Millionaire dynasty emblem with red shield. Family heraldry - a rich family heritage

There are few people on the globe who have not heard of the Rothschilds. Today this surname has become a symbol of wealth. Where did these same Rothschilds come from?

Descendants of the Jewish money changer

Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who was born in 1744 in Frankfurt am Main (Germany), is considered the founder of the dynasty of the famous Jewish bankers of the Rothschilds. His father, money changer and jeweler Amschel Moses Bauer, was a trading partner of the House of Hesse. The emblem of his jewelry workshop depicted a golden Roman eagle on a red shield, so the workshop was called "Red Shield" (in German - Rothschield). Mayer Amschel took this name as his surname.

The first Rothschild went into the banking business and succeeded in it. Paul Johnson writes in The History of the Jews that he managed to create a new type of international company, which withstood a series of Jewish pogroms, wars and revolutions.

Mayer Amschel's five sons - Amschel Mayer, Solomon Mayer, Nathan Mayer, Kalman Mayer and James Mayer - founded banks in the five largest cities in Europe: Paris, London, Vienna, Naples and Frankfurt am Main.

During the Napoleonic Wars, Nathan Mayer Rothschild financed the transport of gold bars for the Duke of Wellington's army, and also subsidized Britain's continental allies. In 1816, the Austrian emperor Franz II granted the Rothschilds the title of baron. The family now has its own coat of arms, which depicts five arrows, symbolizing the five offspring of Amschel Mayer, by analogy with the text of the 126th biblical psalm: "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are young sons." The family motto is inscribed below in Latin: Concordia, Integritas, Industria ("Consent, Honesty, Diligence"). The British Rothschilds were adopted at the court of Queen Victoria.

The Rothschilds tried to keep the fortune within the family. They entered into marriages only for convenience, and up to the end of the 19th century they entered into marriage alliances between distant relatives. Subsequently, they began to marry representatives of influential financial families in Europe, mainly of Jewish origin: Warburgs, Goldsmiths, Coens, Raphael, Sassoon, Salomon.

Rothschilds march around the world

The Rothschild family made a significant contribution to the industrialization of Europe. It facilitated the construction of the railway network in France, Belgium and Austria and the Suez Canal, financed the founding of the De Beers concern, the mining company Rio Tinto. During the Russo-Japanese War, the London consortium issued Japanese war bonds in the amount of 11.5 million (at 1907 prices).

By the early twentieth century, the Rothschild surname had become synonymous with wealth. The Rothschilds owned more than 40 family palaces, superior in luxury to the royal castles of Europe, and extensive collections of works of art. Among other things, the Rothschilds were actively involved in charity work.

At the beginning of World War II, the Rothschilds were forced to emigrate to the United States, as the persecution of the Jews began. All their property was confiscated and plundered by the Nazis. In 1999, the Austrian government returned a number of palaces to the family, as well as 250 pieces of art that ended up in the state museum.

Secret rulers of the world?

Since 2003, the Rothschild investment banks have been under the control of the Swiss-registered company Rothschild Continuation Holdings, headed by Baron David Rene de Rothschild. The family owns numerous vineyards, it owns property not only in Europe, but also in North and South America, South Africa and Australia.

At the end of 2010, Baron Benjamin Rothschild issued a statement that the Rothschild clan did not suffer from

the global financial crisis thanks to conservative business practices. “We got through this because our investment executives didn't want to invest in crazy things. The client knows that we will not speculate with his money, ”the banker said.

The Rothschilds are believed to be the richest people in the world. In 2012, their combined fortune was estimated at $ 1.7 trillion (according to other estimates, more than 3.2 trillion).

Conspiracy theorists periodically show interest in the Rothschilds. For example, supporters of conspiracy theories claim that representatives of this clan belong to the secret society of the Illuminati and control all the finances of the world, and are also the organizers of military conflicts between various powers.

House of Barons v. Rothschild

Coat of arms of the Barons Rothschild (Prussia)

The Rothschild dynasty (also known as the House of the Rothschilds) is a European dynasty of bankers whose history dates back to the end of the 18th century.

The Austrian emperor Franz II bestowed the title of nobility on the five Rothschild brothers, and then in 1817, the title of baron (both were later recognized by the rest of the European monarchs).

The ancestor of the Angel dynasty Moses Bauer owned a jewelry workshop. The workshop emblem depicted a golden Roman eagle on a red shield. Over time, the workshop began to be called "Red Shield", and this name - Rothschield - was taken as a surname by his son, Mayer Amschel, the founder of the dynasty.

On the coat of arms background The Rothschilds depict five arrows, symbolizing the five sons of Mayer Rothschild, by analogy with text 126 psalm : "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth." The family motto is written in Latin below on the coat of arms: Concordia, Integritas, Industria (Consent, Honesty, Diligence).

When the Rothschild dynasty did not yet belong to the barons, they submitted a sketch of their coat of arms to the Austrian Heraldic College.

Initially, the coat of arms included a crown with seven teeth and various signs of baronial dignity. There were storks on it as a symbol of piety, and hounds, symbolizing loyalty, and lions, as well as an Austrian eagle. The hand holding five arrows, symbolizing the brothers, sons of the founder of the family, Mayer Amschel Rothschild. The Rothschilds believed that they could get the crown and other royal and ducal symbols for the coat of arms. But the collegium changed the coat of arms: the crown turned into a helmet, storks, hounds, and lions were completely removed. A part of the Austrian eagle remained on the coat of arms. The hand that grips the arrows was also changed - instead of five arrows, it squeezed four. On March 25, 1817, the changed coat of arms was approved. The Rothschilds were not satisfied with this decision at the congress, they turned to the Duke von Metternich, with a request from the House of Rothschilds to accept their version of the coat of arms. Six days later, an imperial decree elevated all five brothers and their legitimate descendants of either sex to the barony. The number of arrows on the coat of arms returned to five, the Hessian lion returned with the Austrian eagle, but a helmet remained in the center instead of a crown.

Family Tree of the House of Barons von Rothschild

Family tree of the House of Barons von Rothschild

taking into account, descendants on female lines:

The founder of the dynasty is Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812), a banker and his wife since 1770, Gertrude Schnapper (1753-1849).

Children:
- Jeanette Rothschild (1771-1859) - husband since 1795, Benedict Worms (1772-1824) founders of the "von Worms branch" (not bearing the name Rothschild)
- Amschel Mayer Rothschild (1773-1855), banker - wife since 1796, Eva Hanau (1779-1848) the only representative of the branch called "Frankfurt" (no descendants)
- Salomon Mayer Rothschild (1774-1855), founder of the Vienna branch of the bank
- Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836), founder of the London branch of the bank
- Kalman Mayer Rothschild (1788-1855), founder of a branch of the bank called "Naples"
- Henrietta Rothschild (1791-1866) - wife of Abraham Montefiore (1788-1824) since 1815, founders of the Montefiore branch (not named Rothschild)
- James de Rothschild (1792-1868), founder of a branch of the bank called "de Paris"

Descendants of Jeanette von Rothschild (1771-1859) and Benedict Worms (1772-1824), founders of the "von Worms branch" (not named Rothschild).

1.Solomon Benedict von Worms (1801-1882) - husband since 1827 Henrietta Samuel (1810-1845)
2/1. Ellen Henrietta von Worms (1836-1894) - husband since 1857 Adolph Landauer (1829-1885)
3/2. Henrietta Landauer - husband since 1877, Maurice Weil (1845-1924)
4/2. Evelina Landauer (1859-1930) - husband since 1878 Paul Freyer von Schea Koromla (1854-1922)
5/4. Philip Freyer von Shay Koromla (1881-1929) - husband since 1906 L. Yu. Von Goldschmidt - Rothschild (1883-1925)
6/5. Alix Freiin Shay von Koromla (1911-1982) - spouses: 1. (1929-1936) Kurt Kramer (1900-1936) and 2. (1937-1956) Guy de Rothschild (1909 - 2007)
7/6. Lily Kramer (1930-1996) - husband from 1951 to 1980 Maurice Reims (1910-2003)
8/7. Bettina Reims (b. 1952) - husband of Jean-Michel Darrois (b. 1947), business lawyer
9/7. Natalie Reims (b. 1959) - spouse since 1989 Leo Scheer (b. 1947) Editor and producer.

Descendants of Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (1774-1855), banker and founder of the Vienna branch of the family - wife of Caroline Stern (1782-1854).

A1. Anselm Solomon von Rothschild (1803-1874) - wife since 1826 Charlotte von Rothschild (1807-1859) (from the London branch)
1 / A1. Julie von Rothschild (1830-1907) - husband since 1850 Adolph Karl von Rothschild (1823-1900) (from a branch of the family called "Naples")
2 / A1. Matilda von Rothschild (1832-1924) - husband since 1849 Wilhelm Karl von Rothschild (1828-1901) (from the branch of the family called "Naples")
3 / A1. Ferdinand James Anselma von Rothschild (1839-1898), British subject from 1885 to 1898 - wife from 1865 to Evelyn de Rothschild (1839-1866)
4 / A1. Alice Charlotte von Rothschild (1847-1922), lived in England (single)
V. Betty Salomon de Rothschild (1805-1886) - husband since 1824 James de Rothschild (from the branch of the family called "Paris")

Descendants of Nathan Mayer von Rothschild (1777-1836), banker and founder of the London branch of the family - wife since 1806 Hannah Barent Cohen (1783-1850).

A. Charlotte von Rothschild (1807-1859) - wife of Anselm Salomon von Rothschild (1803-1874) since 1826 (from the Vienna branch of the family)
V. Lionel von Rothschild (1808-1879) - wife since 1836 Charlotte von Rothschild (1819-1884) (from the Naples family branch)
B1 / B. Leonora von Rothschild (1837-1911) - husband since 1857 Alphonse de Rothschild (1827-1905) (from the branch of the family

"Paris")
B2 / B. Nathan Mayer von Rothschild (1840-1915), 1st Baron Rothschild and 2nd Baronet of the British Crown - wife since 1867 Emma Louise von Rothschild (1844-1935) (from the Naples branch)
В3 / В2. Lionel Walter von Rothschild (1868-1937), 2nd Baron Rothschild and 3rd Baronet (no legal offspring)
В4 / В2. Nathaniel Charles von Rothschild (1877-1923) - wife since 1907 Rosica Edl von Wertheimstein (1870-1940)
B5 / B4. Victor von Rothschild (1910-1990), 3rd Baron Rothschild and 4th Baronet. H flax of the Royal Society of London.Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. Knight of the Order of St. John. Knight of the Order of Malta. Biologist - spouses: 1.from 1933 Barbara Judith Hutchinson(1911-1989) and 2.from 1946 Teresa Georgina Mayer ( 1915— 1996)

B6 / B5. Nathaniel Charles Jaikob von Rothschild (1936-), banker, 4th Baron Rothschild banker and 5th Baronet - wife since 1961 Serena Mary Dunn, the family had four children: Hannah Mary (b. 1962), married Brookfield; Beth Matilda (b. 1964), married to Tomassini; Emily Magda (b. 1967), married Freeman-Atwood and Nathaniel Philip Victor James (Nat) (b. 1971)

B7 / B6. Nathaniel Philip Victor James von Rothschild (1971) youngest of four children and only son Lord Jacob Rothschild and Serena Mary Dunn, granddaughter of Sir James Dunn, a Canadian financier and tycoon. How the son of a baron has a title The Honorable.
B8 / B5. Amschel Rothschild (1955-1996), banker
B9 / B8. James Rothschild (born 1985)
B10 / B. Leopold de Rothschild (1845-1917)
B11 / B10. Lionel de Rothschild (1882-1942)
B12 / B11. Edmund de Rothschild (1916-2009)
B13 / B12. Nicholas de Rothschild (born 1951)
B14 / B12. Lionel de Rothschild (born 1955)
B15 / B10. Anthony Gustav de Rothschild (1887-1961) - wife of Yvonne Caen d "Anvers (1899-1977)
B16 / B15. Evelyn de Rothschild (born 1931)
B17 / B16. Anthony de Rothschild (b. 1977)
B18 / B16. David de Rothschild (born 1978)
S. Anthony de Rothschild (1810-1876), 1st Baronet of the British Crown from a family - spouse since 1840 Louise Montefiore (1821-1910)
D. Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812-1870) - wife since 1842 Charlotte de Rothschild (1825-1899) (from the branch of the "Paris" family)
D1 / D. Nathan James de Rothschild (1844-1881) - wife since 1871 Laura von Rothschild (1847-1931) (from the Naples family branch)
D2 / D1. Henry James de Rothschild (1872-1946) - wife since 1895 to Matilda Weissweiller (1872-1926)
D3 / D2. James de Rothschild (1896-1984) - wife since 1923 to Claude Dupont (1904-1964)
D4 / D3. Nicole de Rothschild (1923-2007), actress
D5 / D3. Monique de Rothschild (born 1925)
D6 / D2. Nadine de Rothschild (1898-1958) - husband since 1919 Andrian Thierry (1885-1961)
D7 / D2. Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) - wife since 1935 to Elizabeth Pelletier Chambure (1902-1945)
D8 / D7. Philippine de Rothschild (1933-2014) shareholder of the bank "Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A.," including the owner of Château Mouton Rothschild
E. Louise von Rothschild (1820-1894) - spouse since 1842 Mayer Karl von Rothschild (1820-1886) (from the Naples family branch)

Descendants of Kalman Mayer von Rothschild (1788-1855), banker and founder of a branch of the bank called "Naples" - wife since 1818 Adelheid Hertz (1800-1853)

A. Charlotte von Rothschild (1819-1884) - husband since 1836 Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879) (from the London branch of the family)
W. Mayer Karl von Rothschild (1820-1886) - wife since 1842 Louise von Rothschild (1820-1894) (from the "London" family branch)
B1 / B. Adelheid (Adele) von Rothschild (1843-1922) - husband since 1862 Solomon de Rothschild (1835-1864) (from the branch of the "Paris" family)
B2 / B. Emma Louise von Rothschild (1844-1935) - husband since 1867 Sir Nathan Mayer von Rothschild (1840-1915) (from the London branch of the family)
B3 / B. Henrietta Clementine von Rothschild (1845-1865)
В4 / В. Laura von Rothschild (1847-1931) - husband since 1871 Nathan von Rothschild (1844-1884) (from the London branch of the family
B5 / B. Hannah von Rothschild (1850-1892)
B6 / B. Margarete von Rothschild (1855-1905) - husband since 1878 Agenor de Gramont (1851-1925)
B7 / B. Clara Berthe von Rothschild (1862-1903) - husband since 1882 Alexander Berthier, 3e prince de Wagram (1836-1911)
S. Adolph Karl von Rothschild (1823-1900) - wife since 1850 Julie von Rothschild (1830-1907) (from the Vienna branch of the family)
D. Wilhelm Karl von Rothschild (1828-1901) - wife since 1849 Matilda von Rothschild (1832-1924)
D1 / D. Adelheid von Rothschild (1853-1935) - husband since 1877 Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934) (from the "Paris" family branch)
D2 / D. Minna Carolina von Rothschild (1857-1903) - husband since 1878 Maximilian Benedict Goldschmidt (1843-1940) (Goldschmidt-Rothschild in 1878, Baron von Goldschmidt-Rothschild 1903)
D3 / D2. Lili von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1883-1925) - husband since 1906 Philip von Schey Koromla (1881-1929) (from the branch of the "von Worms" family)

Progeny of James de Rothschild (1792-1868), banker and founder of a branch of the bank called "Paris" - wife since 1824 Betty Salomon de Rothschild (1805-1886)

A. Charlotte de Rothschild (1825-1899) - husband since 1842 Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812-1870) (from the London branch of the family)
W. Alphonse de Rothschild (1827-1905) - wife since 1857, Leonora von Rothschild (1837-1911) (from the "London" family branch)
B1 / B. Betty de Rothschild (1858-1892) - husband since 1876 Albert Salomon de Rothschild (1844-1911)
B2 / B. Rene de Rothschild (1861-1861)
B3 / B. Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild (1864-1934) - husband since 1883 Maurice Ephrussi (1849-1916)
В4 / В. Edouard de Rothschild (1868-1949) - wife since 1905, Alice Jermain Alfana (1884-1975)
B5 / B4. Alphonse de Rothschild (1906-1911)
B6 / B4. Guy de Rothschild (1909-2007) banker - spouses: 1. Since 1937, Alix Shay von Koromla (1911-1982) (from the branch of the "von Worms" family (do not use the Rothschild surname); 2. Since 1957, Marie-Helene van Zuylen van Nyevelt (1927-1996)
B7 / B6. David de Rothschild (born 1942) - wife since 1974, Olimpia Aldobrandini (born 1955)
B8 / B7. Lavinia de Rothschild (born 1976)
B9 / B7. Stephanie de Rothschild (born 1977)
B10 / B7. Alexander de Rothschild (b. 1980)
B11 / B7. Louise de Rothschild (born 1989)
B12 / B6. Edouard de Rothschild (b. 1957) - spouses: 1. Since 1981, Matilda Coche-de-la-Ferte (b. 1952); 2.Since 1991 Arielle Marie Malard (born 1963)
B13 / B12. Ferdinand (b.2003)
B14 / B12. David (b. 1998)
B14 / B12. Eleanor (David's twin sister) (b.1998)
B15 / B4. Jacqueline de Rothschild (1911-2012) - spouses: 1.Since 1930, Robert Calmann-Lévy (1899-1982); 2.Since 1937 Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976)
B16 / B15 Jep (b.1937)
B17 / B15. Yoram (born 1940)
B18 / B4. Bathsheba Rothschild (1914-1999) - spouse since 1948 of Bloomingdale David (1913-1954)
S. Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911) - wife since 1859 to Cecile Anspach (1840-1912)
C1 / C. Zoya de Rothschild (1863-1916) - husband since 1882 Leo Lambert (1851-1919)
C2 / C. Robert de Rothschild (1880-1946) - wife since 1907 Gabrielle (1886-1945)
C3 / C2. Diana de Rothschild (1907-1996) - husband from 1932 to 1952 Anatol Muhlstein (1889-1957)
C4 / C3. Elena Cecilia Muhlstein (1936-2007) - husband since 1962 to François Nourissier (1927-2011), President of the Academy of Goncourt
C5 / C2. Alain de Rothschild (1910-1982) - wife since 1938 Mary Natalia (1916-2014)
C6 / C5. Beatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild (born 1939) - husband since 1981 Pierre Rosenberg, President of the Louvre, member of the French Academy
C7 / C5. Eric de Rothschild (born 1940), director of the Château Lafite Rothschild vineyard, chairman of the Rothschild Foundation
C8 / C2. Elie de Rothschild (1917-2007)
C9 / C8. Nathaniel de Rothschild (born 1946)
C10 / C9. Raphael de Rothschild (1976-2000)
C11 / C8. Elie de Rothschild Jr. (born 1965)
D. Salomon de Rothschild (1835-1864) - wife since 1862 Adelheid von Rothschild (1843-1922) (from the branch of the Naples family)
D1 / D. Helene de Rothschild (1863-1947) - husband since 1887 to Etienne van Zuylen van Nyevelt (1860-1934)
D2 / D1. Egmont van Zuylen van Nyevelt (1890-1960) - wife since 1927 to Marguerite Namétalla (? -1996)
D3 / D2. Marie-Helene van Zuylen van Nyevelt (1927-1996) - husband since 1957 to Guy de Rothschild (1909-2007) (from the Paris branch of the family)
E. Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934) - wife since 1877 Adelheid von Rothschild (1853-1935) (from the Naples family branch)
E1 / E. James Armand de Rothschild (1878-1957), British citizen (1919). Member of the British Parliament (1929-1945) - wife of Dorothy Matilda Pinto (1895-1988)
E2 / E. Maurice Edmond Karl de Rothschild (1881-1957)
E3 / E2. Edmond de Rothschild (1926-1997) banker - wife since 1963 Nadine Lhopitalier (born 1932)
E4 / E3. Benjamin de Rothschild (born 1963), Chairman of the LCF Rothschild Group - wife since 1999 to Ariane Langner
E5 / E. Miriam Carolina Alexandrine Rothschild (1884-1965) - husband since 1910 Albert Maximilian Gouldschmidt (1879-1941)

The surname comes from the appearance of the emblem of the jewelry workshop, which belonged to Angel Moses Bauer (father of Mayer Amschel Rothschild), the emblem of the workshop was an image of a golden Roman eagle on a red shield. Over time, the workshop became known as the "Red Shield". Later, his son took the name of the workshop "Red Shield" or "Rotschield".

The founder of the Rothschild dynasty is Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812), who founded a bank in Frankfurt am Main. The case was continued by his five sons: Amschel Mayer, Solomon Mayer, Nathan Mayer, Kalman Mayer, James Mayer. The brothers controlled 5 banks in the largest cities in Europe (Paris, London, Vienna, Naples, Frankfurt am Main). Currently, there are only two branches of the Rothschilds - English (from Nathan) and French (from James), the rest were suppressed (the founder of the Frankfurt branch, Amschel Mayer, died childless in 1855, the Neapolitan branch stopped in the male knee in 1901, in the female - in 1935 year, the Austrian branch stopped in the male knee in 1980, in the female one still exists).

Origin

The ascent of the Rothschild dynasty began with the birth of Mayer Amschel Rothschild in Frankfurt am Main in Germany in 1744 to the money changer Amschel Moses Rothschild, who traded with the House of Hesse. Born in the Jewish quarter between the city wall and the moat, Mayer Amschel built a banking business and expanded his empire by sending his five sons to European capitals.

Paul johnson notes that unlike the Court Jew of earlier times who helped finance European noble houses, Rothschild created a new type of international firm that was protected from anti-Semitic riots. In 1819, as if to demonstrate that newly acquired Jewish rights were still illusory, anti-Semitic violence erupted in many parts of Germany. These so-called Hep-Hep-Unruhen (German) pogroms included the storming of the Rothschild house in Frankfurt. This did not change anything, as did the subsequent attack during the 1848 revolution.

Another essential part of Mayer Rothschild's strategy for future success was keeping control of the business in the hands of the dynasty, allowing its members to maintain complete freedom of action both in the amount of wealth and in their business achievements. In 1906, the Jewish Encyclopedia noted: “The Rothschild-initiated practice of establishing several branches of the firm, run by brothers, in various financial centers, was adopted by other Jewish financiers such as Bischoffsheims, Pereires (Pereires), Seligmans (Seligmans) , Lazards (Lazard) and others, and these financiers, through their reliability and financial experience, gained trust not only from Jewish brethren, but from the entire financial community as a whole. Thus, Jewish financiers received an increased share in international finance. during the middle and last quarter of the 19th century This practice mimics the royal and aristocratic technique (members of one royal family marry members of another royal family), which was also later copied by other dynasties of entrepreneurs, such as the Dupont dynasty (Du Pont family (English)).

Mayer Rothschild successfully preserved wealth within the family by carefully organizing marriages of convenience, including marriages between first and second cousins ​​(so that the accumulated property remains within the family and serves the common cause), although at the end of the 19th century, almost all Rothschilds began to enter into marriages outside the family , usually with families of aristocrats or other financial dynasties.

International large financial transactions

The elevation to the nobility took place at the request of the Minister of Finance, Count Stadion. First, Amschel received the title, then Solomon. By this time, the brothers were at the head of the Frankfurt Bill of Exchange in Schönbrunn. This happened on September 25, 1816, and on October 21, the brothers Jacob and Karl received the title. On March 25, 1817, each was issued a diploma of a nobleman. At the request of the adviser to the government of Lower Austria and the court agent Sonleitner, the confidant of the four brothers, the diploma was awarded to each separately, since the brothers lived in four different countries. Nathan, who lives in England, was not mentioned in these documents.

Noteworthy for evaluating the activities of the Rothschilds was the fact that they, as Jews, were recorded in the diploma by money changers, while the financiers of the Christian faith were called bankers. Usually, court financiers, shortly after receiving the nobility, sought the title of baron, so the Rothschilds also petitioned for this title. On September 29, 1822, their request was granted. Now, some members of the dynasty used the family prefix "de" or "von" (in German) Rothschild, as an indication of aristocratic origin. Now Nathan was included in the documents, who immediately became a baron. This time, the five brothers were directly named bankers. They were Austrian barons, "taking into account the services rendered to the state," "with the respectful word, Your Honor." Once again, each of the five brothers received their own baron diploma. Their coat of arms was adorned with the motto: Concordia, Integritas, Industria. (Consent. Honesty. Diligence.).

This motto fully expressed the brothers' unity, their honesty and tireless diligence. But obtaining the title of baron hardly meant an increase in their authority for the five brothers. There was no way Nathan could use this title in England. This was contrary to the English constitution, which did not allow the granting of titles of nobility to foreigners. But nevertheless, the elevation to the nobility changed the lifestyle of the Rothschilds. They acquired luxurious palaces, began to give magnificent dinners, which were attended by representatives of the aristocratic circles of many countries.

In 1885, Nathan Mayer Rothschild II (1840-1915), the eldest son of Lionel de Rothschild (in turn, the son of Nathan Rothschild), also known how Nathaniel, a representative of the London branch of the dynasty, hereditary baron, first became a lord. He was the first Jew to enter the House of Lords. From this point on, it can be considered that Nathan's descendants have completely merged with English society.

The Rothschild family banking business was the founder of international large financial transactions during the industrialization of Europe, contributed to the construction of the railway network in France, Belgium and Austria, contributed to the financing of projects of high political importance, such as the Suez Canal (only the Rothschild banking house was able, within a few hours, to provide many tens of millions in cash for the acquisition of shares in the Suez Canal).

The dynasty bought a huge portion of the property in Mayfair, London. The main activities in which the Rothschilds have invested include: Alliance Assurance (1824) (now Royal & SunAlliance); Chemin de Fer du Nord (English) (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 Cecile John Rhodes' expedition to Africa and the establishment of a colony in Rhodesia. From the late 1880s onward, the family controlled the Rio Tinto mining company. The Japanese government applied for funding from the London and Paris offices during the Russo-Japanese War. The London consortium issued Japanese war bonds worth £ 11.5 million (at 1907 prices).

After an impressive tremendous success, the Rothschild name became synonymous with wealth, the family became famous for their art collections, their palaces, as well as their philanthropy. By the end of the century, the family possessed, or built, at the least estimate, more than 41 palaces, commensurate with or even superior in luxury to even the richest royal families. Soon, in 1909, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George claimed that Lord Nathan Mayer Rothschild II was the most powerful man in Britain. In 1901, due to the absence of a male heir, the Frankfurt House closed its doors after more than a century of work. It wasn't until 1989 that they returned when N M Rothschild & Sons(UK Investment Branch) and Bank Rothschild AG (Swiss Branch) opened a representative office in Frankfurt.

Rothschild dynasty in France

There are two French branches of the Rothschild dynasty. The first branch was founded by Mayr Amschel Rothschild's youngest son, James Mayer Rothschild, who established de Rothschild Frères in Paris. An adherent of the Napoleonic Wars, he played a major role in financing the construction of railways and mining enterprises that helped make France an industrial power. James' sons, Gustave de Rothschild and Alphonse James de Rothschild (English), continued the banking tradition and became sureties of the 5 billion reparations demanded by the occupied Prussian army during the Franco-Prussian war in the 1870s. The next generations of this branch of the Rothschild dynasty became the main force in international investment banking. Another son of James Mayer Rothschild, Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934) was a great fan of charity and the arts, and a prominent supporter of Zionism. His grandson, Baron Edmond Adolph de Rothschild, founded the LCF Rothschild Group, a private bank in 1953. Since 1997, it has been headed by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild. The group has assets of € 100 billion and many wineries in France (Château Clarke, Château des Laurets), Australia and South Africa. In 1961, 35-year-old Baron Edmond bought Club Med after visiting and appreciating the resort. His stake in Club Med was sold in the 1990s. In 1973 he bought shares in Bank of California, sold his stake in 1984 before it was sold in 1985 to Mitsubishi Bank.

The second French branch was founded by Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812-1870). Born in London, he was the fourth son of the founder of the British branch of the dynasty, Nathan Mayer Rothschild. In 1850 Nathaniel moved to Paris, apparently to work with his uncle, James Mayer. However, in 1853 Nathaniel acquired Château Brane Mouton, a Pauillac vineyard in the Gironde department. Nathaniel renamed the estate Château Mouton Rothschild, making the name one of the most famous brands in the world. In 1868, Nathaniel's uncle, James Mayer Rothschild, acquired the neighboring Chateau Lafite vineyard. By 1980, Guy Rothschild's annual business turnover was in the order of 26 billion francs (in 1980 prices). But later, when the Parisian business was close to collapse in 1982, the socialist government of François Miterand nationalized it and renamed it Compagnie Européenne de Banque. Baron David Rothschild, aged 39, decided to stay and rebuild the business, creating a new company, Rothschild & Cie Banque, with just three employees and $ 1 million in capital. Today, the Paris-based company has 22 partners and accounts for a significant portion of its global business.

Rothschild dynasty in Austria

One of the many palaces built by the Austrian branch of the dynasty, Schloss hinterleiten.

In 1817, when the Rothschild dynasty did not yet belong to the baronial title, the House submits a sketch of its coat of arms to the Austrian college. Initially, the coat of arms included a crown with seven teeth and various signs of baronial dignity. There were storks on it as a symbol of piety, and hounds symbolizing loyalty, and lions (the Lion is the official symbol of Israel), as well as the Austrian eagle. The hand holding five arrows, symbolizing the brothers, sons of the founder of the family, Mayer Amschel Rothschild. Such a coat of arms was presented to the heraldic college of the Austrian Imperial House. The Rothschilds believed that they could get the crown and other royal and ducal symbols for the coat of arms. But the board furiously took up the proposed coat of arms, changing it almost beyond recognition. The proposed crown turned into a small helmet, storks, hounds, lions and other noble fauna were completely removed. A part of the Austrian eagle remained on the coat of arms. The hand that grips the arrows has also been changed. Now instead of five arrows, she squeezed four. According to official data, one of the Nathan brothers did not take part in the successful transfer. And on March 25th, 1817, little resemblance to the original coat of arms was approved. But this did not suit the Rothschilds and they decided to raise their status. A convention was held in Ensk and the Duke of Metternich received a personal loan of 900,000 guilders from the House of Rothschild. Of course, it was an absolutely honest deal, but strangely enough, six days later, an imperial decree was published, which already elevated all five brothers and their legitimate descendants of any sex to the barony. The number of arrows on the coat of arms returned to five, the Hessian lion returned with the Austrian eagle, but in the center, instead of a crown, we still see a helmet. Article taken from http://kovka-stal.ru/istoriia-gerba-rotshildov/bez-kategorii/istoriia-gerba-rotshildov.html - Help to correctly link to the source, while maintaining copyright.

Rothschilds in culture

He is also repeatedly mentioned in the book by FM Dostoevsky "Teenager", where the main character Arkady cherishes the main "idea" of his whole life - to become richer than the named descendant of Rothschild.

The Rothschild story has been featured in a number of films. In 1934, The House of Rothschild was shot in Hollywood. House of the Rothschilds), which tells about the life of Mayer Amschel Rothschild. Excerpts from this film were included in the propaganda documentary

ROTHSCHILDS

Coat of arms of the Barons Rothschild

(Prussia)

Rothschild (Rothschild), a family of bankers, financial magnates and philanthropists. For more than a century and a half, the surname Rothschild was, for both Jews and non-Jews, including anti-Semites, a common noun - a symbol of Jewish wealth and power. The surname Rothschild is derived from the German words `mouth shield` -` red shield`. Such a shield adorned the house of a small trader in antique coins and medals, Yitzhak Elhanan (died 1585) in the Jewish quarter of Frankfurt am Main. Although his grandson left the house, he and other descendants continued to bear the name Rothschild.

Mayer Anshel Rothschild -

founder the Rothschild dynasty.

The founder of the banking house Mayer Anshel Rothschild (1744, Frankfurt am Main, - 1812, ibid.) At first did not differ from his ancestor either in status or occupation; acquaintance with the German aristocrat, a passionate collector of antique coins, General von Estorf opened Mayer Anshel Rothschild access to the palace of one of the richest European monarchs of that time, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Wilhelm IX.

Mayer Anshel Rothschild disposed of the multimillion-dollar fortune entrusted to him at the time of the hasty flight of the Landgrave of Prague from the Napoleonic troops (mainly by providing large loans to the Danish and other European monarchs) that he not only preserved it, but also significantly increased it, laying the foundations of his own fortune at the same time.

Mayer Anshel's sons

The Rothschild family was turned into a powerful financial clan by the five sons of Mayer Anshel: Anshel Mayer Rothschild (1773, Frankfurt am Main, - 1855, ibid.); Shlomo Mayer Rothschild (1774, Frankfurt am Main, - 1855, Vienna); Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777, Frankfurt am Main, - 1836, ibid.); Karl Mayer Rothschild (1778, Frankfurt am Main, - 1855, Naples) and James Jacob Mayer Rothschild (1792, Frankfurt am Main, - 1868, Paris). It was they who created and headed in the five largest European countries - Germany, Austria, England, Italy and France - banking houses, which even during their lifetime became the main creditors of monarchs and governments.

The brothers, completely uneducated in the European sense, at first even with difficulty speaking the languages ​​of the countries where they settled, quickly achieved a manifold increase in their fortune, won key positions in the main European capital markets and, as a result, were able to indirectly influence political events in Europe. continent. Representatives of the Rothschild family boldly mastered the new areas of the economy created by the industrial revolution (in particular, railway construction and the production of non-ferrous metals in many European countries, including Russia, Asia and even Latin America).

Rothschild family home

on Jewish street in Frankfurt

The Austrian emperor bestowed a title of nobility on five brothers, and then a baronial title (both were later recognized by the rest of the European monarchs). Mayer Anshel's sons gave their children and grandchildren an excellent education, which allowed them to take root in the upper strata of society in their countries. Major events of the Rothschild family were the election in 1847 of Nathan Mayer's son, Baron Lionel Nathan Rothschild (1808-1879), to the House of Commons, and in 1885, the grandson of the founder of the English House of Rothschild, Nathaniel Rothschild (1840-1915), to the House lords.

It is characteristic that from the end of the 19th century. - early 20th century. some members of the Rothschild family began to prefer science, literature, art, government and social activities to financial and commercial interests, and often achieved success in these areas (including being elected to the Royal Society of London). Family members, who traditionally continued to engage in finance and other types of business, increasingly combined them with a passion for collecting paintings, sculptures, works of applied art, porcelain, rare books, etc.

Currently, only the English and French branches of the Rothschild family exist. The Italian branch of the Rothschild family lost its financial and commercial importance after the death of its founder, Karl Mayer Rothschild; German ceased to exist with the death of Anshel Mayer's heir - Wilhelm Karl Rothschild (1828-1901); Austrian - under Louis Nathaniel Rothschild (1882-1955) in 1938 after the Anschluss of Austria by Nazi Germany. The surviving two branches, although they lost in the first decades of the 20th century. their leadership in the financial world, still remain a very influential force in it.

Family treeRothschild family

The members of the Rothschild family have never forgotten that they are Jews and, albeit for different reasons, have always attached great importance to this. For the first generations of the Rothschilds, the combination of loyalty to their Jewishness and a pragmatic attitude towards their fellow believers, free from any sentimentality, remained typical. They strictly adhered to Mayer Anshel Rothschild's mandate not to renounce the faith of their ancestors under any circumstances, although they had to overcome numerous additional obstacles to success because of this.

None of them converted to Christianity, did not marry a non-Jewish woman (marriages between cousins ​​and cousins, uncles and nieces, etc. were very common among them); women - members of the Rothschild family, if they married Christians (usually with representatives of the most aristocratic families), usually retained their religion (for example, Hannah Rothschild / 1851-90 /, the granddaughter of the founder of the London branch of the family, who entered marriage to Lord A. F. Rosebery, future British Prime Minister). The Rothschilds also became related with representatives of the largest banking houses in Europe, in particular, Eduard Rothschild (1868-1949) was married to the daughter of Matilda Fuld, the granddaughter of Baron E. Gunzburg.

The descendants of Mayer Anshel Rothschild were invariably guided by another covenant received from him - in all their relationships with people (except for the family), prioritize profit and financial success. Although the interests of the Jews were not indifferent to them, preference, as a rule, was given to the possibilities of further enrichment. Thus, the ancestor of the family and his five sons during the Napoleonic Wars accurately foresaw a great benefit in remaining loyal to the European monarchs - the enemies of Napoleon I, who did not hide their intention to abolish the Jewish equality declared by the French emperor.

On the coat of arms The Rothschilds depict five arrows,

symbolizing the five sons of Mayer Rothschild,

referring to Psalm 127:"Like arrows in the hands of a warrior."

The family motto is written on the coat of arms below, in Latin:

Concordia, Integritas, Industria (Consent, Honesty, Diligence).

However, Mayer Anshel Rothschild at the end of his life, when this did not harm the financial interests of the family in any way, achieved the consent of Archbishop K.-T. Dahlberg, prince-primate and president of the Union of Rhine, created under the protectorate of Napoleon, to provide civil equality for the Jews. The position of the members of the Rothschild family remained the same after the Napoleonic wars, when anti-Jewish legislation was fully or partially restored in most European countries, and a wave of mass anti-Jewish protests swept through many of them.

The Rothschilds' business ties with European monarchs and governments depended little on the attitude of those towards their Jewish subjects, but where this could not harm the financial interests of the family, the Rothschilds were ready to demonstrate an interest in the fate of their fellow believers. Thus, in 1815, they facilitated a trip to the Vienna Congress of a Jewish delegation, hoping in vain to convince its participants to accept a declaration on the civil equality of Jews in their countries. In 1819, the brothers (especially James Jacob Rothschild) themselves and through business partners just as unsuccessfully convinced the ministers of the newly created German Confederation that it was in their own interests to stop and continue to prevent violence against Jews (see Hep-Hep; also Israel - people in the diaspora. New time: until the end of emancipation; from the 18th century to 1880).

Karl Mayer Rothschild

Around the same time, Karl Mayer Rothschild in Italy tried to condition the granting of a large loan to the Pope on his assistance in the abolition of the Jewish ghetto in the Italian capital. Actions of this kind were not alien to the representatives of the third and subsequent generations of the Rothschild family (for example, in 1878 the Rothschilds contributed to the inclusion of the Jewish question on the agenda of the Berlin Congress, which adopted the decision, which remained largely on paper, on the civil equality of the Jewish minorities in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia), but they were usually not active fighters for the rights of Jews.

For themselves, as a rule, they managed to achieve a special status: in 1842 the head of the Austrian banking house Shlomo Mayer Rothschild received the right to own real estate in Vienna, K. Metternich, noble rank and title of baron) for more than 20 years he lived with his family in the hotel "Roman Emperor".

The Rothschilds showed perseverance in the struggle for Jewish equality mainly when they could achieve their own goals only in this way. Thus, in 1847, when Lionel Nathan Rothschild (see above) was unable to take his seat in the House of Commons due to the need to take an oath on the Gospel, the Rothschild family launched a persistent campaign to abolish this rule and in 1858 achieved the abolition. which allowed Lionel Nathan Rothschild, who won the election once again, to take the oath of office on the Hebrew Bible.

Over time, the Rothschild family was less and less able to combine loyalty to their own Jewry with a reluctance to take even the smallest risk to protect the interests of their persecuted people. This contradiction was aggravated by the fact that the wealth, connections and influence of the descendants of Nathan Mayer Rothschild in England and James Jacob Mayer Rothschild in France made them the de facto leaders of the Jewish community, sometimes formally they were part of its governing bodies: for example, Lionel Rothschild and his brother Nathaniel Rothschild in 1812-70 - in the Board of Deputies, Nathaniel also in the Joint Foreign Affairs Committee of the Jewish Community; Alphonse Rothschild (1827-1905) was President of the Central Consistory of France from 1869.

The English and, especially, the French Rothschilds, who did not publicly react to the Dreyfus affair, although they secretly provided all kinds of support to the Dreyfusars, could no longer but express their attitude to the events of the late 19th century. - early 20th century. in Russia - the bloody Jewish pogroms inspired by the authorities and the government policy aimed at worsening the already disenfranchised position of the Jews.

Thus, Baron Alphonse Rothschild (see above), the head of the Parisian bank "Rothschild Freer", who had close business ties with the government (Ministry of Finance) of Russia, in response to the wave of Jewish pogroms in the 1880s. announced the termination of all financial relations with this country. In May 1891, his bank announced its refusal to fulfill the agreement signed a month earlier on providing Russia with a loan of 320 million francs.

This decision, unprecedented in the financial world, caused numerous rumors in European capitals - not everyone reacted with confidence to the official statement of the bank, in which this step was presented as a reaction to the decree of Emperor Alexander III on the eviction of Jews from Moscow, since information about this decree appeared in newspapers at the end of March of the same year, when the loan agreement had not yet been signed.

The French and English Rothschilds (Baron Gustav de Rothschild, 1829-1911, and Lord Nathaniel Rothschild, 1840-1915) reacted in the same way to the pogroms in Russia in 1905: they took part in organizing financial assistance to the victims of the pogroms (each of them donated for this ten thousand pounds) and even made sure that the funds raised were delivered to Russia through their London Bank. This was motivated by the desire to prevent the use of donations for radical purposes, which would provide additional food for accusations of Jewish bankers in financing the Russian revolution.

At the same time, they strongly discouraged attempts by Jewish leaders in their countries to organize massive public campaigns to protest against officially incited anti-Semitism in Russia, arguing that this would provoke even greater hatred of Jews in Russian ruling circles. Members of the Rothschild family did not remain indifferent to the suffering of Jews in Germany after the establishment of the Nazi regime there.

Already in the fall of 1933 in London, Yvonne Rothschild (1899-1977), wife of Anthony Rothschild (1887-1961), founded the Society for Aid to Jewish Women and Children in Germany; in Paris, Robert Rothschild (1880-1946) and his wife Nellie Rothschild (1886-1945) were actively involved in the creation of the Fund to help Jewish refugees from Germany; in the same years Miriam Rothschild (1908-2005) took custody of Jewish children who arrived in England from Germany, and James Rothschild (1896-1984) moved a Jewish orphanage (more than 20 boys aged 5-15 years and the director of the orphanage with his family ) from Frankfurt am Main to England and provided them with their own home.

Lord Victor Rothschild (1910-1990) in the Times newspaper (November 19, 1938) appealed to the British public to seriously assess the threat posed by Nazi Germany to Western democracy and all its values ​​(during the Second World War, Victor Rothschild, a well-known scholar -biologist, contributed to the victory over Nazi Germany, in particular, he served in military intelligence).

The cohesion, wealth and influence of the Rothschild family have long, not without success, used international anti-Semitism to prove the thesis about the desire of the Jews for world domination and the enslavement of the peoples who give them shelter. Already in the 1820s. anti-Semitic cartoons appear in the newspapers of a number of European countries, depicting the Rothschilds as spiders sucking blood from Europe, or as robbers holding European monarchs by the throats. In the anti-Semitic pamphlets of that time, the Rothschilds are titled nothing more than "kings of bankers and bankers of kings", "kings of Jews and Jews of kings" or "Jewish kings and royal Jews."

From the end of the first half of the 19th century. the reference to the Jewish origin of the Rothschilds becomes a favorite device of the French anti-Semites. So, in 1846, when, just three weeks after the start of operation of the railway built by the Rothschild company, a catastrophe occurred, which claimed 37 human lives, the anti-Semitic pamphlet "The Story of Rothschild I, King of the Jews", in which the incident was blamed not so much the Rothschilds themselves, how much innate Jewish arrogance and cynicism towards the French.

For right-wing, conservative anti-Semites (for example, E. Drumont, see Anti-Semitism), the Rothschilds are a symbol and embodiment of Jewish dominance in France, a secret stronghold of radicals and revolutionaries who are destroying it. The anti-Semitic theorist P. Proudhon saw in the Rothschilds the personification of the capitalist essence of the entire Jewish nation, the creator and support of the most inhuman bourgeois system of exploitation of workers.

The name Rothschild is associated with a wave of anti-Semitism that swept France in the early 1880s. due to the bankruptcy of the Rothschilds rival, the Catholic Bank General Union, created by E. Bontu "to combat the dominance of Jewish capital", and the loss of their savings by thousands of his depositors (not only the Rothschilds were accused, but also Jews in general as "foreigners who Christianity and all of France "). The name Rothschild was later turned into the most sinister character in the racially anti-Semitic mythology of National Socialism.

The attitude of the Jewish people towards the Rothschilds was far from unambiguous. In the image of the Rothschilds that developed in Jewish folklore, admiration for the wealth, power and luxurious life of fellow believers was combined with a considerable share of plebeian irony in relation to the arrogance and arrogance of the rich and to their own absurd dreams of being in their place. This is how this folklore image appears in the works of Shalom Aleichem, in numerous anecdotes, parables, sayings, folk songs, etc.

The more complex attitude towards the Rothschilds of the socially and politically active strata of Jewry became especially evident in the twenty years between 1881 and 1901, when a wave of Jewish emigrants from Eastern Europe poured into Western Europe. Sincerely wanting or considering himself obligated to help the crowds of these disadvantaged and needy Jews (Lord Nathaniel Rothschild, for example, as a member of the royal commission created in 1909, designed to limit the further influx of emigrants to Great Britain, selflessly fought to ensure that the imposed restrictions were as little as possible to Jews), the Rothschilds came across a sharply critical attitude towards themselves in general on the part of Jewish immigrants.

For most of them, it turned out to be unacceptable for the Rothschilds to promote the early naturalization, social and cultural acclimatization of newly arriving Jews in Western society. This attitude was unanimously, albeit for different reasons, rejected by three main groups of Jewish immigrants: immigrants from urban and small-town ghettos, who freely spoke only in Yiddish, strictly followed religious precepts and strove to preserve this way of life in the new conditions; fierce persecution and humiliation in the countries where they lived, radical elements who joined the ranks of left-wing extremist parties and organizations and advocated the revolutionary overthrow of Western state and public institutions; the Zionists, who saw in such an attitude a direct path to assimilation.

The harsh and passionate accusations by activists of all these groups of immigrants against the Rothschilds and other "self-righteous and selfish Jews" who are only interested in their own profits were often little different from attacks from anti-Semites. The Rothschilds reacted painfully to this criticism, but at the same time, according to many, provided good reasons for it. In particular, the nationally oriented circles of Jewry did not forgive the Rothschilds for their sharply negative attitude towards Zionism.

Like other wealthy Jews, the Rothschilds did not refuse to maintain the presence of their Orthodox fellow believers in Jerusalem, where in the 1850s. James Jacob Rothschild and his wife Betty founded a hospital for the poor, and in the 1860s. with the money of the London Rothschilds, the still existing school for girls named after Evelyn de Rothschild (in memory of the daughter of Lionel Rothschild, who died untimely soon after the wedding) was opened there.

The situation was different with political Zionism, in which the Rothschilds from the very beginning saw a threat to all their life foundations and orientations. Based on their own experience, they believed that Jews can and should successfully integrate in the countries where fate has thrown them, and that anti-Semites and racists will not fail to take advantage of the idea of ​​creating a sovereign Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael and the mass resettlement of Jews there as proof of the validity of their assertions. about the ineradicable separatism and alienation of Jews to European peoples.

The Rothschilds even accused the Zionists of giving anti-Semites a reason to demand the complete expulsion, or at least all encouragement, of the emigration of Jews from Europe. The long-term rejection of Zionism by the Rothschild family had a purely pragmatic basis - not seeing in it anything but groundless projection, they did not want to associate their name with a "gamble" that would surely end in financial bankruptcy and a political scandal. In this regard, all the other Rothschilds were greatly concerned about the position and activities of Edmond de Rothschild, who, having remained in opposition to political Zionism for a long time, still refused to publicly condemn it.

Some members of the Rothschild family began to treat Zionism more favorably only after the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, when its political goals ceased to look absolutely fantastic in their eyes. Even the second Lord Rothschild, Nathaniel, in the last months of his life changed his adamant assimilationist position to an almost pro-Zionist one.

For some time, his son Lionel Walter Lord Rothschild (1868-1937), to whom, as the most prominent Jew in the country, addressed his letter, outlining the commitment of the British government to promote the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine, was very actively involved in the activities of the Zionist organization of Great Britain, the Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Balfour.

Even the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the numerous wars in which it had to defend its existence, arousing great interest and sympathy from most members of the Rothschild family, did not turn them into supporters of Zionism. Baron Guy de Rothschild (1909-2007), author of the bestselling autobiographical book Against Luck (1983), seemed to express the general feelings of the family members when he admitted that Israel is not their country, its banner is not theirs. banner, but that the courage and military prowess of the Israelites filled their hearts with pride, made them less vulnerable to hostile attacks, and brought the liberation of some important part of their "I". These feelings stimulate in some members of the Rothschild family the desire to participate in the construction of the Jewish state.

Thus, Victor Rothschild (see above), who did not consider himself a Zionist, actively supported Israel in the field of science (he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Weizmann Research Institute and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem), attracted British public opinion to the side of Israel and was rumored to have contributed to the establishment of Israeli intelligence (attacks on him for this in the English press hinted at his lack of loyalty to the British homeland).

Rothschild park in Israel

In the field of economics and finance, the great-grandson and namesake of the “father of the Jewish Yishuv”, Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1926-97), who financed the construction of the country's first oil pipeline from the Red to the Mediterranean Sea and one of the first chemical plants, provided important assistance in the founding State Bank of Israel (Bank Israel) and in the implementation of some other projects.

The well-known and widely advertised philanthropic activity of the Rothschild family is by no means confined to Israel - as in the past, they donate large sums not only to Jewish, but also non-Jewish hospitals, schools, kindergartens, orphanages, cultural and scientific foundations, etc. ., wanting to show that they are both good Jews and good French and English.

Eprussi Rothschild Museum on the French Riviera

A notable contribution to many areas of Israeli life is the Rothschild Foundation, created in 1957 by Dorothy Rothschild (1895-1988), the wife of James Armand Rothschild (1878-1957): educational television was created in the country, the Open University and a number of branches in other universities (for example, the Institute for Advanced Study and the Center for Adult Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Faculty of Nursing at Tel Aviv University), the Music Center in Jerusalem's Mishkenot Sha'ananim area has been built, exhibitions and expositions are organized in the Israel Museum, equipped with modern equipment new hospitals, homes for the elderly and disabled, student scholarships, Rothschild Science Achievement Prizes, and more. The ballet ensemble that bears her name, created in 1964 at the expense of Baroness Bat-Sheva Rothschild (1914-99), is very popular in the country and abroad.

In subsequent years, there was a certain cooling of the Rothschild family to the State of Israel, both due to the increasing departure of some of its members from Jewishness (for example, the current Lord Rothschild Nathaniel Charles / was born in 1936 / converted to Christianity and married to a non-Jewish woman), and due to the frequent disagreement of the government circles of the country with their advice and recommendations. However, a number of facts indicate that members of the Rothschild family did not refuse to participate in the life of the Jewish state. So, with the funds of the Rothschild Foundation, a new building of the Supreme Court of Israel was built (1992).

ROTHSCHILDS

On May 17, the investment bank Rothschild & Co will be headed by a representative of the seventh generation of the famous Rothschild dynasty - 37-year-old Alexander de Rothschild. For two hundred years, the family has been strictly observing the precepts of the patriarch and the founder of the clan, who ordered the descendants to always act together, trust the management of the family business only to male relatives and maintain secrecy in business. The famous banking house has been dealing with transactions of historical magnitude for centuries. The image of the omnipotent behind-the-scenes puppeteers was formed under the impression of their activities. Conspiracy theorists are sure that the famous family, whose branches are widely spread in Europe and the United States, controls world finances with help. The origins and change of generations in the well-known banking clan - in the material.

Shop under a red sign

The end of the eighteenth century is an era of gigantic changes for Western Europe: the revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy in France, the birth of industrial production, a series of large-scale wars, the gradual loss of political influence by the aristocratic landowners and the emancipation of oppressed groups. It was at this time that the foundation of the financial power of the Rothschilds was laid. The founder of the dynasty is Mayer Amschel, the son of Amschel Moses, a humble money changer from the Jewish quarter in Frankfurt am Main.

His father wanted the bright boy to become a rabbi, but Mayer showed a penchant for worldly affairs. For some time he practiced at the Oppenheimer's banking house in Hanover. Then he worked in his father's exchange shop under a red sign (in German it sounds like Rot Schild, later this phrase became a surname). Having “caught the trends”, Mayer Amschel started buying up old coins and medals. The German nobility of that time was fond of collecting various antiquities, so the courteous and neat young man quickly made useful acquaintances with the mighty of this world, and the exchange shop was transformed into a bank.

The career of the ghetto money-changer's son took off after he met the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Wilhelm. Traditionally, Jewish bankers were involved in various financial transactions for the German princes. For example, representatives of the House of Oppenheimers were the court bankers of the Habsburgs in Vienna, King of Prussia Frederick II the Great used the services of the Berlin firm Ephraim and Sons. Bypassing competitors with the help of patronage and gifts to patrons, Mayer Amschel became the chief court financier of Wilhelm.

Everybody in the house

The family's well-being went up sharply, the growing children were actively involved in the family business. Like fairy-tale characters throwing arrows in search of happiness, Mayer's sons dispersed to the largest cities in Europe: Solomon to Vienna, Nathan to Manchester (he later moved to London), Kalman to Naples, Jacob to Paris. The eldest son remained in Frankfurt am Main. In memory of this, the Rothschild coat of arms depicts five arrows and a motto in Latin: Concordia, Integritas, Industria - Consent, Honesty, Diligence.

This is how the international financial network was founded, covering the most developed European countries. Formally competing, the brothers supported each other in every possible way and exchanged news using coded Yiddish correspondence. Subsequently, the most viable branches of the family tree turned out to be English (from Nathan) and French (from Jacob) - they still flourish.

The court financier approached the marriages of children very seriously: the sons brought daughters-in-law with a substantial dowry to the family, the spouses of the daughters were also part of the clan, but worked in lower positions. In any case, sons-in-law did not have a chance to take the helm of the family business. The wealth of the clan could only be controlled by a male descendant of Mayer Amschel. The money earned had to remain in the family, so Mayer's descendants married cousins ​​and second cousins.

However, this is what the entire elite did. For example, by the end of the 19th century, the Austrian imperial family turned out to be so ramified that marriages between relatives belonging to different branches of the Habsburg clan became more and more frequent, Andrei Shary and Yaroslav Shimov write in their book "Austria-Hungary: the fate of an empire". Archduke of Austria-Hungary Franz Ferdinand, who became heir to the throne in 1895, was indignant about this: “If someone from our family falls in love on the side, there will certainly be some kind of nonsense in the pedigree that prevents such a marriage. So it turns out that we have a husband and wife, all twenty-fold relatives. As a result, half of the children are fools or complete idiots. "

The Rothschilds entered into marriages exclusively with adherents of Judaism and won the glory of the "Jewish royal family". The rules established by Mayer Amschel remained unchanged for 200 years, only in the 1970s, David René, a representative of the French branch of the Rothschilds, married a Catholic, Italian aristocrat Olympia Aldobrandini. They raised their daughters in the Catholic faith, but the only son Alexander - the future heir to the family business - in Judaism. Also in 2010, the Rothschilds, for the first time, appointed an out-of-kin person - Briton Nigel Higgins as the executive director of the investment bank NM Rothschild. True, Higgins was still not a completely alien - by this time he had worked for the family for a quarter of a century.

To whom the war

The Rothschilds could have remained at the level of the small-town rich, if not for the war. In 1806, the French Emperor Napoleon I invaded Germany. Landgrave Wilhelm fled the country, leaving affairs in the care of his court banker. It was then that Mayer came in handy with his arrow, fired in the direction of Foggy Albion. Son Nathan instantly gave up the textile trade in Manchester and retrained as a stock exchange tycoon in London.

The French confiscated part of Wilhelm's gold, but the capital of his boss, Rothschild Sr., thanks to Nathan's securities transactions, managed to transfer to England. To celebrate, the landgrave wrote to the court bankers for a symbolic commission all the rights to manage their securities, and Nathan started buying and selling British government bonds. This is how the Rothschilds became the first European millionaires and financed Britain's wars against Napoleon. One of their brightest operations is ferrying gold for Wellington's army in Spain.

On September 19, 1812, the Russian army, exhausted by the fighting, under the command of Field Marshal Prince Golenishchev-Kutuzov, retreated to Podolsk. On the same day, in a house on Jewish Street in Frankfurt am Main, in the seventieth year of his life, the founder of the Rothschild house, Mayer Amschel, died, but his business lived on and grew - the wealth and influence of the Rothschild brothers increased along with the amounts of loans they provided.

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There is a legend that Nathan learned about the victory over Napoleon at Waterloo a day earlier than anyone else in London, but he came to the stock exchange with a sad face and started selling government bonds. Seeing this, the stockbrokers decided that the British and their allies were defeated, and rushed to get rid of the papers for next to nothing. After waiting for the collapse, agents of the cunning Nathan bought up the cheaper government bonds. As a result, the London Rothschild earned 40 million pounds from this operation. However, some researchers deny this story's credibility - Nathan bought securities amid defeatist sentiments before the Battle of Waterloo, they say.

The peace that was established in Europe after the Napoleonic wars also contributed to the growth of the family's well-being - the war-torn countries needed loans to rebuild. The grateful victorious monarchs endowed the banker brothers with the nobility, and the Austrian emperor Franz II granted the Rothschilds the title of baron. Napoleon tried to conquer Europe with rifles and cannons, but he lost. The Old World submitted to bills and loans from a banking family.

World behind the scenes

The nineteenth century was the golden age of the Rothschilds. Europe, and with it the whole world, was rapidly changing, the Rothschild banking network financed the construction of industrial enterprises, railways, the purchase of the Suez Canal by Great Britain, and the development of oil fields in the Russian Empire (on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan).

The Rothschilds partnered with De Beers in the search for diamonds and gold in South Africa. They are accused of helping to unleash military conflicts, such as the devastating war between Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay with Paraguay. Numerous descendants of Mayer Amschel were fond of luxury and art, the construction of palaces and charity. But by the end of the century, the family's fame began to fade. Perhaps they themselves wanted it, because money, as you know, loves silence, and left and right publicists blamed the bankers for all the troubles of mankind.

In the twentieth century, the Rothschild structures began to specialize in large-scale mergers and acquisitions. Conspiracy theorists consider the Rothschilds to be the masterminds behind the First Bank of the United States, the prototype of the Federal Reserve System (FRS). The dynasty is ranked among the real masters of the system. The Fed is officially owned by 12 Federal Reserve Banks, approved but organized as private companies.