On Saturday, 57-year-old Baron Benjamin de Rothschild unexpectedly died from a heart attack, leaving behind four daughters. He was president of the family-owned Edmond de Rothschild Holding SA and considered one of the richest members of the Rothschild family.
Europe’s most famous banking dynasty, the Rothschilds, started with the rise of 18th century German Jewish banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild before splitting into different branches and scattering across the Continent.
© AFP 2020 / FABRICE COFFRINI
This picture taken on March 8, 2016, shows a sign of the Swiss private banking Edmond de Rothschild at its headquarters on March 8, 2016 in Geneva
Many family members, including the recently deceased Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, have continued working in finance, securing their title as the world’s best-known banking family, while others have famously tried their hand in others fields.
Here’s a list of some of the most renowned Rothschild heirs:
Sir Evelyn de Rothschild
The 89-year-old British financier is the son and heir of Anthony Gustav de Rothschild, who headed N. M. Rothschild & Sons of London until his retirement, while overseeing the merger of the British and French financial houses. He also served as chairman for The Economist and a director for IBM United Kingdom Holdings Limited.
Sir Evelyn Rothschild remains a personal financial advisor to British monarch Queen Elizabeth II. In 1989, he was knighted by her for services to banking.
© AP PHOTO / EDUARDO VERDUGO
British financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, right, helps Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez at the Soumaya Museum’s new home in Mexico City, Tuesday March 1, 2011
David Rene de Rothschild
The family’s UK and French branches were united in 2003 under the leadership of French banker David René de Rothschild. At 78, he remains chairman of Switzerland-based Rothschild Continuation Holdings and holds a position on the governing board of the World Jewish Congress. He’s currently based in Normandy.
David René and his wife Olimpia Anna Aldobrandini have four grown-up children together.
© AP PHOTO / MICHEL EULER
Governing Board Chair of the World Jewish Congress David de Rothschild attends the presentation of the website to counter Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism at the UNESCO headquartered in Paris, France, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018
Jacob Rothschild
Fourth Baron Rothschild, Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 84, is a British investment banker who founded the J. Rothschild Assurance Group. He also worked in the family’s London bank but resigned in 1980 over family disagreements relating to the chairmanship of Sir Evelyn Robert de Rothschild.
Jacob Rothschild is known for his interest in oil extraction, while he held down the deputy chairman position at Sky TV until his retirement in 2008. The banker is also honorary president to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.
© AP PHOTO / FRANK AUGSTEIN
Artist David Hockney and Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, chat prior to the unveiling of the bottle design for the 2014 vintage wine of Chвteau Mouton Rothschild in London, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017
Nathaniel Philip Rothschild
Jacob Rothschild’s youngest child Nathaniel – known to many simply as Nat – is no stranger to scandal. He launched a libel battle against the Daily Mail for branding him a “puppet master” in a 2010 article detailing his trip to Russia with UK House of Lords member Peter Mandelson.
Nat, 49, now lives in Switzerland, while chairing Manchester-based manufacturer Volex plc and investing in other lucrative enterprises listed on the London Stock Exchange.
© AFP 2020 / WILL OLIVER
British financier Nathaniel Rothschild arrives at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for coal firm Bumi PLC in central London, on February 21, 2013
Twins Charlotte Henriette and David Lionel de Rothschild
She became a celebrated soprano, while her twin brother David Lionel is a trustee at The Rothschild Archive London. The siblings, 65, are the children of late Edmund Leopold de Rothschild, the financier and recipient of the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society.
Edouard de Rothschild
Edouard Etienne Alphonse de Rothschild – the son of Guy de Rothschild – hails from the French side of the family. He’s known for pumping millions of dollars into leftist Parisian newspaper Libération and owns part of the famous Château Lafite vineyard. His half-brother is David Rothschild.
© REUTERS / JACQUES BRINON
Edouard de Rothschild talks to reporters at the Liberation headquarters in Paris Wednesday Oct 18, 2006 in Paris
David Mayer de Rothschild
The 42-year-old environmentalist heads the Sculpt the Future Foundation charity. The son of Sir Evelyn Robert de Rothschild also founded the Myoo marketing agency to help businesses create sustainable practices and has also authored and co-authored a number of books on climate change prevention.
© AP PHOTO / EVAN AGOSTINI
Environmentalist David de Rothschild attends the Breitling Global Roadshow event at The Duggal Greenhouse on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, in New York
