Leopold de Rothschild
Leopold de Rothschild CVO (22 November 1845 – 29 May 1917) was a British banker, thoroughbred race horse breeder, and a member of the prominent Rothschild family.
Biography
Early life
Leopold de Rothschild was the third son and youngest of the five children of Lionel de Rothschild (1808–1879) and Charlotte von Rothschild (1819–1884). He was educated at King's College School then went on to Trinity College, Cambridge.
Banking career
He entered N M Rothschild & Sons in London, the family's banking business. On the death of his uncle Baron Mayer de Rothschild in 1874, he became head of the family's banking business in London and took over most of his uncle's public offices. He also inherited Ascott House in Ascott, Buckinghamshire.
Public service
He was a DL and JP for the county of Buckinghamshire. He was made a commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1905, and was President of the British Order of Mercy, which was awarded his wife in 1911. He was also active in the Anglo-Jewish community, serving as vice-president of the Anglo-Jewish Association, chairman of the Jewish Emigration Society, and a treasurer of the London Jewish Board of Deputies.
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family is a wealthy family descending from Mayer Amschel Rothschild, a court Jew to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel, in the Free City of Frankfurt, who established his banking business in the 1760s. Unlike most previous court Jews, Rothschild managed to bequeath his wealth, and established an international banking family through his five sons, who established themselves in London, Paris, Vienna, Naples and modern Frankfurt.
During the 19th century, when at its height, the Rothschild family is believed by some to have possessed the largest private fortune in the world, as well as the largest private fortune in modern world history. The family's wealth is believed to have subsequently declined, as it was divided amongst hundreds of descendants. Today, Rothschild businesses are far less well known than they were throughout the 19th century, although they encompass a diverse range of fields, including financial services, real estate, mining, energy, mixed farming, wine and charities.
