the world of private banking
the world of private banking
the world of private banking
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JEwISH PRIVAtE BANKS 215<br />
France. The fa<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong> five sons, he went into partnership with <strong>the</strong> two eldest,<br />
Amschel and Salomon, and in 1798 he sent his third and most gifted son, Nathan,<br />
to England. Starting in Manchester, Nathan accumulated a fortune as a textile<br />
merchant before settling in London by 1804. He managed to make his way into<br />
<strong>the</strong> circle <strong>of</strong> merchant bankers who were issuing British government loans, and<br />
created a network <strong>of</strong> agents covering <strong>the</strong> whole <strong>of</strong> Europe. Nathan’s youngest<br />
bro<strong>the</strong>r Jacob, better known as James, arrived in Paris in 1811 and founded his<br />
bank <strong>the</strong>re in 1814.<br />
Having become <strong>the</strong> bankers <strong>of</strong> Europe’s conservative monarchies, <strong>the</strong><br />
Rothschilds settled in Vienna, where Salomon founded a bank, and in Naples,<br />
where <strong>the</strong> fourth bro<strong>the</strong>r, Charles, established himself. Links with o<strong>the</strong>r centres<br />
developed, with privileged correspondents like Samuel Bleichröder and his son<br />
Gerson in Berlin, or August Belmont in New York. In o<strong>the</strong>r places <strong>the</strong> Rothschilds<br />
had direct representatives like Louis Richtenberger, who looked after <strong>the</strong> Parisian<br />
branch’s interests in Brussels, and his stepson Samuel Lambert in Antwerp. Through<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir extended network <strong>of</strong> financial relations, <strong>the</strong> Rothschilds played a prominent<br />
role in international gold and silver flows. They achieved a very efficient system <strong>of</strong><br />
couriers which <strong>of</strong>fered a level <strong>of</strong> security and rapidity in business communications<br />
never surpassed until <strong>the</strong> appearance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> telegraph. For years, <strong>the</strong> Rothschilds<br />
were better informed about international events than governments were. Ministers<br />
and diplomats <strong>of</strong>ten relied on <strong>the</strong>ir information.<br />
The case <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Rothschilds is far from being a unique example <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> scattering<br />
<strong>of</strong> German <strong>private</strong> bankers throughout Europe. The Oppenheims, linked with<br />
<strong>the</strong> house <strong>of</strong> Fould in Paris, were present in Brussels during <strong>the</strong> Napoleonic era,<br />
and Adolphe Oppenheim became <strong>the</strong> first treasurer <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Banque de Belgique.<br />
They patronized two prominent bankers at Brussels, Jacques Errera, <strong>the</strong> son <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Venetian Jewish banker who married Oppenheim’s daughter, and Franz Philippson,<br />
who became <strong>the</strong> wonderboy <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Brussels market. Likewise, <strong>the</strong> Bisch<strong>of</strong>fsheim<br />
bro<strong>the</strong>rs, from Mainz, set up banks in Amsterdam, Antwerp and Brussels.<br />
Contrary to <strong>the</strong> Rothschilds, who had <strong>the</strong>ir representative in Belgium until<br />
<strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> century, Jonathan Bisch<strong>of</strong>fsheim set up his business in Brussels<br />
and developed his network throughout Europe with numerous German Jewish<br />
bankers’ families, among <strong>the</strong>m Goldschmidt, Bamberger, Cassel and Stern, whose<br />
youngsters were trained in his bank and settled in Belgium. Similarly, one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
relatives, Germain Cassel, founded a bank in Brussels in 1839 and allied through<br />
marriage with <strong>the</strong> Frankfurt bankers Stern, who also expanded <strong>the</strong>ir operations to<br />
London and Paris. In <strong>the</strong> same way Bisch<strong>of</strong>fsheim’s son-in-law, <strong>the</strong> famous baron<br />
Maurice de Hirsch, founded his own bank in Brussels in 1862 as a partnership<br />
with his bro<strong>the</strong>r-in-law Fernand Bisch<strong>of</strong>fsheim.<br />
The development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> German Jewish <strong>private</strong> bankers’ New York community<br />
followed in a way <strong>the</strong> pattern observed in Europe, although it occurred later in<br />
<strong>the</strong> century. Having emigrated to <strong>the</strong> United States between <strong>the</strong> late 1830s and<br />
<strong>the</strong> 1850s, <strong>the</strong>y started business trading in commodities, whe<strong>the</strong>r retail, wholesale<br />
or international trade. Like <strong>the</strong> Revolution and Napoleonic Wars in Europe, <strong>the</strong>