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
- Banking: Merchant banking, Private banking
- Finance: Asset management, Bills of exchange, Equity, Gobal financial advice, Mergers & acquisitions, Insurance (The Alliance Assurance Company), Venture capital (The Exploration Company), Pensions, Investments
- Government finance: Bonds, loans & sovereign lending, Privatisation
- Commodities: Cotton, Indigo, Sugar, Tea & coffee, Tobacco
- Communications & technology
- Civil engineeering: Bridges, Tunnels
- Hotels, tourism & leisure
- Manufacturing: Cars, Iron & steel (Witkowitz (Vítkovice) Mines, Steel and Ironworks Corporation), Textiles
- Media & publishing
- Natural resources (mining & trade): Coal, Copper, Nickel, Oil, Platinum, Diamonds, Rubies, Quicksilver, Salt, Silver
- Gold: Gold mining and bullion, The Royal Mint Refinery, The Gold Fixing
- Power & utilities: Electricity, Hydroelectricity (BRINCO), Gas, Water
- Transport: Aircraft, Canals, waterways & harbours (The Suez Canal shares purchase), Road transport, Shipping
- Railways: Kaiser-Ferdinand's Nordbahn, The Chemin de fer du Nord, Brazilian railways, Indian railways, The London Underground, The New York Subway, Mass transit railways
- Wine: Château Lafite, Château Mouton
