of Rothschild Continuat ...
.


French branches

There are two branches of the family connected to France. The first was the branch of
James Mayer de 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), known as "James", who established de Rothschild Frères in Paris; he married his niece
Betty von Rothschild Betty von Rothschild, Baronne de Rothschild (15 June 1805 – 1 September 1886) was a noted salonnière, patron of the arts and philanthropist. Life Betty von Rothschild was born in Frankfurt to the Jewish Austrian banker Salomon Mayer von Rothsc ...
. Following the Napoleonic Wars, he played a major role in financing the construction of railways and the mining business that helped make France an industrial power. By 1980, the Paris business employed about 2,000 people and had an annual turnover of 26 billion francs (€4.13 billion or $5 billion in the currency rates of 1980). However, the Paris business suffered a near death blow in 1982, when the socialist government of François Mitterrand nationalised and renamed it as Compagnie Européenne de Banque. Baron David de Rothschild, then 39, decided to stay and rebuild, creating a new entity named Rothschild & Cie Banque, with just three employees and €830,000 (US$1 million) in capital. Today, the Paris operation has 22 partners and accounts for a significant part of the global business. Ensuing generations of the Paris Rothschild family remained involved in the family business, becoming a major force in international investment banking. The Paris Rothschilds have since led the Thomson Financial League Tables in Investment Banking Merger and Acquisition deals in the UK, France and Italy.
James Mayer de 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 ...
's other son, Edmond James de Rothschild (1845–1934), was very much engaged in philanthropy and the arts, and he was a leading proponent of
Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
. His grandson, Baron Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild, founded in 1953 the
LCF Rothschild Group The Edmond de Rothschild Group is a financial institution specialized in private banking and asset management. Based in Geneva, the group is family-owned and independent, and encompasses the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations (philanthropic arm), ...
, a private bank. Since 1997, Baron Benjamin de Rothschild chairs the group. The group has €100bn of assets in 2008 and owns many wine properties in France (
Château Clarke Château Clarke is a wine property of Bordeaux of based in the Listrac-Médoc AOC and classified as Cru Bourgeois. History In the 12th century, the Cistercian monks of the Vertheuil Abbey established the first grapevine. The estate would per ...
,
Château des Laurets Château des Laurets is a wine estate in Bordeaux. History Purchased by Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild in 2003, the estate stretch on 86 hectares with two appellations: Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion and Montagne-Saint-Émilion. Soil The viney ...
), in Australia or in South Africa. In 1961, the 35-year-old Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild purchased the company Club Med, after he had visited a resort and enjoyed his stay. His interest in Club Med was sold off by the 1990s. In 1973, he bought out the
Bank of California The Bank of California was opened in San Francisco, California, on July 4, 1864, by William Chapman Ralston and Darius Ogden Mills. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and consid ...
, selling his interests in 1984 before it was sold to Mitsubishi Bank in 1985. The second French branch was founded by
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 ...
(1812–1870). Born in London, he was the fourth child of the founder of the British branch of the family,
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, a ...
(1777–1836). In 1850 Nathaniel Rothschild moved to Paris to work with his uncle James Mayer Rothschild. In 1853 Nathaniel acquired 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. Populati ...
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 1,6 ...
''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 neighbouring
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.


Austrian branch

In
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
,
Salomon Mayer Rothschild Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (9 September 1774 – 28 July 1855) was a German-born banker in the Austrian Empire and the founder of the Austrian branch of the prominent Mayer Amschel Rothschild family. Family He was born at Frankfurt am Mai ...
established a bank in the 1820s and the Austrian family had vast wealth and position. The crash of 1929 brought problems, and Baron Louis von Rothschild attempted to shore up the Creditanstalt, Austria's largest bank, to prevent its collapse. Nevertheless, during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
they had to surrender their bank to the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
and flee the country. 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 Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...
, tapestries and statues (some of which were restored to the Rothschilds by the Austrian government in 1999). All family members escaped the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
, some of them moving to the United States, and returning to Europe only 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.


Neapolitan branch

The C M de Rothschild & Figli bank arranged substantial loans to the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
and to various Kings of Naples plus the Duchy of Parma and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. However, in the 1830s, Naples followed Spain with a gradual shift away from conventional bond issues that began to affect the bank's growth and profitability. The Unification of Italy in 1861, with the ensuing decline of the Italian aristocracy who had been the Rothschild's primary clients, eventually brought about the closure of their Naples bank, due to a forecasted decline in the sustainability of the business over the long-term. However, in the early 19th century, the Rothschild family of Naples built up close relations with the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
, and the association between the family and the Vatican continued into the 20th century. In 1832, when Pope Gregory XVI was seen meeting Carl von Rothschild to arrange the 1832 Rothschild loan to the Holy See (for £400,000, worth €43,000,000 in 2014), observers were shocked that Rothschild was not required to kiss the Pope's feet, as was then required for all other visitors to the Pope, including monarchs. The 1906 '' Jewish Encyclopedia'' described the Rothschilds as "the guardians of the papal treasure".


Jewish identity and positions on Zionism

Jewish solidarity in the family was not homogeneous. Many Rothschilds were supporters of
Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
, while other members of the family opposed the creation of the Jewish state. In 1917
Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was pres ...
was the addressee of the
Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...
to the Zionist Federation, which committed the British government to the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. His
nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of ...
, Victor, Lord Rothschild was against granting asylum or helping Jewish refugees in 1938. After the death of James Jacob de Rothschild in 1868, his eldest son Alphonse Rothschild took over the management of the family bank and was the most active in support for
Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Israe ...
. The Rothschild family archives show that during the 1870s the family contributed nearly 500,000 francs per year on behalf of Eastern Jewry to the Alliance Israélite Universelle. Baron Edmond James de Rothschild (known in Israel simply as "the Baron Rothschild" or "the Benefactor" (Hebrew: "HaNadiv"), youngest son of James Jacob de Rothschild, was a patron of the first permanent settlement in Palestine at
Rishon-LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...
(1882). He also provided funding for the establishment of Petah Tikva as a permanent settlement (1883). Overall, he bought from Ottoman landlords 2–3% of the land which now makes up present-day Israel. After Baron de Hirsch died in 1896, the Hirsch-founded Jewish Colonisation Association (ICA) started supporting the settlement of Palestine (1896), and Baron Rothschild took an active role in the organization and transferred his Palestinian land holdings as well as 15 million francs to it. In 1924, he reorganized the Palestinian branch of the ICA into the Palestine Jewish Colonisation Association (PICA), which acquired more than of land and set up business ventures. In
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, the Rothschild Boulevard is named after him, as are a number of localities throughout Israel which he assisted in founding, including
Metulla Metula ( he, מְטֻלָּה) is a town in the Northern District of Israel. Metula is located next to the northern border with Lebanon. In it had a population of . Metula is the northernmost town in Israel. History Bronze and Iron Age Metula ...
, Zikhron Ya'akov, Rishon Lezion and Rosh Pina. A park in
Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the Parisian area, located from its centre. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and t ...
, Paris, the ''Parc Edmond de Rothschild'' (Edmond de Rothschild Park), is also named after its founder. The Rothschilds also played a significant part in the funding of Israel's governmental infrastructure. James A. de Rothschild financed the
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...
building as a gift to the State of Israel and the
Supreme Court of Israel ar, المحكمة العليا , image = Emblem of Israel dark blue full.svg , imagesize = 100px , caption = Emblem of Israel , motto = , established = , location = Givat Ram, Jerusalem , coordina ...
building was donated to Israel by Dorothy de Rothschild. Outside the President's Chamber is displayed the letter Dorothy de Rothschild wrote to then Prime Minister Shimon Peres expressing her intention to donate a new building for the Supreme Court. Interviewed by ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...
'' in 2010, Baron Benjamin Rothschild, a Swiss-based member of the banking family, said that he supported the Israeli–Palestinian peace process: "I understand that it is a complicated business, mainly because of the fanatics and extremists – and I am talking about both sides. I think you have fanatics in Israel. ... In general I am not in contact with politicians. I spoke once with Netanyahu. I met once with an Israeli finance minister, but the less I mingle with politicians the better I feel.""Family values", ''Haaretz'', Magazine, 11:15 05.11.10, By Eytan Avriel and Guy Rolnik Due to a dispute with the Israeli tax authorities, the baron refuses to visit Israel. But his wife
Ariane de Rothschild Baroness Ariane de Rothschild (née Langner; 14 November 1965) is a French banker, president of the board of the Edmond de Rothschild Group since April 2019. She is the first woman to run a Rothschild-branded financial institution. She was marri ...
often visits Israel where she manages the Caesarea Foundation. She says: "It is insulting that the state sraelcasts doubt on us. If there is a family that does not have to prove its commitment to Israel, it's ours."


Places in Israel named after Rothschild family members

Primarily due to the generosity and influence of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, HaNadiv (the Benefactor), on the history of the Land of Israel and the State of Israel, a tradition exists of naming cities, towns and other settlements in Israel in honor of members of the Rothschild family. Six of these places are grouped in the same vicinity, on the Sharon plain, while the others are scattered throughout the country. They are, listed in order of founding: * Zichron Ya'akov (Hebrew: Jacob's Memory), a town founded in 1882 and named after the Benefactor's father, James acobMayer de Rothschild (1792–1868) from the Paris branch of the family; * Mazkeret Batya (Hebrew: Remembrance of Batya), a local council near
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, founded in 1883 and named after
Betty von Rothschild Betty von Rothschild, Baronne de Rothschild (15 June 1805 – 1 September 1886) was a noted salonnière, patron of the arts and philanthropist. Life Betty von Rothschild was born in Frankfurt to the Jewish Austrian banker Salomon Mayer von Rothsc ...
(1805–1886), the Benefactor's mother; * Bat Shlomo (Hebrew: Salomon's Daughter), a moshav near
Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...
, founded in 1889 and also named after the Baron's mother, who was the daughter of Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (1774–1855), the Benefactor's grandfather from the Vienna branch; * Meir Shfeya (Hebrew: Mayer's Fields), a youth village near Zichron Ya'acov, founded as a
moshava A moshava ( he, מושבה, plural: ''moshavot'' , lit. ''colony'') was a form of rural Jewish settlement in Ottoman Palestine, established by the members of the Old Yishuv since late 1870s and during the first two waves of Jewish Zionist im ...
in 1891 and named after
Amschel Mayer von Rothschild Amschel is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Amschel Mayer Rothschild (1773–1855), German Jewish banker of the Rothschild family financial dynasty *Amschel Mayor James Rothschild (1955–1996), youngest child of Victor Rothschi ...
(1773–1855), the Benefactor's grandfather from the Frankfurt branch; *
Givat Ada Binyamina-Giv'at Ada ( he, בִּנְיָמִינָה-גִּבְעַת עָדָה) is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. It is the result of the 2003 merger between the two local councils of Binyamina and Giv'at Ada. In its population was . ...
(Hebrew: Ada's Hill), a town near Zichron Ya'acov, founded in 1903 and named after the Benefactor's wife Adelheid von Rothschild (1853–1935), who was also his cousin, from the Naples branch; * Binyamina, a town near Zichron Ya'acov, founded in 1922 and named after Benefactor himself (Binyamina was officially merged with Givat Ada in 2003); *
Ashdot Ya'akov Ashdot Ya'akov ( he, אַשְׁדוֹת יַעֲקֹב, lit. ''Ya'akov Rapids'') is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Originally founded in 1924 by a kvutza of Hashomer members from Latvia on the land which is today Gesher, it moved to its current l ...
(Hebrew: Jacob's Rapids), a kibbutz just south of the
Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...
, founded in 1924 and named after James Armand Edmond de Rothschild (1878–1957), son of the Benefactor; * Pardes Hanna (Hebrew: Hannah's itrusOrchard), a local council near Zichron Ya'acov, founded in 1929 and named after Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery née de Rothschild (1851–1890), daughter of Mayer Anschel Rothschild; * Shadmot Dvora (Hebrew: Deborah's Cultivated Fields), a moshav near
Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...
, founded in 1939 and named after Dorothy de Rothschild (1895–1988), who was James de Rothschild's wife and the Benefactor's daughter-in-law; *
Sde Eliezer Sde Eliezer ( he, שְׂדֵה אֱלִיעֶזֶר, lit. ''Eliezer's Field'') is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Hula Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History ...
(Hebrew: Eliezer's Field), a moshav in the Hula Valley, founded in 1950 and named after
Robert Rothschild Baron Robert Rothschild (16 December 1911, in Brussels – 3 December 1998, in London) was a Belgian diplomat. He helped to draft the Treaty of Rome of 1957, the foundation of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1958. Biography His fat ...
(1911–1998), a relative of the Benefactor's of the French branch.


Modern businesses, investments, and philanthropy

Since the late 19th century, the family has taken a low-key public profile, donating many famous estates, as well as vast quantities of art, to charity, and generally eschewing conspicuous displays of wealth. Today, Rothschild businesses are on a smaller scale than they were throughout the 19th century, although they encompass a diverse range of fields, including: real estate, financial services, mixed farming, energy, mining, winemaking and nonprofits.


The Rothschild Group

Since 2003, a group of Rothschild 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. Concordia BV is managed by Paris Orléans S.A., a French-registered holding company. Paris Orléans S.A. is ultimately controlled by Rothschild Concordia SAS, a Rothschild's family holding company. Rothschild & 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. 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 private 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 Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspec ...
(M&A) advisory and equity capital markets advisory in the food and agribusiness sectors. 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. Paris Orléans S.A. is a financial holding company listed on Euronext Paris and controlled by the French and English branch of the Rothschild family. Paris Orléans is the flagship of the Rothschild banking Group and controls the Rothschild Group's banking activities including N M Rothschild & Sons and Rothschild & Cie Banque. It has over 2,000 employees. Directors of the company include
Eric de Rothschild The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* a ...
,
Robert de Rothschild Robert Philippe Gustave de Rothschild (19 January 1880 – 25 December 1946) was a French banker, philanthropist and polo player. Early life Robert de Rothschild was born on 19 January 1880 in Paris, France.
and Count Philippe de Nicolay.People: Paris Orleans S.A. (PROR.PA)
Reuters.
N M Rothschild & Sons, an English investment bank, does most of its business as an advisor for mergers and acquisitions. In 2004, the investment bank withdrew from the gold market, a commodity the Rothschild bankers had traded in for two centuries. In 2006, it ranked second in UK M&A with deals totalling $104.9 billion. In 2006, the bank recorded a pre-tax annual profit of £83.2 million with assets of £5.5 billion.


Edmond de Rothschild Group

In 1953, one Swiss member of the family, Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild (1926–1997), founded the LCF Rothschild Group (now Edmond de Rothschild Group) which is based in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
, which today extends to 15 countries across the world. Although this Group is primarily a financial entity, specializing in asset management and private banking, its activities also cover mixed farming, luxury hotels and yacht racing. Edmond de Rothschild Group's committee is currently being chaired by Benjamin de Rothschild, Baron Edmond's son. 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 the Rothschilds 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". Edmond de Rothschild group includes these companies. *
Banque privée Edmond de Rothschild The Edmond de Rothschild Group is a financial institution specialized in private banking and asset management. Based in Geneva, the group is family-owned and independent, and encompasses the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations (philanthropic arm), ...
– Swiss private banking firm *
Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild The Edmond de Rothschild Group is a financial institution specialized in private banking and asset management. Based in Geneva, the group is family-owned and independent, and encompasses the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations (philanthropic arm), ...
– French private bank * La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild * Cogifrance – Real estate * Compagnie Vinicole Baron Edmond de Rothschild – wine making firm


RIT Capital Partners

In 1980,
Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, (born 29 April 1936) is a British peer, investment banker and a member of the Rothschild banking family. Now mostly retired, he has held many important roles in business, finance ...
resigned from N M Rothschild & Sons and took independent control of Rothschild Investment Trust (now
RIT Capital Partners RIT Capital Partners plc, formerly Rothschild Investment Trust, is a large British investment trust dedicated to investments in quoted securities and quoted special situations. Established in 1961, the company is listed on the London Stock Exchan ...
, a British investment trust), which has reported assets of $3.4 billion in 2008. It is listed on
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
. Lord Rothschild is also one of the major investors behind BullionVault, a gold trading platform. In 2010 RIT Capital Partners stored a significant proportion of its assets in the form of physical gold. Other assets included oil and energy-related investments. In 2012, RIT Capital Partners announced it is to buy a 37 per cent stake in a
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by broth ...
wealth advisory and asset management group. Commenting on the deal, David Rockefeller, a former
patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in c ...
of the
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by broth ...
, said: "The connection between our two families remains very strong."


Investments

In 1991,
Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, (born 29 April 1936) is a British peer, investment banker and a member of the Rothschild banking family. Now mostly retired, he has held many important roles in business, finance ...
founded J. Rothschild Assurance Group (now St. James's Place Wealth Management) with
Sir Mark Weinberg Sir Mark Aubrey Weinberg (born 9 August 1931) is a South African-born British financier. He is the Life President of St. James’s Place Wealth Management. Early life and education Weinberg was born in South Africa and educated at King Ed ...
. It is also listed on
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
. In 2001, the Rothschild mansion located at 18
Kensington Palace Gardens Kensington Palace Gardens is an exclusive street in Kensington, west of central London, near Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace. Entered through gates at either end and guarded by sentry boxes, it was the location of the London Cage, t ...
, London, was on sale for £85 million, at that time (2001) the most expensive residential property ever to go on sale in the world. It was built in marble, at 9,000 sq ft, with underground parking for 20 cars. In December 2009,
Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, (born 29 April 1936) is a British peer, investment banker and a member of the Rothschild banking family. Now mostly retired, he has held many important roles in business, finance ...
invested $200 million of his own money in a
North Sea oil North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid petroleum and natural gas, produced from petroleum reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the petroleum industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Se ...
company. In January 2010,
Nathaniel Philip Rothschild , 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 ...
bought a substantial share of the
Glencore Glencore plc is a Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas head office is in London and its registered office is in Saint Helier, Jersey. The current company wa ...
mining and oil company's market capitalisation. He also bought a large share of the aluminium mining company
United Company RUSAL United Company RUSAL, international public joint-stock company (russian: МКПАО «ОК РУСАЛ», MKPAO «ОК RUSAL») is the world's second largest aluminium company by primary production output (as of 2016). It was the largest until ov ...
. 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.


Wine

The Rothschild family has been in the winemaking industry for 150 years. In 1853,
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 ...
purchased
Château Brane-Mouton 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. No ...
and renamed it Château Mouton Rothschild. In 1868,
James Mayer de 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 ...
purchased the neighbouring Château Lafite and renamed it
Château Lafite Rothschild Château Lafite Rothschild is a French wine estate of Bordeaux wine, located in Pauillac in France, owned by members of the Rothschild family since the 19th century, and rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Lafite ...
. Today, the Rothschild family owns many wine estates: their estates in France include
Château Clarke Château Clarke is a wine property of Bordeaux of based in the Listrac-Médoc AOC and classified as Cru Bourgeois. History In the 12th century, the Cistercian monks of the Vertheuil Abbey established the first grapevine. The estate would per ...
, Château de Malengin, Château Clerc-Milon,
Château d'Armailhac Château d'Armailhac, previously named Château Mouton-d'Armailhacq (historical name from inception, 1750–1955), Château Mouton-Baron Philippe, Mouton Baronne and Château Mouton-Baronne-Philippe (1979–1988), is a winery in the Pauillac appe ...
,
Château Duhart-Milon Château Duhart-Milon, previously also Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild, is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of ten Quatrièmes Crus Classés (Fourth Growths) in ...
,
Château Lafite Rothschild Château Lafite Rothschild is a French wine estate of Bordeaux wine, located in Pauillac in France, owned by members of the Rothschild family since the 19th century, and rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Lafite ...
, Château de Laversine,
Château des Laurets Château des Laurets is a wine estate in Bordeaux. History Purchased by Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild in 2003, the estate stretch on 86 hectares with two appellations: Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion and Montagne-Saint-Émilion. Soil The viney ...
,
Château L'Évangile Château L'Évangile, archaically Fazilleau, is a Bordeaux wine estate from the appellation Pomerol. The winery is located on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Pomerol in the department Gironde. As all wine produced ...
, Château Malmaison, Château de Montvillargenne, Château Mouton Rothschild,
Château de la Muette The Château de la Muette () is a château located on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France, near the Porte de la Muette. Three châteaux have been located on the site since a hunting lodge was transformed into the first château fo ...
,
Château Rieussec Château Rieussec is a sweet white wine ranked as Premier Cru Classé (French, “First Growth”) in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Belonging to the Sauternes appellation in Gironde, in the region of Graves, the ...
and Château Rothschild d'Armainvilliers. They also own wine estates across North America, South America, South Africa and Australia. Especially, Château Mouton Rothschild and
Château Lafite Rothschild Château Lafite Rothschild is a French wine estate of Bordeaux wine, located in Pauillac in France, owned by members of the Rothschild family since the 19th century, and rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Lafite ...
are classified as Premier Cru Classé—i.e., First Growth, the status referring to a classification of wines from the
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...
region of France.
Saskia de Rothschild Saskia Anna Esther Maria del Mar de Rothschild (born April 29, 1987) is a French journalist and businesswoman. She became chairwoman of the Domaines Barons de Rothschild in 2018 and chief executive officer in 2021. Biography She was born on Ap ...
was named Chairwoman of
Château Lafite Rothschild Château Lafite Rothschild is a French wine estate of Bordeaux wine, located in Pauillac in France, owned by members of the Rothschild family since the 19th century, and rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Lafite ...
in 2018, succeeding her father,
Éric de Rothschild Baron Éric Alain Robert David de Rothschild (born 3 October 1940) is a French banker. Early life Éric de Rothschild was born on 3 October 1940 in New York City.Antoine FouchetÉric de Rothschild plaide pour « l’enseignement de la Shoah » '' ...
. Château Mouton Rothschild was managed by
Philippine de Rothschild Philippine Mathilde Camille, Baroness de Rothschild (22 November 1933 – 23 August 2014) was the owner of the French winery Château Mouton Rothschild. She acted under the stage name Philippine Pascal (imprinting on her paternal grandfather Henri ...
until her death in 2014. It is now under the direction of her son Philippe Sereys de Rothschild.


Art and charity

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.
Hannah Mary Rothschild Hannah Mary Rothschild (born 22 May 1962) is a British author, businesswoman, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker. In addition to screenplays and journalism, she has published a biography and two novels. She serves on charitable and finan ...
was appointed in December 2014 as chair of the Board of the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
of London.


Cultural references

In the words of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'': "This multinational banking family is a byword for wealth, power – and discretion... The Rothschild name has become synonymous with money and power to a degree that perhaps no other family has ever matched." Writing of the
Rockefeller Rockefeller is a German surname, originally given to people from the village of Rockenfeld near Neuwied in the Rhineland and commonly referring to subjects associated with the Rockefeller family. It may refer to: People with the name Rockefeller f ...
and Rothschild families, Harry Mount writes: "That is what makes these two dynasties so exceptional – not just their dizzying wealth, but the fact that they have held on to it for so long: and not just the loot, but also their family companies." 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 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 ...
and
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, a ...
(both played by Arliss). Excerpts from this film were incorporated into the Nazi propaganda film '' Der ewige Jude'' (''The Eternal Jew'') without the permission of the copyright holder. Another Nazi 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 The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...
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. Mayer Rothschild is featured in Diana Gabaldon's novel ''
Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...
'' as a coin seller summoned to Le Havre by Jamie Fraser to appraise coins, prior to the establishment of the Rothschild dynasty, when Mayer is in his early 20s. The Rothschild name is mentioned by Aldous Huxley in his novel '' Brave New World'', among many names of historically affluent persons, scientific innovators and others. The character, named Morgana Rothschild, played a relatively minor role in the story. 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 Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
as ''Ven ikh bin Rotshild'', meaning "If I were a Rothschild". In France, the word "Rothschild" was throughout the 19th and 20th centuries a synonym for seemingly endless wealth, neo-Gothic styles, and epicurean glamour. The family also has lent its name to "," a suffocatingly glamorous style of interior decoration whose 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 designers such as Robert Denning, Yves Saint Laurent,
Vincent Fourcade Vincent Gabriel Fourcade (27 February 1934 – 23 December 1992) was a French interior designer and the business and life partner of Robert Denning. "Outrageous luxury is what our clients want," he once said. Family and youth "Born...to a fam ...
and others.


Conspiracy theories

Over more than two centuries, the Rothschild family has frequently been the subject of conspiracy theories. These theories take differing forms, such as claiming that the family controls the world's wealth and financial institutions or encouraged or discouraged wars between governments. Discussing this and similar views, the historian Niall Ferguson wrote, Many conspiracy theories about the Rothschild family arise from anti-Semitic prejudice and various
antisemitic canard Antisemitic tropes, canards, or myths are " sensational reports, misrepresentations, or fabrications" that are defamatory towards Judaism as a religion or defamatory towards Jews as an ethnic or religious group. Since the Middle Ages, such repo ...
s.


Prominent descendants of Mayer Amschel Rothschild

Prominent lineal descendants of Mayer Amschel Rothschild include among many others: * Major Alexander Karet (1905–1976) * Adeleheid von Rothschild (1853–1935) x 1877 : Edmond de Rothschild (1845–1934) (see the Paris branch) *
Almina Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon Almina Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon (née Wombwell; 14 April 1876 – 28 May 1969), was the wife of George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, and châtelaine of Highclere Castle in Hampshire. After her second marriage, she became Mrs Almina Denni ...
(15 August 1876 – 8 May 1969) * Prince Alexandre Louis Philippe Marie Berthier (1883–1918), died fighting in the First World War * Albert Salomon von Rothschild (1844–1911), former majority shareholder of Creditanstalt *
Alfred Charles de Rothschild Alfred Charles ''Freiherr'' de Rothschild, CVO (20 July 1842 – 31 January 1918), was the second son of Lionel ''Freiherr'' de Rothschild and Charlotte ''Freifrau'' von Rothschild of the Rothschild family. Education As a young man, Alfred ...
(20 July 1842 – 31 January 1918) * Alice Charlotte von Rothschild (1847–1922) close friend of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
* Aline Caroline de Rothschild (1867–1909), French socialite * Alice Rothschild (born 1983), wife of Zac Goldsmith, after his divorce of Sheherazade Ventura-Bentley * Lady Aline Caroline Cholmondeley (born 1916) * Baroness Afdera Franchetti (born c. 1931), a former wife of Henry Fonda, from the noble Italian Jewish Franchetti family * Baroness Alix Hermine Jeannette Schey de Koromla (1911–1982) *
Alphonse James de Rothschild Mayer Alphonse James Rothschild (1 February 1827 – 26 May 1905), was a French financier, vineyard owner, art collector, philanthropist, racehorse owner/breeder and a member of the Rothschild banking family of France. Biography Known as Al ...
(1827–1905) *
Amschel Mayor James Rothschild Amschel Mayor James Rothschild (18 April 1955 – 8 July 1996) was a British businessman who was the executive chairman of Rothschild Asset Management of the Rothschild banking family of England. Early years and kinships Rothschild was born in ...
(1955–1996, Paris), patron of motor racing * Princess Andréa de La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais (born Paris 1972) * Anthony Gustav de Rothschild (1887–1961), horse-breeder *
Anthony James de Rothschild Anthony James de Rothschild (born 30 January 1977) is a British businessman, philanthropist and a member of the Rothschild banking family of England. He is the eldest son of Sir Evelyn Robert de Rothschild Sir Evelyn Robert Adrian de Rot ...
(born 1977) *
Anselm von Rothschild Anselm Salomon von Rothschild, baron (29 January 1803 – 27 July 1874) was an Austrian banker, founder of the Creditanstalt, and a member of the Vienna branch of the Rothschild family. Family He was born in the Imperial City of Frankfurt, the ...
(1803–1874), Austrian banker * Anselm Alexander Carl de Rothschild (1835–1854) * Sir Anthony de Rothschild, 1st Baronet (1810–1876) * Antoine Armand Odélric Marie Henri de Gramont, 13th Duke of Gramont (born 1951) *
Alain de Rothschild Baron James Gustave Jules Alain de Rothschild (7 January 1910 – 17 October 1982) was a French banker and philanthropist. Early life Alain de Rothschild was born on 7 January 1910 in Paris, France. His father was Baron Robert de Rothschild, wh ...
(1910–1982) * Lady Barbara Marie-Louise Constance Berry (born 1935) * Arthur de Rothschild (1851–1903) * Benjamin de Rothschild (1963–2021) * Princess Béatrice de Broglie (1913-1994) *
Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild Charlotte Béatrice de Rothschild (; 14 September 1864 – 7 April 1934) was a French socialite, art collector, and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France. Early life Charlotte, known as Béatrice, was born in Paris, ...
(1864–1934) *
Bethsabée de Rothschild Baroness Bethsabée de Rothschild (assumed the name Batsheva after she immigrated to Israel in 1951; 23 September 1914 – 20 April 1999) was a philanthropist, dance patron, and member of the Rothschild banking family. Early life and education ...
(1914–1999) *
Carl Mayer von Rothschild Carl Mayer ''Freiherr'' von Rothschild (24 April 1788 – 10 March 1855) was a German-born banker in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the founder of the Rothschild banking family of Naples. Biography Born Kalman Mayer Rothschild in Frankfu ...
(1788–1855) * Cécile Léonie Eugénie Gudule Lucie de Rothschild (1913–1995) * Charlotte de Rothschild *
Charlotte Henriette de Rothschild Charlotte Henriette de Rothschild (born 28 November 1955) is a British soprano, specialising in the recital and oratorio repertoire, who is a member of the Rothschild banking family of England. Biography The second daughter of the four childre ...
(born 1955), British opera singer *
Charlotte von Rothschild ''Freifrau'' Charlotte von Rothschild (13 June 1819 – 13 March 1884) was a German-born British socialite. She was a member of the Rothschild banking family of Naples. Family Rothschild was born into the well known Jewish banking family, the ...
(1818–84) * Count Charles-Emmanuel Lannes de Montebello (born 1942) *
Charles Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Rothschild (9 May 1877 – 12 October 1923), known as "Charles", was an English banker and entomologist and a member of the Rothschild family. He is remembered for The Rothschild List, a list he made in 1915 of 284 sites acros ...
(1877–1923), banker and entomologist * Constance Flower, 1st Baroness of Battersea (1843–1931) *
David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley David George Philip Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, (; born 27 June 1960), styled Viscount Malpas from birth until 1968, and subsequently Earl of Rocksavage until 1990, is a British peer and filmmaker who acted as Lord Great Cham ...
(born 1960),
Lord Great Chamberlain The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable. The Lord Great Chamberlain has charge over the Palace of Westminster (tho ...
of England *
David Mayer de Rothschild David Mayer de Rothschild (born 25 August 1978) is a British adventurer, ecologist, and environmentalist.7 February 2009 The Sunday Times Magazine Early life He is a member of the Rothschild family, the youngest of three children of Victoria ...
(born 1978), billionaire British adventurer and environmentalist *
David René de Rothschild Baron David René James de Rothschild (; born December 15, 1942) is a French banker and a member of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Since 2018, he is supervisory board chairman of Rothschild & Co and chairman of Rothschild Continuat ...
(born 1942) * Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild (1926–1997) * Edouard Etienne de Rothschild (born 1957) * Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild (1868–1949) financier and polo player * Prince Edouard de La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais (born 1949) * Edmond James de Rothschild (1845–1934) * Edmund Leopold de Rothschild (1916–2009) *
Elie de Rothschild Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked ...
(1917–2007) * Princess Elisabeth de Broglie (born 1920) *
Emma Rothschild Emma Georgina Rothschild (born 16 May 1948) is a British economic historian, a professor of history at Harvard University. She is director of the Joint Centre for History and Economics at Harvard, and an honorary Professor of History and Economi ...
(born 1948) * Esther de Rothschild (born 1979) * Evelina de Rothschild (1839–66) * Evelyn Achille de Rothschild (1886–1917), died fighting for the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
in the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
* Sir Evelyn de Rothschild (born 1931), banker * Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild,
M.P. A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members ofte ...
(1839–1898) * Count Gabriel Antoine Armand (1908–1943), a soldier of the
French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
. *
Gustave Samuel de Rothschild Gustave Samuel James de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (17 February 1829 in Paris – 28 November 1911 in Paris) was a French banker and scion of the French branch of the Rothschild family. He was the second son of James Mayer de Rothschild an ...
(1829–1911) * Guy de Rothschild (1909–2007) * Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery née Hannah Rothschild (1851–1890) *
Hannah Mary Rothschild Hannah Mary Rothschild (born 22 May 1962) is a British author, businesswoman, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker. In addition to screenplays and journalism, she has published a biography and two novels. She serves on charitable and finan ...
(born 1962), documentary filmmaker * Helene Cecile Muhlstein de Rothschild (1936–2007) x 1962 : François Nourissier (1927–2011), président de l'Académie Goncourt *
Henri James de Rothschild Henri James Nathaniel Charles, Baron de Rothschild (26 July 1872 – 12 October 1947) was a French playwright who wrote under the pen names André Pascal, Charles des Fontaines, and P.-L. Naveau. He was also qualified as a physician (although he ...
(1872–1946), playwright, grandson of
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 ...
* Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon (1898–1987) * Duke Hélie Marie Auguste Jacques Bertrand Philippe (1943), 10th Duke of Noailles * Henriette Rothschild (1791–1866) married Sir Moses Montefiore (1784–1885) * Count Henri de Gramont (1909–1994) *
Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley George Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley (CHUM-lee); 24 April 1919 – 13 March 1990), styled Earl of Rocksavage from 1923 until 1968, was a British peer who served as Lord Great Chamberlain of England between 1968 and 1990. ...
(1919–90),
Lord Great Chamberlain The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable. The Lord Great Chamberlain has charge over the Palace of Westminster (tho ...
of England * Jacqueline de Rothschild (1911–2012) x (1) 1930; Robert Calmann-Lévy (1899–1982) puis x (2) 1937; Gregor Piatigorsky (1903–1976) * James Amschel Victor Rothschild (born 1985) * James Armand de Rothschild (1878–1957) *
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 bor ...
(1792–1868) * Joachim Von Rothschild (1929–1998) *
Marie Angliviel de la Beaumelle Marie Brandolini d'Adda di Valmareno (née Angliviel de la Beaumelle; 7 April 1963 – 30 May 2013) was a French-Italian glass maker. Early life and family Marie Angliviel de la Beaumelle was born on April 7, 1963, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts ...
(1963–2013) * Neil Primrose, 7th Earl of Rosebery (born 1929) *
Neil James Archibald Primrose Neil James Archibald Primrose (14 December 1882 – 15 November 1917) was a British Liberal politician and soldier. The second son of Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, he represented Wisbech in parliament from 1910 to 1917 and served as Under-Secr ...
(1882–1917), MP, killed fighting in the First World War * Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter (née Baroness Pannonica Rothschild) (1913–1988), patron of bebop and jazz writer – often called the "Jazz Baroness" * Baron Léon Lambert (1929–1987), Belgian art collector * Leopold de Rothschild (1845–1917) * Leopold David de Rothschild (1927–2012) * Leonora de Rothschild (1837–1911) * Lionel Nathan Rothschild (1808–1879) *
Louis Nathaniel de Rothschild Louis Nathaniel, Baron de Rothschild (german: Ludwig Nathaniel, Freiherr von Rothschild) was an Austrian baron from the famous Rothschild family. He was born in Vienna on 5 March 1882 and died of heart failure while swimming in Montego Bay, Jam ...
(1882–1955) * Lady Louise Rothschild (1821–1910), philanthropist and daughter of Henrietta Rothschild * Countess Magdalene-Sophie von Attems (born 1927) *
Marie-Hélène de Rothschild Marie-Hélène Naila Stephanie Josina de Rothschild (; November 17, 1927 – March 1, 1996) was a French socialite who became a doyenne of Parisian high-society and was a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France. Early life ...
(1927–94), French socialite *
Maurice de Rothschild Maurice Edmond Karl de Rothschild (19 May 1881 – 4 September 1957) was a French art collector, vineyard owner, financier and politician. He was born into the Rothschild banking family of France. Early life Maurice de Rothschild was born on 19 ...
(1881–1957) * Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818–1874) *
Miriam Louisa Rothschild Dame Miriam Louisa Rothschild (5 August 1908 – 20 January 2005) was a British natural scientist and author with contributions to zoology, entomology, and botany. Early life Miriam Rothschild was born in 1908 in Ashton Wold, near Oundle in N ...
(1908–2005), famous
entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...
and zoologist * Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertford (1868–1937) *
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 ...
(1812–1870) *
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, a ...
(1777–1836) * Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertford (1840–1915) *
Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, (born 29 April 1936) is a British peer, investment banker and a member of the Rothschild banking family. Now mostly retired, he has held many important roles in business, finance ...
, of Tring in the County of Hertford (born 1936) *
Nathaniel Robert de Rothschild 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 fro ...
(1946), French financier * Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertford (1910–1990) *
Nathaniel Philip Rothschild , 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 ...
(born 1971), a co-chairman of Atticus Capital, a £20 billion
hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as ...
*
Nathaniel Anselm von Rothschild Nathaniel Meyer von Rothschild (26 October 1836 – 16 June 1905) was a member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria, known as art collector and patron. Life Born in Vienna, he was the fifth child and first son of Anselm von Rothschild (18 ...
(1836–1905), Austrian socialite * Sir Philip Sassoon, 3rd Baronet (1888–1939), British First Commissioner of Works and Under-Secretary of State for Air * Count Philippe de Nicolay (born 1955), great-grandson of Salomon James de Rothschild, he is a director of the Rothschild group. * Robert de Rothschild (1880–1946) x 1907 : Gabrielle Beer (1886–1945) *
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 ...
(1902–1988), vintner, son of
Henri James de Rothschild Henri James Nathaniel Charles, Baron de Rothschild (26 July 1872 – 12 October 1947) was a French playwright who wrote under the pen names André Pascal, Charles des Fontaines, and P.-L. Naveau. He was also qualified as a physician (although he ...
*
Philippine de Rothschild Philippine Mathilde Camille, Baroness de Rothschild (22 November 1933 – 23 August 2014) was the owner of the French winery Château Mouton Rothschild. She acted under the stage name Philippine Pascal (imprinting on her paternal grandfather Henri ...
(1935–2014), vintner, daughter of Philippe * Jacqueline Rebecca Louise de Rothschild (1911–2012), chess and tennis champion *
Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery Albert Edward Harry Meyer Archibald Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery, 2nd Earl of Midlothian (8 January 1882 – 31 May 1974), styled Lord Dalmeny until 1929, was a British liberal politician who briefly served as Secretary of State for Scotland i ...
(1882–1974) Earl of Roseberry *
Raphael de Rothschild 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 fr ...
(1976–2000) *
Salomon James de Rothschild Salomon James de Rothschild (1835–1864) was a French banker and socialite. Biography Early life Salomon James de Rothschild was born on 30 March 1835. His father was James Mayer de Rothschild, head of the Paris branch of the prominent Rothsch ...
(1835–1864) * Lady Serena Dunn Rothschild (born 1935) * Countess Sophie von Löwenstein-Scharffeneck (1896–1978) *
Lady Sybil Grant Lady Sybil Myra Caroline Grant ( Primrose; 18 September 1879 – 25 February 1955) was a British writer and artist. She was the eldest child of Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and his wife, Hannah de Rothschild, Hannah. Apart from ...
(1879–1955), British writer *
Sybil Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley Sybil Rachel Betty Cecile Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (born Sybil Rachel Betty Cecile Sassoon; 30 January 1894 – 26 December 1989), styled Countess of Rocksavage from 1913 to 1923, was a British socialite, patron of the arts, ...
(1894–1989) * Valentine Noémi von Springer (1886–1969) * Victoria Katherine Rothschild (born 1953) *
Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was pres ...
(1868–1937), zoologist * Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild (1828–1901) Prominent marriages into the family include, among many others: *
Maurice Ephrussi Maurice Ephrussi (18 November 1849 – 29 October 1916) was a French banker and horsebreeder. Early life Maurice Ephrussi was born on November 18, 1849, in Odessa, Russian Empire. He was a member of the Ephrussi family. His father, Charles Joac ...
(1849–1916), of the Ephrussi family * Ben Goldsmith (born 1980), son of financier James Goldsmith, of the
Goldsmith family The Goldschmidt family is a family of German Jewish descent, originally from Frankfurt am Main, known for their success in banking. With origins tracing back to the 15th century, most members were forced to leave Frankfurt after the 1614 Fettmilc ...
married Kate Emma Rothschild (born 1982) * Anita Patience Guinness (1957), of the Guinness family, married Amschel Mayor James Rothschild *
Abraham Oppenheim Abraham Oppenheim (24 May 1804 in Cologne – 9 October 1878 in Cologne), titled in 1868 as Abraham Freiherr von Oppenheim, was a German banker and patron. Life and career Oppenheim was the second son among the twelve children of banker Salomon ...
(1804–1878), of the
Oppenheim Family The Oppenheim family is a German Jewish banking family which founded what was Europe's biggest private bank, Sal. Oppenheim. According to Manager Magazin 2008, the Oppenheim family was among the 30 richest families in Germany, with assets over 8 b ...
, married Charlotte Beyfus (1811–1887) * Cora Guggenheim (1873–1956), of the
Guggenheim family The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from ...
, married Louis F. Rothschild (1869–1957) * Aline Caroline de Rothschild (1867–1909) married
Edward Sassoon Sir Edward Albert Sassoon, 2nd Baronet (20 June 1856 – 24 May 1912) was a British businessman and politician. Early life A member of the Sassoon family, he was born on 20 June 1856 in Bombay, India. He was the son of Hannah Moise and Albert A ...
(1856–1912), of the Sassoon family * Carola Warburg Rothschild (1894–1987), philanthropist, born into the
Warburg family The Warburg family is a prominent German and American banking family of German Jewish and originally Venetian Jewish descent, noted for their varied accomplishments in biochemistry, botany, political activism, economics, investment banking, law, ...
* Sara Louise de Rothschild (born 1834), married the Baron Raimondo Franchetti (born 1829) * Baron Eugéne Daniel de Rothschild (1884–1976) married Countess Cathleen Wolff de Schönborn-Bucheim (1885 – c. 1946) * In 1923, James Nathaniel Charles Léopold Rothschild, son of Henri James Nathaniel Charles Rothschild and Mathilde Sophie Henriette de Weisweiller, married Claude du Pont of the
Du Pont family The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817). It has been one of the richest families in the United States since the mid-19th century, when it founded its f ...
. * Bertha Clara de Rothschild (1862) married Prince Alexandre de Wagram * Bertha Juliet de Rothschild (1870) married Baron Emmanuel Leonino * Lili Jeanette von Goldschimdt-Rothschild (1883–1929), married Baron Philippe Schey de Koromla * Elisabeth Pelletier de Chambure (1902–1945), the only member of the Rothschild family to die in the Holocaust. * Antoine Agénor Armand (1879–1962), of the Naples Rothschild lines, married Countess Élaine Greffulhe, daughter of Princess Élisabeth de Caraman-Chimay * Hannah Mayer Rothschild (1815–1864) married Hon. Henry Fitzroy (1807–1859), of the family of the Dukes of Grafton * Edouard Alphonse James de Rothschild (1868–1949) married in 1905 the Baroness Alice Germaine de Helphen (1884–1979) * Count
François de Nicolay Count François de Nicolay (31 August 1919 – 21 November 1963) was a member of the House of Nicolay in France who was a farm manager, arboriculturist, and a politician who was elected to the Senate of France. Early life and education Count ...
(1919–1963), of the House of Nicolay, married Marie-Hélène Naila Stephanie Josina van Zuylen van Nyevelt *
Marguerite de Rothschild Mayer Carl ''Freiherr'' von Rothschild (5 August 1820 – 16 October 1886) was a German Jewish banker and politician, as well as scion of the Rothschild family. Early life Born in Naples on 5 August 1820. He was a son of Adelheid (née Herz) a ...
in 1878 married Antoine Alfred Agénor, 11th
Duc de Gramont The title of Duke of Gramont (''duc de Gramont'') is a French dukedom and former peerage. It was created in 1648 for French Marshal Antoine III de Gramont. History The family of Gramont was a Navarrese medieval noble house and owned the chateau ...
(1851–1921), * Dorothy de Rothschild (1895–1988), on her death she left the largest probated estate in Britain * George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon married Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra Wombwell, the illegitimate daughter of
Alfred de Rothschild Alfred Charles ''Freiherr'' de Rothschild, CVO (20 July 1842 – 31 January 1918), was the second son of Lionel ''Freiherr'' de Rothschild and Charlotte ''Freifrau'' von Rothschild of the Rothschild family. Education As a young man, Alfred a ...
* Pauline de Rothschild (1908–1976), fashion designer and translator of Elizabethan poetry * , of the
Wodehouse family Wodehouse is an English surname and barony. The baronetcy was created in 1611, the barony in 1797. Since 1866 it has been held by the Earl of Kimberley, the current Baron Wodehouse being John Wodehouse, 5th Earl of Kimberley (born 1951). Hist ...
1. 37Charles 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. * Louis Philippe Marie Alexandre Berthier, 3rd Prince of Wagram (1836–1911) * Countess Katharina Eleonore Veronika Irma Luise Henckel von Donnersmarck (1902–1965), actress, married Baron Erich von Goldschmidt-Rothschild *
Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, economi ...
(born 1933),
Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make o ...
, Indian economist and philosopher, married
Emma Georgina Rothschild Emma Georgina Rothschild (born 16 May 1948) is a British economic historian, a professor of history at Harvard University. She is director of the Joint Centre for History and Economics at Harvard, and an honorary Professor of History and Economi ...
of the Rothschild banking family of England. *
Jeanne de Rothschild Jeanne Stuart (13 August 1908 – 12 February 2003), born Ivy Sweet, was a British stage and film actress. Using the stage name Jeanne Stuart, she performed on the London stage, on Broadway, and in motion pictures. She made her motion pictu ...
(1908–2003), actress * Nadine de Rothschild (1932–), French actress and author * Princess Sophie de Ligne (born 1957), of the House of Ligne, married Philippe de Nicolay (born 1955), a director of the Rothschild group, and the great-grandson of
Salomon James de Rothschild Salomon James de Rothschild (1835–1864) was a French banker and socialite. Biography Early life Salomon James de Rothschild was born on 30 March 1835. His father was James Mayer de Rothschild, head of the Paris branch of the prominent Rothsch ...
* Liliane de Rothschild (1916–2003, ''née'' Fould-Springer), art collector *
David René de Rothschild Baron David René James de Rothschild (; born December 15, 1942) is a French banker and a member of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Since 2018, he is supervisory board chairman of Rothschild & Co and chairman of Rothschild Continuat ...
married Princess Olimpia Anna Aldobrandini, of the House of Borghese and the House of Bonaparte. * Baron Robert Philippe de Rothschild married Nelly Beer, a great-grand-niece of Giacomo Meyerbeer * Baron Churston, Richard Francis Roger Yarde-Buller, 4th Baron Churston of Churston Ferrers and Lupton (1910–1991), married Olga Alice Muriel Rothschild * Serena Dunn Rothschild (1935-2019), granddaughter of James Hamet Dunn, Sir James Hamet Dunn, 1st Baronet * Lynn Forester de Rothschild (born 1954), businesswoman * Edward Maurice Stonor (1885–1930), son of Francis Stonor, 4th Baron Camoys * Lady Pamela Wellesley Grant (born 1912), great-great-granddaughter of the
Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...
, married Lieutenant Charles Robert Archibald Grant, great-great-grandson of Mayer Amschel de Rothschild * Baroness Rozsika Edle von Wertheimstein * Baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nyevelt of the House of Van Zuylen van Nyevelt – married Hélène van Zuylen, Baroness Hélène de Rothschild (1863–1947). * Baron Sigismund von Springer (1873–1927), married Baroness Valentine Noémi von Rothschild (1886–1969), after whom the asteroid 703 Noëmi is named * In 1943 Baron Elie Robert de Rothschild (1917–2007), married Lady Liliane Elisabeth Victoire Fould-Springer, great-aunt of actress Helena Bonham Carter * In 2015, James Rothschild married American heiress and socialite Nicky Hilton, the great-granddaughter of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton


Coat of arms


See also

* List of European Jewish nobility * List of wealthiest families * Ascott House * Avenue Foch * Cecil John Rhodes * :fr: Château de Montvillargenne, Château de Montvillargenne * Château de Pregny *
Château Lafite Rothschild Château Lafite Rothschild is a French wine estate of Bordeaux wine, located in Pauillac in France, owned by members of the Rothschild family since the 19th century, and rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification. Lafite ...
* Château Mouton Rothschild * De Beers * Eramet * Genealogy of the Rothschild family * Goût Rothschild * Hôtel de Marigny * Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild * Hôtel Lambert * The House of Rothschild (1934 film), addresses Rothschild roles in the Napoleonic era *
Imerys Imerys S.A. is a French multinational company which specialises in the production and processing of industrial minerals. It is headquartered in Paris and is a constituent of the CAC Mid 60 index. Imerys has operations in over 40 countries and ...
*
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
* Old money * Palais Rothschild *
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by broth ...
* Rothschild Island * Rothschild (Fabergé egg) * Rothschild properties in and around Buckinghamshire * Rio Tinto Group, Rio Tinto Mining Group * Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey *
Warburg family The Warburg family is a prominent German and American banking family of German Jewish and originally Venetian Jewish descent, noted for their varied accomplishments in biochemistry, botany, political activism, economics, investment banking, law, ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Niall Ferguson: ''The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets, 1798–1848'' () * Niall Ferguson: ''The House of Rothschild: The World's Banker, 1849–1998'' () * Frederic Morton: ''The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty'' () * Amos Elon: ''Founder: A Portrait of the First Rothschild and His Time'', 1996. () * Egon Caesar Conte Corti: ''Rise of the House of Rothschild'', B. Lunn (translator), Books for Business 2001 (reprint of 1928 translation published by Gollancz),
Amazon.co.uk searchable online view
* Joseph Valynseele & Henri-Claude Mars, ''Le Sang des Rothschild'', L'Intermédiaire des Chercheurs et Curieux, ICC Editions, Paris [fr]. 2004 () * Derek A. Wilson: ''Rothschild: A Story of Wealth and Power'' () * Mir-Babayev M.F.: ''The role of Azerbaijan in the World's oil industry'' – "Oil-Industry History" (USA), 2011, v. 12, no. 1, p. 109–123. * Mir-Babayev M.F.: ''The Rothschild brother's contribution to Baku's oil industry'' – "Oil-Industry History" (USA), 2012, v. 13, no. 1, p. 225–236. * Pietro Ratto: ''I Rothschild e gli altri. Dal governo del mondo all'indebitamento delle nazioni: i segreti delle famiglie più potenti'', Arianna Editrice, Bologna [it]. 2015 () * William Verity: ''The Rise of the Rothschilds'' – "History Today" (April 19680, Vol. 18 Issue 4, p225-233. covers 1770 to 1839.


Documentary film

* ''The Ascent of Money#Documentary, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World'' – The early history of the Rothschild's family business feature in the second of a four-part series by Niall Ferguson aired on Channel Four


External links

History
Rothschild Archive

The article of "Rothschild" in Jewish Encyclopedia
* Foundations
The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations

The Rothschild Foundation
{{Authority control Rothschild family, American bankers American people of German-Jewish descent American real estate businesspeople Austrian bankers Banking families Business families of the United States English bankers French bankers German bankers History of banking Italian bankers Jewish American art collectors Jewish-American families Jewish American philanthropists Jewish-German families Swiss bankers Free City of Frankfurt