The Rothschild "Red Shield" Family

Ethnicity Ashkenazi Jewish

Current region Monaco, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom, Cayman Islands


Information
Place of origin Frankfurt am Main

The Rothschild family (known as The House of Rothschild,[1] or more simply as the Rothschilds) is a European family of German Jewish origin that established European banking and finance houses from the late eighteenth century. Five lines of the Austrian branch of the family were elevated into the Austrian nobility, being given hereditary baronies of the Habsburg Empire by Emperor Francis II in 1816. The British branch of the family was elevated into the British nobility at the request of Queen Victoria.[2][3] It has been argued that during the 19th century, the family possessed by far the largest private fortune in the world, and by far the largest fortune in modern history.[3][4][5]

The family's rise to European prominence began in 1744, with the birth of Mayer Amschel Rothschild in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the son of Amschel Moses Rothschild (born circa 1710),[6] a money changer, who had traded with the Prince of Hesse. Born in the ghetto (called "Judengasse" or Jewish Alley) of Frankfurt, Meyer developed a finance house and spread his empire by installing each of his five sons in European cities to conduct business. Unlike the old court Jews, the new kind of international firm the Rothschilds created was impervious to local attack. In 1819, as if to demonstrate that newly acquired Jewish rights were illusionary so far, anti-Semitic violence broke out in many parts of Germany. These Hep-Hep riots as they were called, included an assault on the Rothschild house in Frankfurt. It made no difference. Nor did a further attack during the 1848 revolution. The money was no longer there. It was paper, circulating through the world. The Rothschilds completed a process the Jews had been working on for centuries: how to immunize their lawful property from despoiling violence. Henceforth their real wealth was beyond the reach of the mobs, almost beyond the reach of greedy monarchs.[7] Another essential part of Mayer Rothschild's strategy for future success was to keep control of their businesses in family hands, allowing them to maintain full discretion about the size of their wealth and their business achievements. About 1906, the Jewish Encyclopedia noted: "The practise initiated by the Rothschilds of having several brothers of a firm establish branches in the different financial centers 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 nineteenth century. The head of the whole group was the Rothschild family...". It also states: "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."[8] This practice followed a royal and aristocratic technique, which also was copied later by business dynasties such as the Du Pont family.[9]

Mayer Rothschild successfully kept the fortune in the family with carefully arranged marriages, including between first or second cousins, although by the later 19th century, almost all Rothschilds had started to marry outside the family, usually into the aristocracy or other financial dynasties.[9] His sons were:

Amschel Mayer Rothschild (1773–1855): Frankfurt, died childless, passed to sons of Salomon and Calmann
Salomon Mayer Rothschild (1774–1855): Vienna
Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836): London
Calmann Mayer Rothschild (1788–1855): Naples
Jakob Mayer Rothschild (1792–1868): Paris

The Rothschild coat of arms contains a clenched fist with five arrows symbolizing the five sons of Mayer Rothschild, a reference to Psalm 127: "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior". The family motto appears below the shield, in Latin, Concordia, Integritas, Industria, (Harmony, Integrity, Industry).[10] The German family name means "Red Shield". Today, it would be spelled "Rotschild", and is pronounced approximately ROTE-shillt in German, not wroth(s)-child as it is in English.

Families by country:

Rothschild banking family of Naples
Rothschild banking family of England
Rothschild banking family of Austria
Rothschild banking family of Germany
Rothschild banking family of France
Rothschild banking family of Switzerland

The Napoleonic Wars

The Rothschilds already possessed a very significant fortune before the start of Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), and Nathan Mayer Rothschild gained preeminence in the bullion trade at this time.[11] From London in 1813 to 1815, he was instrumental in the financing of the British war effort, financing 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 prices) in subsidy loans to Britain's continental allies.[12]

The brothers helped co-ordinate 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 a full day ahead of the government's official messengers.[11]

The basis for the Rothschild's 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 re-structuring of the domestic economy.[12][13][14] 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 short bounce in the market in 1817 for a 40% profit. Given the sheer power of leverage the Rothschild family had at its disposal, this profit was an enormous sum.[12]

Contrary to stories emanating from an article about the family in a late nineteenth-century magazine with decidedly antisemitic undertones, Rothschild's first concern on this occasion was not 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.[11] It is believed that this is a myth that originated in a partisan French pamphlet in 1846 and was embellished by John Reeves in 1887 in The Rothschilds: the Financial Rulers of Nations. It was then repeated in later popular accounts, such as that of Morton.[13][14]

Nathan Mayer Rothschild initially started his business in Manchester England 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,[11] where it operates today; he established N. M. Rothschild and Sons in 1811. In 1818, he arranged a £5 million loan to the Prussian 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 1825–6 he was able to supply enough coin to the Bank of England to enable it to avert a market liquidity crisis.

International High Finance"

"I have not the nerve for his operations. They are well-planned, with great cleverness and adroitness in execution – but he is in money and funds what Napoleon was in war." —Baron Baring on Nathan Rothschild[15]

In 1816, four of the brothers were each elevated to the hereditary nobility by Austrian Emperor Francis I; moreover, a fifth brother, Nathan, was elevated in 1818. All of them were granted the Austrian title of baron or Freiherr on 29 September 1822. As such, some members of the family used "de" or "von" Rothschild to acknowledge the grant of nobility. In 1885, Nathan Mayer Rothschild II (1840–1915) of the London branch of the family, was granted the hereditary peerage title Baron Rothschild in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

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 family bought up a large proportion of the property in Mayfair, London. Major businesses directly founded by Rothschild family capital include Alliance Assurance (1824) (now Royal & SunAlliance); Chemin de Fer du Nord (1845); Rio Tinto Group (1873); Société Le Nickel (1880) (now Eramet); and Imétal (1962) (now Imerys). The Rothschilds financed the founding of De Beers, as well as Cecil Rhodes on his expeditions in Africa and the creation of the colony of Rhodesia. From the late 1880s onwards, the family controlled the Rio Tinto mining company.

The Japanese government approached the London and Paris families for funding during the Russo-Japanese War. The London consortium's issue of Japanese war bonds would total £11.5 million (at 1907 currency rates).[16]

After amassing huge fortunes, the name 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.[12] The soon to be British Prime Minister Lloyd George claimed, in 1909, that Lord Nathan Rothschild was the most powerful man in Britain.[17][3]

In 1901, with no male heir to take it on, the Frankfurt House closed its doors after more than a century in business. It was not until 1989 that they returned when N M Rothschild & Sons, the British investment arm, plus Bank Rothschild AG, the Swiss branch, set up a representative banking office in Frankfurt.

Rothschild banking family of France

Chateau de Ferrieres, the largest Chateau of the 19th century, was built in 1854 to house James Mayer de Rothschild, east of Paris. It is set in a 30 km² estate.There are two branches of the family connected to France. The first was son James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868), known as "James", who established de Rothschild Frères in Paris. Following the Napoleonic Wars, he played a major role in financing the construction of railroads and the mining business that helped make France an industrial power. James' sons Gustave de Rothschild and Alphonse James de Rothschild continued the banking tradition and was the guarantor of the 5 billion in reparations [18] demanded by the occupying Prussian army in the 1870s Franco-Prussian War.[citation needed] Ensuing generations of the Paris Rothschild family remained involved in the family business, becoming a major force in international investment banking. The 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's other son, Edmond James de Rothschild (1845–1934) was very much engaged in philanthropy and the arts, and was a leading proponent of Zionism. His grandson, Baron Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild, founded in 1953 the LCF Rothschild Group, 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 des Laurets), in Australia or in South Africa.

In 1961, the 35 year old Baron Edmond purchased the company Club Med, after he had visited a resort and enjoyed his stay.[19][20] His interest in Club Med was sold off by the 1990s. In 1973, he bought out the Bank of California, selling his interests in 1984 before it was sold to Mitsubishi Bank in 1985.

The second French branch was founded by Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812–1870). Born in London he was the fourth child of the founder of the British branch of the family, Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836). In 1850, Nathaniel Rothschild moved to Paris, ostensibly to work with his uncle, James Mayer Rothschild. However, in 1853 Nathaniel acquired Château Brane Mouton, a vineyard in Pauillac in the Gironde 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 neighboring Chateau Lafite vineyard. By 1980, Guy de Rothschild's business had an annual turnover of 26 billion francs (in the currency rates of 1980).[21] But then the Paris business suffered a near death blow in 1982 when the Socialist government of François Mitterrand nationalized and renamed it Compagnie Européenne de Banque.[needs citation] Baron David de Rothschild, then 39, decided to stay and rebuild, creating a new entity Rothschild & Cie Banque with just three employees and $1 million in capital. Today, the Paris operation has 22 partners and accounts for a significant part of the global business.

Austrian branch

In Vienna, Salomon Mayer Rothschild established a bank in the 1820s and the family became admired and respected citizens. The Austrian Rothschilds were elevated to nobility by the Austrian emperor for their services. 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 World War II they had to surrender their bank to the Nazis 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, tapestries, statues (some of which were restituted to the Rothschilds by the Austrian government in 1999). All family members escaped the Holocaust, some of them moving to the United States, and only returning to Europe 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.

Naples branch

The C M de Rothschild & Figli bank arranged substantial loans to the Papal States and to various Kings of Naples plus the Duchy of Parma and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The Rothschild family worked alongside the Vatican Bank. 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 declining profits, growth and their forecasts for long-term business sustainability.

Jewish Identity and Positions on Zionism

Some Rothschilds were supporters of Zionism, although other members of the family opposed the creation of the Jewish state on the grounds that it would encourage anti-Semites to question the existing national identities of assimilated Jews around the rest of the world.[18] In 1917 Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild was the addressee of the Balfour Declaration to the Zionist Federation,[22] which committed the British government to the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. Later, Lord Victor Rothschild was against granting asylum or even help to Jewish refugees during the Holocaust.[18]

After the death of James Jacob de Rothschild in 1868, Alphonse Rothschild, his oldest son, who took over the management of the family bank, was the most active in support for Eretz Israel.[23] 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.[24] Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, James Jacob de Rothschild's youngest son was a patron of the first settlement in Palestine at Rishon-LeZion, and bought from Ottoman landlords parts of the land which now makes up present-day Israel. In 1924, he established the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA), which acquired more than 125,000 acres (22,36 km²) of land and set up business ventures.[25] In Tel Aviv, he has a road, Rothschild Boulevard, named after him as well as various localities throughout Israel which he assisted in founding including Metulla, Zikhron Ya'akov, Rishon Lezion, and Rosh Pina. A park in Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, the Parc Edmond de Rothschild (Edmond de Rothschild Park) is also named after its founder.[26] The Rothschilds also played a significant part in the funding of Israel's governmental infrastructure. James A. de Rothschild financed the Knesset building as a gift to the State of Israel[27] and the Supreme Court of Israel building was donated to Israel by Dorothy de Rothschild.[28] Outside the President's Chamber is displayed the letter Mrs. Rothschild wrote to the then current Prime Minister Shimon Peres expressing her intention to donate a new building for the Supreme Court.[29]

Interviewed by Haaretz in 2010, Baron Benjamin Rothschild, a Swiss-based member of the banking family, said that he supported the 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." On the subject of religious identity, he stated that he held an open-minded attitude: "We do business with all kinds of countries, including Arab countries[...] My oldest daughter's boyfriend is a Saudi. He is a great guy and if she will want to marry him, she can."[30]

Modern business

Since the end of the 19th century, the family has taken a low-key public profile, donating many of their most famous estates, as well as vast quantities of art, to charity, keeping full anonymity about the size of their fortunes, and eschewing conspicuous displays of wealth.[31] 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.[32]

Since 2003, Rothschild investment 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. Rothschild et 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.[33] 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 commercial 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 (M&A) advisory and Equity Capital Markets advisory in the food and agribusiness sectors.[34] 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.[35]

Paris Orleans S.A. is an investment banking and holding company, founded in 1838, and registered in France. It has over 2000 employees. The company has offices in France, the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, Switzerland, North America, Asia, Australia, and other European countries. Directors of the company include Eric de Rothschild, Robert de Rothschild, and Count Philippe de Nicolay.[36] A London investment bank, N M Rothschild & Sons does most of its business as a mergers and acquisitions advisor. In 2004, the investment bank withdrew from the gold market, a commodity the Rothschild bankers had traded in for two centuries.[18] In 2006, it ranked second in UK M&A with deals totalling $104.9 billion.[37] In 2006, it publicly recorded a pre-tax annual profit of £83.2 million with assets of £5.5 billion.[38]

One member of the (non-winemaking) Paris branch of the family, Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild (1926–1997) founded the LCF Rothschild Group, based in Geneva, with €100 billion in assets, which today extends to 15 countries across the world. Although this Group is primarily a financial entity, specialising in asset management and private banking, its activities also cover mixed farming, luxury hotels, and yacht racing. The LCF Rothschild Group's committee is currently being chaired by Benjamin de Rothschild, Baron Edmond's son.

Rothschild family banks include, amongst others, Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild, RIT Capital Partners, St James's Place Capital, Banque privée Edmond de Rothschild, La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild S.A., and COGIFRANCE.

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. The Rothschild family also owns many wine estates: their estates in France include Château Clarke, Château de Ferrières, Château des Fontaines, Château Lafite, Château de Laversine, Château des Laurets, Château Malmaison, Château de Montvillargenne, Château Mouton Rothschild, Château de la Muette, Château Rothschild d'Armainvilliers, Château Rothschild, Boulogne-Billancourt. They also own wine estates across North America, South America, South Africa and Australia.

In 1980, Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild resigned from N M Rothschild & Sons and took independent control of Rothschild Investment Trust (now RIT Capital Partners, one of the UK's largest investment trusts.) He went on to found J. Rothschild Assurance Group (now St James's Place Capital) with Sir Mark Weinberg in 1991.[39] In December 2009, Jacob Rothschild invested $200 million of his own money in a North Sea Oil company. He also currently chairs another Rothschild family investment trust, RIT Capital Partners, which has reported assets of $3.4 billion in 2008.[40][41] In January 2010, Nathaniel Philip Rothschild bought a substantial share of the Glencore mining and oil company's market capitalization. He is also buying a large share of the aluminium mining company United Company RUSAL.[42]

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 they 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". [43]

Popular culture references

In the words of the Daily Telegraph: "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 no other family has ever matched."[44]

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. Excerpts from this film were incorporated into the National Socialist (Nazi) propaganda film Der ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew) and another German 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 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.

In France, the word "Rothschild" was throughout the 19th and 20th centuries a synonym for seemingly endless wealth, neo-Gothic styles, Byzantine splendour, grand manners and epicurean glamour.[45] The family also has lent its name to "le goût Rothschild," a suffocatingly glamorous style of living whose decorative 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 interior designers such as Robert Denning, Vincent Fourcade, and others.

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 as Ven ikh bin Rotshild, meaning "If I were a Rothschild".

The German surnames "Rothschild" and "Rothchild" are not related to the Protestant surname "Rothchilds" from the United Kingdom. The surname "Rothschild" is originally derived from "Rote Schild". This is the German phrase for Red Shield and refers to the red shield emblem that used to be over the doorway to the original bank owned by the Bauer family in Frankfurt.

Conspiracy theories

Over more than two centuries,[13][14] the Rothschild family has frequently been the target of conspiracy theories.[46][47][48] These theories take differing forms, such as claiming that the family belongs to the Illuminati,[49] controls the world's wealth and financial institutions,[50][51] or encouraged wars between governments. Discussing this and similar views, the historian Niall Ferguson wrote: "As we have seen, however, wars tended to hit the price of existing bonds by increasing the risk that a debtor state would fail to meet its interest payments in the event of defeat and losses of territory. By the middle of the 19th century, the Rothschilds had evolved from traders into fund managers, carefully tending to their own vast portfolio of government bonds. Now having made their money, they stood to lose more than they gained from conflict. The Rothschilds had decided the outcome of the Napoleonic Wars by putting their financial weight behind Britain. Now they would sit on the sidelines."[52]

Prominent descendants of Mayer Amschel Rothschild

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
Prominent lineal descendants of Mayer Amschel Rothschild include amongst many others:

Baron David René de Rothschild, current French chairman of N M Rothschild & Sons and formerly of De Beers
Lord Ferdinand von Rothschild (1839–1898)
Countess Sibyl Sassoon (1894-1989)
Lionel de Rothschild, whose colt won the 1879 Epsom Derby
Vermeer's The Astronomer, donated to charity by the family in 1982
Prince Alexandre Louis Philippe Marie Berthier, (1883–1918), died fighting in WW1
Albert Salomon von Rothschild (1844–1911), the once majority shareholder of Creditanstalt
Alfred Charles de Rothschild (20 July 1842 - 31 January 1918)
Alice Charlotte von Rothschild (1847–1922) close friend of Queen Victoria
Aline Caroline de Rothschild (1885–1909), French socialite
Lady Aline Caroline Cholmondeley (1916-)[citation needed]
Baroness Alix Hermine Jeannette Schey de Koromla (1911–1982)[53]
Alphonse James de Rothschild (1827–1905)
Amschel Mayor James Rothschild (1955–1996, Paris), patron of motor racing
Princess Andréa de La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais (born Paris 1972)[citation needed]
Anthony Gustav de Rothschild (1887–1961), horse-breeder
Anthony James de Rothschild (born 1977)
Anselm von Rothschild (1803–1874), Austrian banker
Anselm Alexander Carl de Rothschild (1835–1854)[citation needed]
Sir Anthony de Rothschild, 1st Baronet (1810–1876)
Antoine Armand Odélric Marie Henri de Gramont, 13th Duke of Gramont, (1951-)[citation needed]
Alain James de Rothschild (1910–1982)[citation needed]
Lady Barbara Marie-Louise Constance Berry (born 1935)
Count Armand de Cossé-Brissac (1967-)[citation needed]
Miriam Caroline Alexandrine de Rothschild[citation needed]
Lord Charles Robert Archibald Grant[citation needed]
Ariane de Rothschild
Ariella de Rothschild[citation needed]
Arthur de Rothschild (1851–1903)[citation needed]
Benjamin de Rothschild (born 1963, Paris)
Princess Béatrice de Broglie (born 1913)[citation needed]
Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild (1864–1934)
Bethsabée de Rothschild (1914–1999)
Carl Mayer von Rothschild (1788–1855)
Cécile Léonie Eugénie Gudule Lucie de Rothschild (1913-)[citation needed]
Charlotte de Rothschild
Charlotte Henriette de Rothschild (born 1955), British opera singer
Charlotte von Rothschild(1818–84)
Count Charles-Emmanuel Lannes de Montebello (born 1942)[citation needed]
Charles Rothschild (1877–1923), banker and entomologist
Constance Flower, 1st Baroness of Battersea, (1843–1931)[citation needed]
David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley (1960-), Lord Great Chamberlain of England
David Mayer de Rothschild (b. 1978), billionaire[54] British adventurer and environmentalist
David René de Rothschild (born 1942)
Diane Cécile Alice Juliette de Rothschild (1907-)[citation needed]
Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild
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, (1949-)[citation needed]
Edmond James de Rothschild (1845–1934)
Edmund Leopold de Rothschild (1916–2009)
Elie de Rothschild (1917–2007)
Princess Elisabeth de Broglie (1920-)[citation needed]
Emma Rothschild (born 1948)
Evelina de Rothschild(1839–66)
Evelyn Achille de Rothschild (1886–1917), died fighting for the British army in WW1
Sir Evelyn de Rothschild (born 1931), banker
Guy de Rothschild (1909–2007)
Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild (1839–1898)
Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery née Hannah Rothschild (1851–1890)
Henry Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon, (1924–2001)
Henri James de Rothschild (1872–1946)[citation needed]
Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon (1898–1987)[citation needed]
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)[citation needed]
Hugh Cholmondeley, 6th Marquess of Cholmondeley (1919–90), Lord Great Chamberlain of England
Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, (born 1936), investment banker
James Armand de Rothschild (1878–1957)
James Mayer Rothschild (1792–1868)
Lady Lavinia Anne Alix de Rothschild, of the Rothschild and Borghese family
Marie-Hélène de Rothschild (1927–94), French socialite
Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818–1874)
Neil Primrose, 7th Earl of Rosebery (1929-)
Neil James Archibald Primrose (1882–1917), MP, killed fighting in WW1
Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter (née Baroness Pannonica Rothschild) (1913–1988), patron of bebop and jazz writer
Baron Léon Lambert (1929–1987), Belgium art collector[citation needed]
Leopold de Rothschild (1845–1917)
Leopold David de Rothschild (1927-)
Leonora de Rothschild (1837–1911)[citation needed]
Lionel Nathan Rothschild (1808–1879)
Louis Nathaniel de Rothschild (1882–1955)
Countess Magdalene-Sophie von Attems, (1927-)[citation needed]
Miriam Louisa Rothschild (1908–2005), famous entomologist and zoologist
Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild of the United Kingdom (1868–1937)
Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812–1870)
Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836)
Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild of the United Kingdom (1840–1915)
Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild of the United Kingdom (born 1936)
Nathaniel Robert de Rothschild (1946), French financier
Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild of the United Kingdom (1910–1990)
Nathaniel Philip Rothschild (born 1971), a co-chairman of Atticus Capital, a £20 billion hedge fund [55]
Nathaniel Anselm von Rothschild (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), of the House of Nicolay, a great-grandson of Salomon James de Rothschild, he is a director of the Rothschild group.[56]
Philippe de Rothschild (1902–1988), vintner
Philippine de Rothschild (born 1935), vintner
Jacqueline Rebecca Louise de Rothschild, born November 6, 1911, chess and tennis champion
Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery (1882–1974) Earl of Roseberry
Raphael de Rothschild (1976–2000)[citation needed]
Salomon James de Rothschild, (1835–1864)
Lady Serena Dunn Rothschild, (born 1935)
Countess Sophie von Löwenstein-Scharffeneck, (1896–1978)[citation needed]
Lady Sybil Grant (1879–1955), British writer
Sybil Rachel Betty Cecile Sassoon, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, (1894–1989)
Valentine Noémi von Springer, (1886, d. 1969)[citation needed]
Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild
Victoria Katherine Rothschild (1953-)[citation needed]
Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, zoologist
Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild[citation needed]

Prominent marriages into the family include, amongst many others:

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Maurice Ephrussi (1849–1916), of the Ephrussi banking dynasty
Ben Goldsmith (1980-), son of financier James Goldsmith
Anita Patience Guinness (1957), of the Guinness family, married Amschel Mayor James Rothschild[57]
Cora Guggenheim (1873–1956), of the Guggenheim family, married Louis F. Rothschild (1869–1957)
Abraham Oppenheim (1804–1878), of the Oppenheim Family, married Charlotte Beyfus (1811–1887)
Elisabeth de Rothschild (1902–1945), (born Pelletier de Chambure), the only member of the Rothschild family to die in the holocaust.
Count François de Nicolay (1919-1963), of the House of Nicolay, married Marie-Hélène Naila Stephanie Josina van Zuylen van Nyevelt
Aline Caroline de Rothschild (1865–1909) married Sir Edward Sassoon, 2nd Baronet, of Kensington Gore (1856–1912), of the Sassoon family
Antoine Alfred Agénor, 11th Duc de Gramont, (1851–1921)[citation needed]
Dorothy de Rothschild (1895–1988), on her death she left the largest probated estate in Britain
Pauline de Rothschild (1908–1976), fashion designer and translator of Elizabethan poetry
Lady Irma Pauahi Wodehouse (1897), of the Wodehouse family[58]
Prince Louis Philippe Berthier, (1836–1911)[citation needed]
Jeanne de Rothschild (1908–2003), actress
Princess Sophie de Ligne (1957-), of the House of Ligne, married Philippe de Nicolay (born 1955), a director of the Rothschild group,[59] and the great-grandson of Salomon James de Rothschild
Liliane de Rothschild (1916–2003) art collector
Princess Olimpia Anna Aldobrandini, of the House of Borghese, House of Aldobrandini and the House of Bonaparte[58]
Richard Francis Roger Yarde-Buller, 4th Baron Churston of Churston Ferrers and Lupton, (1910–1991), married Olga Alice Muriel Rothschild
Serena Dunn Rothschild (b. 1935), grand-daughter of Sir James Hamet Dunn, 1st Baronet
Lynn Forester de Rothschild (born 1954), business woman
Carola Warburg Rothschild (1894–1987), philanthropist, born into the Warburg family[60]
Edward Maurice Stonor (1885–1930), son of Francis Stonor, 4th Baron Camoys[citation needed]
Lady Pamela Wellesley Grant, (born 1912), great-great-grand-daughter of The Duke of Wellington, married Lieutenant Charles Robert Archibald Grant, great-great-grandson of Mayer Amschel de Rothschild
Baroness Rozsika Edle von Wertheimstein[61]
Count Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt of the House of Van Zuylen van Nijevelt - married Baroness Hélène de Rothschild (1863–1947).[62]
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-), married Lady Liliane Elisabeth Victoire Fould-Springer, grand-aunt of actress Helena Bonham Carter[63]
See also;

De Beers
House of Medici
Rio Tinto Mining Group
Avenue Foch
Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild
Bethmanns and Rothschilds
Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey
Château Lafite-Rothschild
Château Mouton Rothschild
Palais Rothschild
Rothschild (Fabergé egg)
Rothschild properties in and around Buckinghamshire
Hotel Lambert
Cecil John Rhodes
Rockefeller family
Old Money
Ascott House
The House of Rothschild (1934 film), addresses Rothschild roles in the Napoleonic era
Wallenberg family

Notes1.^ The House of Rothschild: Money's prophets, 1798-1848, Volume 1, Niall Ferguson, 1999
2.^ The House of Rothschild: Money's prophets, 1798-1848, Volume 1, Niall Ferguson, 1999, introduction
3.^ a b c The House of Rothschild: Money's prophets, 1798-1848, Volume 1, Niall Ferguson, 1999, page 481-85
4.^ The Independent, UK: The Rothschild story: A golden era ends for a secretive dynasty
5.^ The secret life of the Jazz Baroness, From The Times April 11, 2009, Rosie Boycott
6.^ Pohl, Manfred: Rothschild, Meyer Amschel. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 22. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, S. 131–133. (German)
7.^ Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews, p.317.
8.^ Jewish Encyclopedia c.1906 Finance
9.^ a b Go Ahead, Kiss Your Cousin by Richard Conniff, From the August 2003 issue, published online August 1, 2003
10.^ "Concordia, Integritas, Industria - The Rothschilds - LCF Rothschild Group". Lcf-rothschild.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20071024114837/http://www.lcf-rothschild.com/en/groupe/rothschild/concordia.asp. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
11.^ a b c d Victor Gray and Melanie Aspey, "Rothschild, Nathan Mayer (1777–1836)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edition, May 2006. Accessed 21 May 2007.
12.^ a b c d The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, (London 2008), page 78.
13.^ a b c Victor Rothschild - "The Shadow of a Great Man" in Random Variables, Collins, 1984.
14.^ a b c *Ferguson, Niall. The World's Banker: The History of the House of Rothschild. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998, ISBN 0-297-81539-3
15.^ Philip Ziegler, The Sixth Great Power: Barings, 1726-1929, (London 1988), pp.94f
16.^ Richard Smethurst, "Takahasi Korekiyo, the Rothschilds and the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1907". Retrieved 4 September 2007.
17.^ A History of the Jews, Paul Johnson (London 2004), page 319-20
18.^ a b c d Vallely, Paul (2004-04-16). "The Rothschild story: A golden era ends for a secretive dynasty". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-rothschild-story-a-golden-era-ends-for-a-secretive-dynasty-756388.html. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
19.^ Faith, Nicholas (4 November 1997). "Obituary: Baron Edmond de Rothschild". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-baron-edmond-de-rothschild-1292054.html. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
20.^ Gilbert Trigano, a Developer of Club Med, Is Dead at 80 By JOHN TAGLIABUE Published: February 6, 2001
21.^ RPT-French banker Guy de Rothschild dies aged 98 Reuters, Thu Jun 14, 2007 12:26pm EDT
22.^ Balfour Declaration. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 12, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
23.^ Aharonson, Ran (2000). Rothschild and early Jewish colonization in Palestine. Israel: The Hebrew university Magnes Press, Jerusalem. p. 53. ISBN 0-7425-0914-1.
24.^ Aharonson, Ran (2000). Rothschild and early Jewish colonization in Palestine. Israel: The Hebrew university Magnes Press, Jerusalem. p. 54. ISBN 0-7425-0914-1.
25.^ Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, vol. 2, "Rothschild, Baron Edmond-James de," p.966
26.^ Greenwood, Naftali. "The Redeemers of the Land". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern+History/Centenary+of+Zionism/The+Redeemers+of+the+Land.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
27.^ "James Armand de Rothschild on the Knesset web site". Knesset.gov.il. http://www.knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/rotchild_ja_eng.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
28.^ "Dorothy de Rothschild, 93, Supporter of Israel" (obituary), The New York Times, 13 December 1988. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
29.^ The Presidents Chamber, Tour of Supreme Court, The Judicial Authority. http://elyon1.court.gov.il/eng/home/index.html.
30.^ Family values, Haaretz, Magazine, 11:15 05.11.10, By Eytan Avriel and Guy Rolnik
31.^ The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty, By Frederic Morton, page 11
32.^ The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty, By Frederic Morton, page 11-13
33.^ "Paris-Orléans". Paris-orleans.com. http://www.paris-orleans.com/?lang=en&ct=bd34e9c1add36c737bf17947f7d24d85&invid=38. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
34.^ See: http://www.rabobank.com/content/news/news_archive/020-RothschildandRabobankestablishglobalfoodandagricooperation.jsp
35.^ "Rothschild sells 7.5% stake to Rabobank". FT Alphaville. 2008. http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/11/20/18451/rothschild-sells-75-stake-to-rabobank/. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
36.^ [http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyOfficers?symbol=PROR.PA&viewId=bio People: Paris Orleans S.A. (PROR.PA)]Reuters Finance
37.^ "League tables". Rothschild.com. http://www.rothschild.com/investmentbanking/ibleague.asp?id=ib-regional-manda. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
38.^ Annual Report of N M Rothschild & Sons Limited for the year ended 31 March 2006.
39.^ Peippo, Kathleen (2000). "St. James's Place Capital, plc International Directory of Company Histories Find Articles at BNET.com". Findarticles.com. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5202/is_2000/ai_n19122975. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
40.^ Rothschild backs North Sea oil trio From The Sunday Times December 6, 2009
41.^ "RIT Capital Partners". Miranda.hemscott.com. 2003-10-28. http://miranda.hemscott.com/servlet/HsPublic?context=ir.access.jsp&ir_client_id=1874&ir_option=DIRECTORS. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
42.^ Bloomberg Businessweek, Glencore May Expand to Rival BHP, Rothschild Says January 06, 2010, Simon Casey
43.^ Family values, Haaretz, Magazine, 11:15 05.11.10, By Eytan Avriel and Guy Rolnik
44.^ Daily Telegraph,The Rothschilds: They prefer to let their money do the talking, William Langley, Published: 9:59PM BST 25 Oct 2008
45.^ The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty, By Frederic Morton (1998), page 5
46.^ The Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories, James McConnachie, Robin Tudge Edition: 2 - 2008
47.^ Levy, Richard S. (2005). Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice. ABC-CLIO. p. 624. ISBN 1851094393.
48.^ Poliakov, Leon (2003). The History of Anti-semitism: From Voltaire to Wagner. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 343. ISBN 0812218655.
49.^ Makow Ph.D, H: Illuminati: The Cult that Hijacked the World, BookSurge Publishing, 2008, ISBN 1-4392-1148-5
50.^ Brustein, William (2003). Roots of hate. Cambridge University Press. p. 147. ISBN 0521774780.
51.^ Perry, Marvin (2002). Antisemitism: Myth and Hate from Antiquity to the Present. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 117. ISBN 0312165617.
52.^ The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World, (London 2008), page 91.
53.^ 1.[S37] Charles 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.
54.^ Eco-warrior sets sail to save oceans from 'plastic death'The Observer, Sunday 12 April 2009, Robin McKie
55.^ The Rothschilds and their 200 years of political influence By Andy McSmith, Thursday, 23 October 2008, The Independent
56.^ [http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyOfficers?symbol=PROR.PA&viewId=bio People: Paris Orleans S.A. (PROR.PA)]Reuters Finance
57.^ Young love will cement marriage of Britain's top three dynasties Ingrid Mansell, The Times April 21, 2003
58.^ a b 1.[S37] Charles 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.
59.^ People:Paris Orleans S.A. (PROR.PA)Reuters Finance
60.^ Carola W. Rothschild, Ex-Girl Scout Official NY Times, Published: Tuesday, September 1, 1987
61.^ The secret life of the Jazz Baroness, From The Times April 11, 2009, Rosie Boycott
62.^ Baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar and baroness Hélène de Rothschild
63.^ Charles 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.

Further reading

Niall Ferguson: The House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets, 1798–1848 (ISBN 0-14-024084-5)
Niall Ferguson: The House of Rothschild: The World's Banker, 1849–1998 (ISBN 0-14-028662-4)
Frederic Morton: The Rothschilds: Portrait of a Dynasty (ISBN 1-56836-220-X)
Amos Elon: Founder: A Portrait of the First Rothschild and His Time, 1996. (ISBN 0-670-86857-4)
Egon Caesar Conte Corti: Rise of the House of Rothschild, B. Lunn (translator), Books for Business 2001 (reprint of 1928 translation published by Gollancz), ISBN 978-0894990588, Amazon.co.uk searchable online view
Joseph Valynseele & Henri-Claude Mars, Le Sang des Rothschild, L’Intermédiaire des Chercheurs et Curieux, Paris, 2004 (ISBN 2-908003-22-8)
Derek A. Wilson: Rothschild: A Story of Wealth and Power (ISBN 0-233-98870-X)

Documentary film

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

Official website of the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild
Family website
Chateau de Ferrieres Official website
N. M. Rothschild and Sons
LCF Rothschild Group
Rothschild Archive
Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Chateau Mouton Rothschild
Compagnie vinicole Baron Edmond de Rothschild
Yahoo! - NM Rothschild & Sons Limited Company Profile
Niall Ferguson: The House of Rothschild, vol. 1. Table of contents and beginning of first chapter.

Retrieved from; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family

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