Árpád Plesch (25 March 1889 – 16 December 1975) was a Hungarian financier, banker, and lawyer. He was primarily known as key advisor to

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

and Gianni Agnelli of the

Agnelli family The Agnelli family () is an Italian multi-industry business dynasty family founded by Giovanni Agnelli, one of the original founders of the Fiat motor company which became Italy's largest automobile manufacturer. They are also primarily known fo ...

. Plesch made his great fortune during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

through less fortunate Jews who sent their money to him for safekeeping in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Early life and education

Plesch was born 25 March 1889 in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

(presently Hungary), the fourth of seven children, to Lájos Henrik Plesch (1852–1908), a merchant, and Honora Plesch (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Seligmann; 1848–1917) into a

Jewish family Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He had three older and two younger siblings. His older brother was János Plesch.

Collection

He owned a celebrated collection of rare botanical books and esoteric pornography. His botanical collection has been included in Douglas Cooper's ''Great Private Collections''.

Personal life

Plesch firstly married Léonie Caro Ulam (1883–1951), secondly to her daughter Marysia Ulam Krauss Harcourt–Smith (1912–1976), through which he was affiliated with being the step-grandfather of French financier

Arpad Busson André Arpad Busson (born 27 January 1963) is a French hedge fund manager, investor, and philanthropist. Busson started working in hedge funds in 1986 in New York. He is the founder and chairman of the EIM Group, a fund of funds company. Busso ...

, which was named after him. Léonie Ulam was the aunt of the mathematician

Stanislaw Ulam Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

. In his memoir, ''Adventures of a mathematician'', Ulam wrote: In 1954, Plesch married Etti Countess von Wurmbrand–Stuppach, colloquially known as Etti (1914–2003), an Austrian socialite, daughter of Count Ferdinand von Wurmbrand–Stuppach (1879–1933) and his wife May Baltazzi (1885–1981), a cousin of

Baroness Mary Vetsera Baroness Marie Alexandrine "Mary" von Vetsera (19 March 1871 – 30 January 1889) was an Austrian nobility, Austrian noblewoman and the Mistress (lover), mistress of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria. Vetsera and the crown prince were found dead ...

and mistress of

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (Rudolf Franz Karl Josef; 21 August 1858 – 30 January 1889) was the only son and third child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. He was heir apparent to the imperial throne of the Austro ...

. She inherited the great fortune of Plesch. Despite being married three times, Plesch did not have children.

Publications

* ''Botanique'' , 1954 * ''Essais d'acclimatation de plantes tropicales en France'', 1962 * ''Mille et un livres botaniques de la collection Arpad Plesch'', 1973

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plesch, Arpad 1889 births 1974 deaths 20th-century Hungarian businesspeople Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners