Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, co-founder and chairman of J. Rothschild Assurance Holdings, has died at the age of 87. Jason Alden—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Jacob Rothschild, the banker and philanthropist who left his family's bank to build his own financial empire in the City of London, has died. He was 87 years old.
Mr Rothschild's family confirmed his death in a statement to the Press Association. No cause was given.
“Our father, Jacob, was a towering figure in the lives of many people: a highly accomplished investor, a champion of arts and culture, a dedicated public servant, and a great supporter of Israel and Jewish culture. He was an avid supporter of philanthropy and an avid environmentalist. He was a loving friend, father and grandfather,” his family said in a statement.
Mr. Rothschild left NM Rothschild & Sons in 1980 to concentrate on the Rothschild Investment Trusts after resigning from the family firm over a dispute over its direction. This spin-off business is now known as RIT Capital Partners Plc and is one of the UK's largest investment trusts.
He co-founded the asset management firm St. James's Place with RIT and was part of the trio that joined forces in the aborted $21 billion hostile takeover bid for British American Tobacco 30 years ago. became.
Rothschild was also one of Britain's most prominent philanthropists. He was Chairman of the Board of the National Gallery and the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
A prominent art collector, he restored Spencer House in London and led a five-year restoration from 1990 to 1995 of Waddesdon Manor, a 19th-century country house built by one of his wealthy ancestors.
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Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild was born on April 28, 1936. Educated at Eton College and Oxford University, he joined the family bank and four years later became a partner at NM Rothschild & Sons, running its corporate finance department.
The Rothschild banking dynasty dates back to Mayer Amschel Rothschild, born in 1744, a rare coin dealer and financial advisor to German aristocrats. He sent his five sons to major European cities to do business with cash-strapped governments Arriving on British shores at the end of the 18th century, Nathan Mayer Rothschild made his first overseas foray.
Nathan founded his namesake bank in 1810 and gained fame for funding British military operations in the Napoleonic Wars. Some 150 years later, Jacob worked with his father Victor and his cousin Evelyn, who took over as chairman of his NM Rothschild & Sons Ltd. from Victor in 1976, in an effort to expand the bank's services. faced opposition from
Since listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1988 following the deregulation of London's financial markets, RIT has grown more than 1,300%.
Mr Rothschild stepped down as chairman of RIT in 2019, but his daughter Hannah, 61, remains on the investment firm's board and currently oversees at least a 10% stake worth more than £250m. ing.
