Business activities

Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812) laid the foundations on which his five sons and their descendants would build a Europe wide banking empire. From the family base in Frankfurt where the five Rothschild brothers were born, Rothschild business interests developed rapidly, in a diverse range of business sectors.

Banking, finance and other business

Mayer Amschel Rothschild was born in 1744 in the Judengasse, in Frankfurt. His father had a business in goods-trading and currency exchange. He was a personal supplier of collectable coins to the Prince of Hesse. By the early years of the 19th century, Rothschild had consolidated his position, and in 1810, renamed his firm M A Rothschild und Söhne, establishing a partnership with his four sons still in Frankfurt, (his son Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836) having already established a business in Manchester and London).

Nathan Rothschild’s increasingly successful business provided a model for his brothers back in Frankfurt. In 1812, James Mayer Rothschild (1792-1868) established a banking house in Paris. Salomon Mayer Rothschild (1774-1855) settled in Vienna in 1820. Carl Mayer Rothschild (1788-1855) set up business in Naples in 1821, leaving Amschel Mayer (1773-1855), to head the Frankfurt bank. From these roots, the Rothschild banking business spread out across much of Europe becoming the most successful international bankers of the age.

Listed below are some of the most important areas of Rothschild business. Further information about these activities can be found on the Rothschild Business microsite. A Rothschild Research Forum account is required to access this site. Apply for membership of the Rothschild Research Forum »

Business activities

Gold bars from the Royal Mint Refinery.

Gold bars from the Royal Mint Refinery.