Billionaire Benjamin De Rothschild Heir To Storied Banking Fortune Dies

Benjamin de Rothschild, an heir to the Edmond de Rothschild banking legacy, died at age 57 after suffering a heart attack, his group announced on Saturday. Edmond de Rothschild Holding SA described Benjamin as a “visionary entrepreneur, passionate about finance, speed, sailing and automobiles.”A member of one of Europe’s most famous banking families, Benjamin de Rothschild inherited a branch of the family bank that specializes in private wealth management. The Edmond de Rothschild group, which was founded in 1953 by Edmon Adolphe de Rothschild, manages more than $190 billion in assets and employs 2,600 people across 32 global locations. The group is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Forbes estimates that Benjamin de Rothschild was worth $1.4 billion at the time of his death, with his ownership of Edmond de Rothschild Holding SA accounting for the lion’s share of his fortune. Benjamin de Rothschild was a descendent of James de Rothschild, the founder of the French branch of the Rothschild family and one of  five brothers who were despatched across Europe by founding father Mayer Amschel Mayer Amschel in the early 1800s. Nial Ferguson’s two-volume history, The House of Rothschild, presents James de Rothschild as the capable and often cantankerous youngest member of the clan. He ran the Paris office during the tumultuous years after the Napoleonic wars, according to Ferguson, and kept pace with the infamous Nathan Rothschild, who ran the family business from London and upon...