Editing Rothschild family (section)

== Branches ==
=== English branch ===
{{Main|Rothschild banking family of England}}
[[File:Waddesdon Manor and Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 649037.jpg|thumb|A Rothschild house, [[Waddesdon Manor]] in [[Waddesdon]], Buckinghamshire, England, donated to the National Trust by the family in 1957]]

The Rothschild banking family of England was founded in 1798 by [[Nathan Mayer Rothschild]] (1777–1836), who first settled in [[Manchester]] but then moved to London. Nathan Mayer von Rothschild, the third son of [[Mayer Amschel Rothschild]] (1744–1812), first established a textile jobbing business in Manchester and from there went on to establish [[N M Rothschild & Sons]] bank in London.<ref>[https://www.rothschildarchive.org/business/n_m_rothschild_and_sons_london/ Brief history of the London house, N M Rothschild & Sons] at Rothschild Archive website, 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020</ref>

During the early part of the 19th century, the Rothschild family's London bank took a leading part in managing and financing the subsidies that the British government transferred to its allies during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. Through the creation of a network of agents, couriers and shippers, the bank was able to provide funds to the armies of the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] in Portugal and Spain, therefore funding the war. The providing of other innovative and complex financing for government projects formed a mainstay of the bank's business for the better part of the century. N M Rothschild & Sons' financial strength in the [[City of London]] became such that, by 1825–26, the bank was able to supply enough coin to the [[Bank of England]] to enable it to avert a [[market liquidity|liquidity]] crisis.

[[File:Mentmore Towers from angle.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mentmore Towers]], one of the many Rothschild mansions built in [[Rothschild properties in the Home counties|Buckinghamshire]]]]
Nathan Mayer's eldest son, [[Lionel de Rothschild]] (1808–1879), succeeded him as head of the London branch. Under Lionel, the bank financed the British government's 1875 purchase of [[Egypt]]'s interest in the [[Suez Canal]]. The Rothschild bank also funded [[Cecil Rhodes]] in the development of the [[British South Africa Company]]. [[Leopold de Rothschild]] (1845–1917) administered Rhodes's estate after his death in 1902 and helped to set up the [[Rhodes Scholarship]] scheme at the [[University of Oxford]]. In 1873, [[de Rothschild Frères]] in France and N M Rothschild & Sons of London joined with other investors to acquire the Spanish government's money-losing [[Rio Tinto Group|Rio Tinto]] copper mines. The new owners restructured the company and turned it into a profitable business. By 1905, the Rothschild interest in Rio Tinto amounted to more than 30 percent. In 1887, the French and British Rothschild banking houses loaned money to, and invested in, the [[De Beers]] diamond mines in South Africa, becoming its largest shareholders.

The London banking house continued under the management of [[Lionel Nathan de Rothschild]] (1882–1942) and his brother [[Anthony Gustav de Rothschild]] (1887–1961), and then to [[Sir Evelyn de Rothschild]] (1931–2022). In 2003, following Sir Evelyn's retirement as head of N M Rothschild & Sons of London, the British and French financial firms merged under the leadership of [[David René de Rothschild]].

=== French branches ===
{{Main|Rothschild banking family of France}}
[[File:Chateau de Ferrieres.jpg|thumb|left|[[Château de Ferrières]], the largest château of the 19th century, was built in 1854. It is set on a {{convert|30|km²|0|abbr=on}} estate outside Paris. It was charitably donated by the family to the University of Paris in 1975.]]
There are two branches of the family connected to France.

The first was the branch of [[James Mayer de Rothschild]] (1792–1868), known as "James", who established [[de Rothschild Frères]] in Paris; he married his niece [[Betty von Rothschild]]. Following the Napoleonic Wars, he played a major role in financing the construction of railways and the mining business that helped make France an industrial power. By 1980, the Paris business employed about 2,000 people and had an annual turnover of 26&nbsp;billion francs (€4.13&nbsp;billion or $5&nbsp;billion in the currency rates of 1980).<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1487391620070614 RPT-French banker Guy de Rothschild dies aged 98] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206021522/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1487391620070614 |date=6 February 2021 }} Reuters, 14 June 2007</ref>
{|class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 0.9em; margin-right: 0.9em; font-size: 85%; background:#white; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 35%;" cellspacing="5"
|style="text-align: left;"| "No kings could afford this! It could only belong to a Rothschild."
— [[William I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I]], Emperor of Germany, on visiting [[Château de Ferrières]].<ref>''Lafite; the story of Château Lafite-Rothschild'', by Cyril Ray (NY 1969), page 66.</ref>
|}

However, the Paris business suffered a near death blow in 1982, when the socialist government of [[François Mitterrand]] nationalised and renamed it as Compagnie Européenne de Banque.<ref>{{cite news
 |url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/business/worldbusiness/14rothschild.html
 |title        = Baron Guy de Rothschild, Leader of French Arm of Bank Dynasty, Dies at 98
 |newspaper    = New York Times
 |date         = 14 June 2007
 |first        = Paul
 |last         = Lewis
 |access-date  = 12 February 2017
 |archive-date = 8 March 2021
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20210308193445/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/business/worldbusiness/14rothschild.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> Baron [[David René de Rothschild|David de Rothschild]], then 39, decided to stay and rebuild, creating a new entity named [[Rothschild & Cie Banque]], with just three employees and €830,000 (US$1&nbsp;million) in capital. Today, the Paris operation has 22 partners and accounts for a significant part of the global business.

Ensuing generations of the Paris Rothschild family remained involved in the family business, becoming a major force in international investment banking. The Paris Rothschilds have since led the [[Thomson Financial League Tables]] in Investment Banking Merger and Acquisition deals in the UK, France and Italy.
[[Image:Paris chateau muette.jpg|thumb|left|300px|A former Rothschild family house, at the site of Château de la Muette, Paris. Built as a [[Rothschild family residences|family residence]] by the secondary branch of the French Rothschild family, today it houses the headquarters of the [[OECD]].]]

[[James Mayer de Rothschild]]'s other son, [[Edmond James de Rothschild]] (1845–1934), was very much engaged in philanthropy and the arts, and he 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 [[Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild]] purchased the company [[Club Med]], after he had visited a resort and enjoyed his stay.<ref name="indobit">{{cite news
 |url          = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-baron-edmond-de-rothschild-1292054.html
 |title        = Obituary: Baron Edmond de Rothschild
 |last         = Faith
 |first        = Nicholas
 |date         = 4 November 1997
 |work         = The Independent
 |location     = London
 |access-date  = 29 March 2009
 |archive-date = 12 April 2020
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20200412022432/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-baron-edmond-de-rothschild-1292054.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref>Gilbert Trigano, a Developer of Club Med, Is Dead at 80 By JOHN TAGLIABUE Published: 6 February 2001</ref> 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.
[[File:Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, façade côté jardin.jpg|thumb|[[Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild]], built in 1872 as a Paris townhouse for [[Salomon James de Rothschild]]]]
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 to work with his uncle James Mayer Rothschild. 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 neighbouring [[Château Lafite-Rothschild|Château Lafite]] vineyard.

=== Austrian branch ===
{{Main|Rothschild banking family of Austria}}
[[File:GuentherZ 0028 Wien04 Palais Freiherr Albert von Rothschild Heugasse26 Gartenseite.jpg|thumb|left|[[Palais Albert Rothschild|Palace of Baron Albert von Rothschild]] in Vienna.]]
In [[Vienna]], [[Salomon Mayer Rothschild]] established a bank in the 1820s and the Austrian family had vast wealth and position.<ref>Thomas Trenkler. ''Der Fall Rothschild: Chronik einer Enteignung''. Czernin Verlag, Vienna. 1999. {{ISBN|3-85485-026-3}}</ref> The crash of 1929 brought problems, and [[Louis Nathaniel de Rothschild|Baron Louis von Schwartz Rothschild]] attempted to shore up the [[Creditanstalt]], Austria's largest bank, to prevent its collapse. Nevertheless, during the [[Second World War]] they had to surrender their bank to the [[Nazis]] and flee the country. Their [[Palais Rothschild|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]] and [[statues]] (some of which were restored to the Rothschilds by the Austrian government in 1999).

All family members escaped the [[Holocaust]], some of them moving to the United States, and returning to Europe only 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.<ref>{{cite news
 |last         = Vogel
 |first        = Carol
 |title        = Austrian Rothschilds Decide to Sell; Sotheby's in London Will Auction $40 Million in Art Seized by Nazis
 |url          = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/10/arts/austrian-rothschilds-decide-sell-sotheby-s-london-will-auction-40-million-art.html
 |access-date  = 1 June 2013
 |newspaper    = New York Times
 |date         = 10 April 1999
 |archive-date = 8 March 2021
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20210308101906/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/10/arts/austrian-rothschilds-decide-sell-sotheby-s-london-will-auction-40-million-art.html
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref>

=== Neapolitan branch ===
[[File:Villa Pignatelli and its garden, Naples.jpg|thumb|[[Villa Pignatelli]], Naples, with views onto [[Mount Vesuvius]]]]
{{Main|Rothschild banking family of Naples}}
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. 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 Rothschilds' primary clients, eventually brought about the closure of their Naples bank, due to a forecasted decline in the sustainability of the business over the long-term. However, in the early 19th century, the Rothschild family of Naples built up close relations with the [[Holy See]], and the association between the family and the Vatican continued into the 20th century.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

In 1832, when [[Pope Gregory XVI]] was seen meeting Carl von Rothschild to arrange the [[1832 Rothschild loan to the Holy See]] (for £400,000, worth €43,000,000 in 2014), observers were shocked that Rothschild was not required to kiss the Pope's feet, as was then required for all other visitors to the Pope, including monarchs.<ref>''The reign of the house of Rothschild'', Egon Caesar Corti (Conte), 1928, page 46</ref> The 1906 ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' described the Rothschilds as "the guardians of the papal treasure".<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12909-rothschild "Rothschild"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214032438/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12909-rothschild |date=14 February 2015 }}.  ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'', 1901–1906, Vol. 2, p. 497.</ref>