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Evelyn de Rothschild

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This article is about the financier born in 1931. For his uncle, who was also a banker, see Evelyn de Rothschild (born 1886).

Sir
Evelyn de Rothschild
FKC
Born
Evelyn Robert Adrian de Rothschild

(1931-08-29)29 August 1931
London, Middlesex, England
Died7 November 2022(2022-11-07) (aged 91)
London, Greater London, England
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
Spouses
  • Jeannette Bishop
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1966; div. 1971)​
  • Victoria Lou Schott
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1973; div. 2000)​
  • ​
    (m. 2000)​
Children
FatherAnthony Gustav de Rothschild

Sir Evelyn Robert Adrian de Rothschild FKC (29 August 1931 – 7 November 2022) was a British financier and a member of the Rothschild family.

Early life

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Evelyn de Rothschild was born on 29 August 1931,[1] to a Jewish family.[2] The son of Anthony Gustav de Rothschild (1887–1961) and Yvonne Lydia Louise Cahen d'Anvers (1899–1977), he was named after his uncle Evelyn Achille de Rothschild who was killed in action in World War I. Evelyn de Rothschild spent several of his boyhood years in the United States during World War II. He was a pupil at Harrow School[3] and then studied history at Trinity College, Cambridge, but dropped out before gaining a degree. Born into great wealth, he became one of England's most eligible bachelors, spending his youth travelling, socialising, driving exotic sports cars, enjoying thoroughbred horse racing and playing polo. It was not until age 26 that he decided to join N M Rothschild & Sons banking house to be trained in the family's business. In 1955, a couple of years prior to Sir Evelyn's entry into the family's business, his father had to retire from the position of chairman due to illness and his cousin Victor Rothschild took over as chairman.[citation needed]

Career

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Evelyn de Rothschild was appointed a director of Paris-based de Rothschild Frères in 1968 while Guy de Rothschild from the French branch of the family became a partner at N M Rothschild & Sons. In 1976, he took over as bank chairman from Victor Rothschild and in 1982 became chairman of Rothschilds Continuation Holdings AG, the co-ordinating company for the merchant banking group. He became co-chairman of Rothschild Bank A.G., Zurich in 1994, serving until 2003 when he oversaw the merger of the family's French and UK houses. David René de Rothschild of the French branch took over as executive chairman of Rothschild International after the different branches had been merged and Sir Evelyn continued as non-executive chairman of N M Rothschild & Sons.[4] In 2003, he founded with his wife, Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a holding company, E.L. Rothschild, to manage their investments in The Economist and various enterprises in India.[5]

Throughout his career, Evelyn de Rothschild was actively involved in a number of other organisations in both the private and public sectors and held the following business positions:

Evelyn de Rothschild also served as a Director of the newspaper group owned by Lord Beaverbrook. Years later, he served for a time as a Director of Lord Black's Daily Telegraph newspaper. An owner of thoroughbred racehorses, he was a past chairman of United Racecourses.

Philanthropic activities

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In 1967, Sir Evelyn created the Eranda Foundation[6] to support social welfare, promote the arts and to encourage research into medicine and education.

De Rothschild served as Queen Elizabeth II's financial adviser.[7] He was a Governor of the London School of Economics and Political Science as well as an active patron of the arts and supporter of a number of charities. He served as Chairman of the Delegacy of St Mary's Hospital Medical School from 1977 to 1988. He was a Member of the Council of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, a trustee of the Shakespeare Globe Trust, and in 1998 was appointed Chairman of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers. Sir Evelyn was the founding chairman in 1990 of The European Association for Banking and Financial History in Frankfurt, Germany, a position he held until retiring in 2004. He was a board member of the Snowdon Trust, founded by the Earl of Snowdon, which provides grants and scholarships for students with disabilities.[8]

Personal life

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In 1966, Evelyn de Rothschild married Jeannette Bishop, a niece of Sir Stanley Hooker, the jet-engine engineer. The marriage ended in divorce in 1971. Jeannette Bishop died in late 1980 or during 1981 along with former family cook and interpreter Gabriella Guerin. The two were allegedly killed.[9]

Rothschild married for a second time in 1973 to Victoria Lou Schott (1949–2021), the daughter of Florida property developer Lewis Schott[10] and his wife Marcia W. Schott (née Whitney).[11] The marriage, which ended in divorce in 2000,[3] produced three children:

On 30 November 2000, Rothschild married the American lawyer and entrepreneur Lynn Forester, who was the head of the Luxembourg-based wireless broadband venture FirstMark Communications Europe and the former wife of Andrew Stein, a New York City political figure who served as the last president of the New York City Council. By this marriage, he has two stepchildren, Benjamin Forester Stein (b. 1985) and John Forester Stein (b. 1988). On the announcement of the marriage, the de Rothschild couple were invited to spend their honeymoon at the White House, where they agreed to stay one night.[13]

Honours

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Evelyn de Rothschild was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1989 New Year Honours.[14]

Death

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Sir Evelyn de Rothschild owned homes in London, New York City, Martha's Vineyard, and Buckinghamshire, where he lived at Ascott House, a country estate owned by the National Trust.[4] He died at his home in London, after suffering a stroke, on 7 November 2022, at the age of 91.[4][15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "Evelyn Robert Adrian de Rothschild (1931-) | Rothschild Family". family.rothschildarchive.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Remembering Sir Evelyn de Rothschild". 13 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b ‘ROTHSCHILD, Sir Evelyn de’, Who's Who 2009, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2008 accessed 27 Feb 2009
  4. ^ a b c McFadden, Robert D. (8 November 2022). "Evelyn de Rothschild, Scion of Banking Dynasty, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  5. ^ Grove, Lloyd "World According to Lynn Forester de Rothschild" Condé Nast Portfolio.com (5 November 2007)
  6. ^ "'RD Funding". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  7. ^ "Just who are the Rothschilds today? The long, non-laser-filled answer". The Forward. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Our board". The Snowdon Trust. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Chi l'ha Visto - Misteri - La misteriosa fine della baronessa Rothschild - La scheda". www.chilhavisto.rai.it (in Italian). Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  10. ^ The Guardian: "Hidden loan that boosted Tories" 25 October 2008
  11. ^ New York Times: "Marcia W. Schott, 66, Owner of Race Horses" 18 August 1989
  12. ^ Stewart-Liberty, Olivia (17 March 2006) "Social adventurer" The Evening Standard London, UK, (17 March 2006 Friday) ES Magazine p. 51
  13. ^ 'I Love My Country Over My Party' Archived 6 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "No. 51578". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1988. p. 2.
  15. ^ "British financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild dies aged 91". Express & Star. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Sir Evelyn de Rothschild obituary". The Times. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
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