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The Collections ‹ Treasure of the Month :: The Rothschild Archive

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Sources for business history: plans of New Court

Sources for art history: Catalogue of the pictures of Alfred de Rothschild 1901

Sources for yachting history: Plans for Nathaniel von Rothschild's yacht Veglia 1905

Sources for natural history: Walter 2nd Lord Rothschild and his zebra carriage: c.1910

Sources for global financial history: Map of lines of the Brazil Railway Company: c.1920

Sources for business history: index cards to bank files

Sources for social history: Rothschild Hospital Paris: 1920s

Sources for business history: detail of a Rothschild bond coupon

Sources for architectural history: Halton House: 1890s

Sources for the history of travel: Lionel de Rothschild's tours of Spain: 1909

Sources for local history: Tring Park: c.1900

Sources for Royal history: shooting party with Edward Prince of Wales: 1893

Sources for political history: Lionel de Rothschild: first Jewish MP: 1858

Sources for sporting history: St Amant winner of the Derby: 1904

Sources for local history: gardeners at Aston Clinton: 1899

Sources for Rothschild family history: Lionel de Rothschild's yacht Rhodora: 1927

Sources for London history: entrance to New Court: 1965

Sources for design history: plans for Lionel de Rothschild's Rolls-Royce: 1930

Sources for business history: Rothschild gold bars produced by the Royal Mint Refinery: 1930s

Sources for business history: letters of August Belmont Rothschild Agent in New York: 1860s

Treasure of the Month: The collections of The Rothschild Archive London contain over two million pieces of paper, volumes, files, photographs, artefacts and art works. Each month the archivists will highlight a particular treasure from the collections.

Nankings and Whanghees: East India Company goods price list, 1815

From their earliest days, global trade in goods and commodities was part of the daily life of the Rothschild businesses. As we approach the festive season with its vibrant colours and rich tastes, we reflect on the trade in exotic spices, dyes and textiles 200 years ago. 

The East India Company

The East India Company was a British joint-stock company, formed to pursue trade with the ‘East Indies’ (present day Maritime Southeast Asia). Originally chartered as the ‘Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies’, the company rose to account for half of the world's trade, particularly in basic commodities, trading mainly with China and the Indian subcontinent. The company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600. Wealthy merchants and aristocrats owned the company's shares.

During its first century of operation, the focus of the company was trade. Company interests turned from trade to territory during the 18th century as the Mughal Empire declined in power. The Company became a major military and political power in India, gradually increasing the extent of the territories under its control, ruling the whole Indian subcontinent either directly or indirectly via local rulers under the threat of force by its armies.

By 1803, at the height of its rule in India, the British East India Company had a private army of about 260,000 - twice the size of the British Army. Company rule in India lasted until 1858, when, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British Crown assumed direct control of the Indian subcontinent. The Government of India Act of 1858 removed the Company as rulers of India, and the Company's armies, territories, property and powers passed to Crown rule.

Merchant banking

As early as 1799, Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836) began to import and distribute Indian goods, and an ‘India Goods’ book, preserved in the Archive records dealings in cloth, indigo, spice, coffee and cotton between 1807 and 1812. Nathan is also reported to have dealt with the East India Company in connection with the famous ‘Waterloo Commission’, the contract from the British Government to supply Wellington's troops with gold coin in 1814 and 1815. In 1834, Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton wrote to his daughter recalling the dinner where Nathan told him of an occasion “when I was settled in London, the East India Company had 800,000 lbs of gold to sell.  I went to the sale and bought it all.  I knew the Duke of Wellington must have it… that was the best business I ever did.” Whilst no evidence exists that Nathan held East India Company shares, he did recommend the son John Roworth, his ‘Principal Clerk’for enlistment as a Cadet with the Company in 1818.  

‘Price Current of East India Goods’, 1815

In 1815, ships sailed into London from across the globe, carrying rare and exotic cargoes. The East India Company would regularly send out printed lists containing details of inbound shipments, quantities and prices. This example, dated 30 June 1815 was sent to N M Rothschild for information by the London firm of Ripley, Wiss & Ripley, East India merchants and brokers, based in Cannon Street, a short stroll from New Court.

The price list documents the cargoes of the “Castle Huntley, Elphinstone, Neptune, Wexford, Dorsetshire, Marquis Huntley, Winchlelsea, Tho. Grenville, Lady Melville, Cabalva, and Earl Spencer, from China; the Surrey, Europe, Astell, Lord Keith, and Alexander from Madras & Bengal; the Tigris and Indus from Bombay; the Orient, Lord Lyndoch, Fort William,  Lady Campbell, Mangles and Lord Hungerford, from Bengal; the Charlotte, Providence, Minstrel and Resource from  Batavia … the Elizabeth and the Commerce [carrying coffee] … the Eagle, Albion, Lord Nelson, Garland and Venus” [Cape ships, carrying oil].

Goods (in various qualities) of the East India Company declared for sale included:

The list also includes ‘Privilege and Private Trade Goods’. These were private cargoes of officers and servants of the Company that were carried on the Company’s vessels, the officers paying the Company for the privilege. The goods are many and varied and include:

More exotic cargoes included:

RAL XI/112/22 Sundry correspondence 'R'

'Price Current of East India Goods’

East India House in Leadenhall Street was the London headquarters of the East India Company

Why countries like India are so poor…?????? Vs.

The Rothschild Colonization of India

राकेश मिश्र कानपुर

Just another weblog

 

Do you know how Europe and the U.S are so rich….

…while countries like India are so poor…??????

You might be thinking its because they are already developed and advanced and we’re still a “developing” country…

Blah! Read on…

India was already a highly “developed” and advanced civilization for 4000+ years when the British stepped on our shores and it is entirely because of the British that we became backward and underdeveloped to this day.

So how did they do it?

Simple. They indulged in outright, shameless THIEVERY that continues to this day at various levels through various means. Here’s how this THIEVERY of India and its people was initiated by the East India Company and is still happening in a way that we cannot see or will not realize even if we see:

In 1600, the East India Company was granted the Charter to trade with India.

East India Company

It started sending bands of sea pirates in ships masked as “merchants”.

These sea pirates began landing on the shores of India and started setting up armed forts at various places such as Chennai.

The Rothschild family owned the trading company British East India Company. In 1857, they decided to merge with the British Empire.
After conquering Bengal in India, the Rothschilds set up a notoriously corrupt system of administration, whose sole objective was to shamelessly plunder the countless riches of Bengal which was the richest province in the entire world during that time.
Bengal was literally turned into a graveyard of death and desolation…

Millions of the poor were eliminated through the spread of diseases like the bubonic plague…

The Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah’s artillery on its movable platform, India, 1757, (1893). In 1757 at the Battle of Plassey, Clive and British troops secured Bengal under the control of the East India Company, and therefore British rule. A print from “The Illustrated London News”, (23 September 1893). Heritage-Images 2008 – All Rights Reserved

The Nawabs and the Rajahs and Zamindars were robbed of their priceless treasures. The following picture shows one such treasure looted by the East India Company banker pirates…

The Rothschilds then moved this entire horde of tons of gold looted from the people of Bengal to London. It was with this gold looted from Bengal that the Rothchild family set up the privately owned Bank of England.
Indian looted gold in the underground vaults of Bank of England

In the decades that followed, the Rothschild banking family set up the Federal Reserve Bank of America which to this day indulges in day light robbery of the American people.

The Rothschilds then set up the World Bank, the IMF and the Bank for International Settlements.

The Rothschilds use banks such as the World Bank, the IMF, the Bank for International Settlements to institutionalize the robbery of the third world
Banks such as Citibank and Standard Chartered bank etc. were also set up with the secret support of the Rothschilds to continue the robbery of third world and Indian people.

When Indians revolted in the year 1857, they were told that the East India Company was abolished and India will be administered directly by the CROWN.

What Indians do not know to this day is the fact that CROWN does not mean the King or Queen of Britain but a privately owned Corporation of London headed again by the Rothschilds who owned the East India Company!

Indians were tricked and cheated with a simple name change game!

The exploitation and robbery of India, its resources and people continued till 1947 under this CROWN.

In 1947, India and its people were again tricked into believing that we were granted “Independence” through the complicity of Pandit Nehru.
Under secret orders from the Rothschilds given to him through his Jewish girl friend Edwina Mountbatten who is a close relative of the British Queen, Nehru turned India and its people into rag tag clad beggars by aligning India with the Soviet Union which was another creation of the Jewish bankers.

You must not forget that today the richest people in the country are undoubtedly the politicians who continue their thievery and robbery of India for the East India Company Rothschilds banking family as their BENAMI frontmen.

The robbery of India and its people continues to this day and proof for this is evident in the fact that nearly 800 million Indians live at less than 50 rupees per day while our Parliament is full of politicians who are millionaires!

The Rothschilds are now married into the British Royal Family and many aristocratic families of Europe. The Kohinoor Diamond which was robbed by Robert Clive was presented to the British Queen.

The Bank of England which was set up through the thievery of gold from Bengal and the rest of India was also able to finance other banks such as Citibank and Standard Chartered bank. The East India Company bankers are using these multinational banks to rob the people of India.

 

How the most famous family of bankers, the Rothschilds, got rich

In September 1816, the famous Rothschild dynasty was elevated to the nobility. By that time, the descendants of a young financial enthusiast from the Jewish street in Frankfurt had built a huge banking business and became the epitome of success. What led to success and how do the heirs of the dynasty live now?

The history of the famous dynasty began in the 1760s, when the young Mayer Amschel Rothschild from a Jewish street in Frankfurt opened first an antique shop, and then a bank, where merchants changed money from one German principality to another. Over time, his five sons founded the five largest banks in Europe. Pioneers in the financing of infrastructure projects such as railroads and the Suez Canal, the Rothschilds formed many of the laws by which the financial market still operates today. It is believed that during the XIX century the Rothschilds had the largest fortune in the world. Success does not leave the descendants of the dynasty today.

Family values ​​

Antique shop owner Mayer Amschel Rothschild sold rare coins to Crown Prince Wilhelm, who became Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1785 and soon became the richest man on the European continent. Friendship with him allowed Rothschild to become his personal banker and provide banking services to other noble houses, including tax collector and future finance minister Karl Buderus. Rothschild had exceptional business qualities. In a stubborn struggle, he managed to exclude any competition and achieve a monopoly position with the sovereign, historians say. He deliberately selected the clientele - he worked only with the most noble families of Germany and did not undertake to conduct business of ordinary citizens.

The French Revolution was one of the reasons for the enormous growth of Rothschild's business. During the war, the Austrian army signed a contract with him for the supply of uniforms and horses, in addition, Rothschild conducted financial transactions for Hesse mercenary soldiers.

Around the same time, he sent his five sons to the capital of various European countries. Even then, his goal was to expand the business throughout Europe. And so it happened - the house of Rothschild became the first bank to cross the borders. The five sons of the founder of the dynasty subsequently controlled banks in the largest cities of Europe - Paris, London, Vienna, Naples, Frankfurt am Main.

The family did not lose their wealth largely thanks to Mayer Rothschild, who bequeathed intra-family marriages. The greatest success awaited the third son of Nathan, the founder of the English branch. In 1814, the British government engaged his bank, N M Rothschild & Sons, to finance a military campaign against Napoleon. In London, Nathan was buying gold bars from the East India Company. Since there was no money in the treasury, the banker offered England gold at a price below the market price and promised to deliver the funds to the allies through the banks of the brothers.

In July 1815, the British government considered losing the war against Napoleon. Rothschild, encouraging these rumors, began to sell his shares, and the English public followed suit.

A massive sale led to the complete collapse of the English Stock Exchange . Rothschild agents began buying shares at record low prices. When Napoleon was defeated, the financier effectively controlled the English stock exchange.

After this stunt, the bank focused on investing in long-term projects, including railroads, playing a role in the industrial revolution. N M Rothschild & Sons is still controlled by the Rothschilds, in 2014 the bank reported a net profit of 34 million pounds.

The financial empire also expanded thanks to lending to the population. Particularly successful in this business was the son of Solomon, the founder of the Austrian branch of the dynasty and the bank S M von Rothschild. The bank issued loans for long periods at moderate interest rates, the loan was secured by land holdings. On September 25, 1816, Mayer's sons Amschel and Solomon received titles of nobility, and in October the younger Jacob and Karl were elevated to the nobility. A few years later, the family received the titles of barons, all five brothers received the status of aristocrats and for the first time began to be directly called bankers (Jews in a noble diploma were recorded as "changers"). In the new status, the financiers brought luxurious palaces, while their wealth increased. In 1885 Nathan became the first Jew to enter the House of Lords. From the end of the 19th century, the family began to donate luxurious estates and works of art to charity.

Rothschild banking became famous for international financial transactions during the period of industrialization and investments in such large projects as the Suez Canal. “In general, the activities of the Rothschilds and the name of the Rothschilds became those decisive factors that brought the era of money and abilities, which replaced the era of titles and origins,” wrote Frederick Morton in the book The Rothschilds. History of a dynasty of powerful financiers.

The power of success

The family has become a real embodiment of wealth. “The Rothschild name has become synonymous with money and power to a degree that no other family can match,” wrote the Daily Telegraph.

The French and English branches of the family currently control the financial company Rothschild & Co, run by David René de Rothschild. Its management includes English and French investment banking companies. Another financial institution survived in Switzerland - Edmond de Rothschild Group.

The American Internet publication Celebrity Net Worth has calculated that the total net worth of the Rothschild family is currently over $350 billion. The Rothschilds own numerous assets, so it is impossible to accurately calculate the fortune.

Some experts estimate that the Rothschild family has about $1 trillion in real estate and banking alone.

Family wealth was divided among the descendants of the dynasty for many years. Today, their holdings span not only the financial industry, but also real estate, mining, energy, and philanthropy. In addition, the family also owns more than a dozen wineries on all continents. The enterprises of the descendants of the dynasty continue to make a profit - the Rothschilds retained a reputation as talented financiers with a long history. “It is not only the dizzying wealth that makes these two dynasties so exceptional, but the fact that they hold onto it for so long,” wrote journalist Harry Mount of the Rockefellers and Rothschilds.

In many respects, adherence to family traditions became the key to maintaining wealth. “They say that once the youngest son of Nathan asked him how many different peoples there are in the world. “There are only two peoples that you should know about,” replied the father, who had a ready answer, “the first is the family, and the second is everyone else,” Morton wrote. In addition, the Rothschilds were and remain to this day extreme individualists - they conduct business only according to their ideas, requirements and methods, he notes.

Morton wrote that the greatness of the family was determined by great work and a dream: "Their dream was born two hundred years ago, when Mayer Rothschild looked at old coins with a smile on the poor Jewish street of Frankfurt."

At the same time, the money and influence of the family have provoked many conspiracy theories, according to which the Rothschilds control all the financial institutions of the world, and also encourage or prevent international conflicts.

The case of the alliance of the Rothschilds and the Rockefellers - Money - Kommersant

$40 billion is the approximate amount of assets that will unite the Rothschild and Rockefeller dynasties in the formation of a strategic alliance. Given the scale of the accomplishments of the two famous clans, the amount is not so great. However, no one knows what the true size of the capital of the Rothschilds and Rockefellers is. Secrecy was and remains one of the main traditions of both dynasties, because both of them began their journey with a semi-legal or completely illegal business.

KIRILL NOVIKOV

A man with a double basement

The history of the Rothschild and Rockefeller families seems to justify Ostap Bender's favorite quote that "all large modern fortunes are acquired dishonestly." The patriarchs of these famous families really broke the law, and they did it systematically. However, they were not primitive criminals who only take without giving back to society. Both those and others at one time groped for new solutions in business organization, which turned out to be in demand by the economy, but were not provided for by law. The labor dynasties of billionaires shaped a new economic reality, and the law often had to adjust to it.

In the second half of the 18th century, capital was already quite freely moving across the borders of European states, and many banking houses by that time had existed for more than one hundred years. And yet, banking clearly lagged behind the requirements of the times. Things were done slowly, the commission and interest on loans were too high, and most importantly, the old banks, valuing their reputation, tried not to get involved in risky operations. Such an environment favored the emergence of bold upstarts, ready to take risks, and such people soon really appeared.

Mayer Amschel Rothschild was born on February 23, 1744 in Frankfurt am Main to a not too rich Jewish money changer who lived in the ghetto. The money changer worked under a sign in the shape of a red shield, from where the family's surname came from: "Rothschild" means "red shield". In his youth, Mayer traveled to Hannover, where he learned the basics of the art of credit at the Oppenheimer Bank, and in 1764 returned to his hometown to continue the work of his deceased father.

As befits a money changer, Mayer was well versed in coins, but his interest in them far exceeded the requirements of the profession. The young Rothschild became interested in numismatics and soon amassed an impressive collection of old and rare coins. He soon began offering his coins to the establishment and was unexpectedly successful. In Enlightenment Germany, learning came into vogue, and all sorts of collections of antiquities were considered a sign of good taste. Mayer Rothschild seeped into the best houses after his coins and made the necessary contacts. So, he managed to sell a batch of rare coins to the Hanoverian general von Eshtorf, and through him he got to the court of the heir to the Hessian house, Prince Wilhelm. Frankfurt am Main was part of the landgraves of Hesse-Kassel, so acquaintance with the future landgrave promised good prospects.

The House of Hesse was considered one of the richest families in Europe at the time. Landgraves did a good business, drafting their subjects into the army, and then renting out trained regiments to warring neighbors. Another source of income for the landgraves was usury. The lords of Hesse lent money to other German princes and even to the Austrian emperors, receiving good interest for this. The wealthy Frankfurt banking houses Bethmann, Ruppel and Harnier were the intermediaries in these transactions. Wilhelm himself did not like to delve into the intricacies of the financial business, he had other interests - numerous mistresses had already managed to give birth to 23 illegitimate children for him.

Landgrave of Hesse did not need the services of Rothschild only as long as his soldiers were exported in formation

Photo: AP

Wilhelm bought a few rare coins from Rothschild and immediately forgot about him, but the Frankfurt moneychanger knew how to make the right contacts. The eight children of one of Prince Wilhelm's mistresses were looked after by the tutor Buderus, whose son Karl managed the farms of the Hessian heir very successfully. Satisfied with the income from the farms, Prince Wilhelm trusted Karl Buderus to manage his finances. Buderus and Rothschild quickly found a common language: both were talented financiers, both came from the bottom and were determined to improve their financial situation with the help of the wealth of the Hessian house. Thanks to the patronage of Buderus in 1769Rothschild received the title of court sales agent to His Highness the Prince, which opened the door to the world of big finance for him. The ascent of the House of Rothschild to the heights of wealth and power has begun.

If Karl Buderus was the right hand of the Prince of Hesse, then Mayer Rothschild was his left hand. Mayer specialized in shady financial transactions and, according to legend, even kept all the prince's black accounting in a secret room under the basement of his house, where the usual account books were located. In 1785, the prince inherited his father's throne and became Landgrave Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Kassel, after which Rothschild's affairs took off even faster. At one time, Wilhelm's father lent his soldiers to England, which tried with their help to suppress the uprising in the colonies in America. Since then, England has been in debt to the House of Hesse and paid off with bills of exchange. Rothschild came up with an ingenious scheme: his agents bought English textiles with these bills, took them to Germany, where they sold them for hard cash. Wilhelm IX received his money, and Rothschild pocketed part of the profit.

But Mayer Rothschild's main asset was his family. Mayer had five daughters and five sons. The eldest son Amschel was born in 1773, Solomon was born in 1774, Nathan in 1777, Kalman in 1788, and Jacob in 1792. Mayer taught his sons all the intricacies of the profession, and they did not disappoint him. As soon as they grew up, they took an active part in the shadow operations of their father. In 1804, Denmark was on the verge of bankruptcy, and William IX would have gladly given Copenhagen a loan at an appropriate interest, but the king of Denmark was his relative, and it was not very decent to take interest from dynastic relatives. If the Frankfurt bankers had provided a loan, everyone would have easily guessed who was behind them, so the choice fell on the Rothschilds. Mayer's eldest sons frequented Copenhagen, and soon the first tranches began to arrive in Denmark.

Wilhelm IX had so many illegitimate children that it would be difficult to feed them without a smart investment policy

Photo: wikipedia.org

William IX did not rejoice at a successful deal for long - in 1806, Napoleon's troops occupied his country, and the landgrave had to flee to Denmark. The French emperor formally destroyed Hesse-Kassel, adding its lands to the newly formed kingdom of Westphalia. Now Wilhelm needed the Rothschilds more than ever. Nathan, who had left for England, began to swipe the landgrave's money on the London stock exchange, while the rest of the brothers, meanwhile, traveled around Europe and collected money from the debtors of the Hesse house. Thanks to the mediation of the Rothschilds, the bread of exile for Wilhelm and his large family was not so bitter.

The trading operations that the Rothschilds carried out with landgrave funds were very risky and completely illegal from the point of view of the Napoleonic empire. As you know, Bonaparte introduced a regime of continental blockade, forbidding European countries to trade with England. Wool, tobacco, cotton, cloth, coffee, sugar, and many other commodities became scarce throughout Europe, and their prices skyrocketed. Meanwhile, all these goods accumulated in British warehouses and lay dead weight. Nathan Rothschild arranged for the smuggling of English goods through Hamburg, where his father had warehouses, and the business was organized with the money of the deposed landgrave. From the point of view of the Napoleonic administration, Nathan was in the territory of the enemy, and all transactions between him and his family, who remained on the continent, looked like trade with the enemy. The French police searched the Rothschild warehouses several times and once even visited the house of old Mayer. However, neither the smuggling nor the secret cellar was found, and the game continued.

In 1811, Nathan conceived a grand new operation. The British East India Company threw £800,000 worth of gold on the market, and Nathan rushed to buy it because he knew the British government would need it soon. The fact is that at that time Wellington's army was fighting in Spain, which needed cash to pay for food and uniforms. Nathan not only profitably resold the gold to the British crown, but also proposed an original way of delivering money to the troops. He promised to bring gold through the territory of hostile France, which could seem like the height of adventurism if the Rothschild brothers did not work as a well-coordinated team.

In the spring of 1811, 19-year-old Jacob Rothschild, who now called himself James, arrived in Paris and immediately came to the attention of the Napoleonic authorities. The Minister of Finance submitted a report to Napoleon, in which he said: “Someone named Rothschild, who arrived from Frankfurt, stopped in Paris. He is organizing the export of a large consignment of gold coins from England to Dunkirk and has already come into contact with the most influential Parisian financiers ... He asserts that the British will do everything to prevent this export operation." Napoleon believed that the Rothschilds were playing against England and gave the green light to the import of gold. Soon the money began to flow to Paris, where James turned it into checks that were sent to Spain, where Kalman Rothschild cashed them in Spanish banks and sent the money to Wellington via caravans of smugglers who went across the front lines. When one of the French officials began to realize that the empire was being led by the nose, the Rothschilds offered a bribe. So, the police chief of Calais tried to stop smuggling, but soon abandoned his attempts, turning overnight into a very rich man.

The Rothschilds have entangled Europe with a network of railways and financial obligations

Photo: RGAKFD/Rosinform, Kommersant

The Golden Pot

September 19, 1812 Mayer Rothschild died, leaving his sons a will in which he established the principles of building a family business and biblically threatened with curses to those who violate them: "My daughters , sons-in-law and their heirs do not have a share in the existing company "Rothschild and Sons" ... they also do not have the right to check the affairs of the aforementioned company, demand credit books, documents, inventories, etc. ... There will be no forgiveness for those of my children who will go against my father's will." The children remained faithful to his precepts and continued to manage their affairs under the cloak of the strictest financial secrecy.

During the years of the Napoleonic Wars, the Rothschild brothers created the best network of agents and messengers in Europe, who moved from capital to capital faster than Napoleonic couriers. The Rothschilds were the first to know about everything that happened in the Old World, and this made it possible to manipulate the stock exchanges. The story of how Nathan Rothschild used information about the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo is widely known. According to legend, carrier pigeons helped him in this, but in fact everything was much more prosaic: the news was delivered by an agent named Rothworth, who arrived from Ostend on a fast sailboat. Upon learning of Wellington's victory, Nathan Rothschild skillfully misled competitors by selling shares at a bargain price. The players, who had long believed in Rothschild's omniscience, decided that he had learned about Bonaparte's victory, and also began to dump shares, and they were quickly bought up by the same Nathan Rothschild.

The successes of the Rothschilds caused distrust of the bankers, envy of the capitalists and hatred of the Jews

Photo: Roger Viollet/ Getty Images/ Fotobank

Triumph followed triumph. The Austrian Empire elevated the brothers to a baronial title, which opened the doors to high society for them. The Rothschilds divided the European capitals: Nathan remained in London, James settled in Paris, Solomon in Vienna, Kalman in Naples. Amschel continued his father's work in Frankfurt.

The acknowledged leader of the clan was Nathan, who had his finger on the pulse of the wealthiest and fastest growing economy of the 19th century. He was on friendly terms with many members of the British political elite. Wellington himself often visited him, and the famous Talleyrand, who served as the French ambassador in London, entertained his children by sculpting figures from bread crumbs for them. In anger, Nathan was truly terrible. Once, for example, he wanted to cash his brother Amschel's bill at the Bank of England, but was refused on the grounds that the bank cashed only its own securities and did not work with private clients. Nathan exclaimed: "The Rothschilds are not private individuals!" - and retired to think about a plan of revenge. The next day, Nathan and nine of his clerks blocked all the bank's cash desks, demanding that one note after another be exchanged for gold. During the day they took £100,000 worth of gold. When they came the next day with bags of banknotes, the bank gave up and agreed to cash out all Rothschild bills from now on.

If Nathan was a reclusive grump, sometimes making dark jokes that made others uncomfortable, then his brother James was known as a true socialite and ladies' man who shone in the aristocratic salons of Paris. While Charles X ruled the country, James managed its finances; when the insurgent people enthroned Louis Philippe, the banker took custody of the money of the new king. In the 1830s, James Rothschild's fortune was estimated at 600 million francs, more than the sum of the fortunes of all French bankers combined. Richer than him was only Louis Philippe himself. James successfully conducted business for many crowned persons in Europe, in particular, he turned 5 million francs given to him in the administration of the king of Belgium into 20 million. He also withstood the coming to power of Napoleon III.

James Rothschild invested in railroads, factories, French wines, and more, and almost always turned a profit. He was constantly surrounded by a crowd of flatterers and petitioners, always hoping for handouts or at least practical advice. The poet Heinrich Heine, who talked a lot with James, wrote about the morals that reigned in his environment: at the sight of a lackey, he stopped and, taking off his hat, bowed low to this important vessel ... I tried to keep in my memory the name of this man, because I am sure that he will soon become a millionaire.

Amschel, Solomon and Kalman, who changed his name to Karl, were less bright personalities, but no less successful financiers. The Rothschild brothers successfully survived one political crisis after another, just as in the time of Napoleon successfully overcame the vicissitudes of war and occupation, and for good reason. The Rothschilds managed to take on the most important function: they guaranteed the safety of capital in conditions of general instability. Thanks to the Rothschilds, investors like Landgrave Wilhelm could not fear for their money, even if the political situation developed against them. In the same way, James Rothschild guaranteed the supporters of Louis Philippe that their money would not be lost under the Republic, and he guaranteed the Republicans that Napoleon III would not lay hands on their capital. In this sense, Nathan was right: the Rothschilds ceased to be private individuals, turning into an important financial institution of the European level, which asserted the primacy of the interests of private investors over any political and state interests. And all this was possible due to the fact that the brothers ignored state borders, and, on occasion, laws, while trying to remain in the shadows.

The 19th century became the age of the Rothschilds for the Old World. According to the tradition laid down by James (he married the daughter of his brother Solomon), the Rothschilds usually took their nieces and cousins ​​as wives, so as not to let other people's blood into the family and not to crush capital. By the end of the century, Rothschild money was everywhere: they financed the construction of the Suez Canal and the mining of South African diamonds by De Beers. They did charity work, collected art collections, planted orchids and produced wine. Meanwhile, heroes were appearing in the Western Hemisphere.

John D. Rockefeller became a prominent player in the market largely due to the fact that no one noticed what games he was playing.

Photo: © Collection Roger-Viollet/AFP

Refining Processes

In 1870, brothers John and William Rockefeller founded the Ohio Corporation, the future Standard Oil, in the United States. The rise of America's main oil clan was somewhat reminiscent of the history of the Rothschild clan. First, John and William were brothers who did the same thing. Secondly, the Rockefeller brothers, like the Rothschild brothers, had a charismatic father who set them on an entrepreneurial path. The father of the future oil workers, whose name was William Avery Rockefeller, was a charlatan doctor who supplied simpletons with miraculous tinctures for all diseases. Like Mayer Rothschild, he was a true master of direct sales and was happy to teach his sons his art.

There was another similarity between the two clans: the Rockefeller oil empire, like the Rothschild financial empire, remained a shady enterprise for many years. In truth, the Rockefeller business was illegal, which gave the brothers a lot of trouble.

According to American laws of the 19th century, a company registered in one state could practically not operate in other states, respectively, Standard Oil of Ohio had the right to produce, transport and sell petroleum products only in Ohio. The interests of economic development demanded the consolidation of enterprises and the creation of national-level corporations, but the laws adopted in another era were in the hands of small producers, and no one was going to cancel them. John Rockefeller, who was responsible for the development of the company, believed that only large-scale diversified production could significantly reduce costs and leave competitors behind. One day, for example, he was shown a luxurious house owned by an entrepreneur who supplied Standard Oil with barrels for storing oil. Looking at the mansion, Rockefeller exclaimed: "Aren't we paying him too much?" After which Standard Oil started its own production of barrels, which reduced the price of one container from $2.5 to $1. With this approach, legislative restrictions on the growth of enterprises were perceived as ridiculous bureaucratic obstacles that must be bypassed at all costs.

Standard Oil successively bought up competing firms both in Ohio and out of state, but did so in secret. Forms of covert takeover could be different. So, in 1872, the Rockefellers bought the company of Jabez Bostwick, paying him in cash and shares of Standard Oil. Nominally, Bostwick remained the owner of the firm, but in reality Bostwick & Co. operated from the office of John Rockefeller. One way or another, takeovers of this kind were based on personal agreements with the owners of the acquired firms, which could not suit the Rockefellers. Subsequently, another scheme was developed. Standard Oil began to buy securities of firms in the name of one of the partners of the Rockefeller brothers. Thus, formally, Standard Oil did not acquire anything, but in fact the expansion continued.

Finally, in 1879, the Rockefellers came up with the perfect legal cover for their actions. They decided to use the practice of boards of trustees - trusts, or trusts. Trusts were usually created to manage the capital of persons unable to make independent decisions. As a rule, it was about orphans, weak-minded or unlucky relatives who could squander the inheritance they received. The Rockefellers extended this practice to the sphere of corporate relations. A small "board of trustees" was formed from the staff of the Standard Oil headquarters, which was supposed to manage the assets of all the companies owned by the oil giant at once, as if these companies were small children. By that time, Standard Oil secretly owned about two dozen companies in different states and had shares in a dozen more, but formally remained a firm operating in Ohio. The idea of ​​the trust turned out to be very timely and was enthusiastically accepted by American business. A few years later there was a trust of winemakers, a trust of sugar producers, tobacco manufacturers, etc.

Presenting Standard Oil as a bloodthirsty monster, the US authorities cut it into 34 parts

Photo: AP

The methods by which the Rockefellers drove competitors into a corner were not the most ethical. So, Standard Oil secretly beat out preferential tariffs for itself from railway companies, which made it possible to reduce the cost of products. Sometimes it came to outright criminality. For example, when construction began on the Riverside pipeline in Pennsylvania in 1878, which was supposed to carry oil from competitors, the Rockefellers hired bandits who staged one sabotage after another. As construction stagnated, Standard Oil built four parallel pipelines, bankrupted Riverside, and ended up buying out a rival pipeline.

All this irritated the competitors, and therefore, from the end of the 1870s, lawsuits rained down on the Rockefellers one after another. She tried to sue Standard Oil and Riverside, but could not prove the connection between the gang attacks and the Rockefellers. In 1879, the Association for the Protection of Businessmen took up arms against the Rockefellers. The Hepburn Commission was set up in New York to investigate "unfair preferences and other abuses" on the railroads. Standard Oil was forced to give up its railroad preferences, but competitors still had to prove that this or that firm enjoying preferential fares belonged to the Rockefellers. In 1880, the oil company Scofield, Sherman & Teagle filed a lawsuit, demanding equal tariffs for themselves with the shadow subsidiaries of Standard Oil. John Rockefeller argued in court that he had nothing to do with the "daughters": "Mr. Teagle's testimony is incorrect that Standard Oil directly or indirectly, through its employees and agents, owns or controls the enterprises of Warden, Frew & Co, Lockart, Frew & Co, Bostwick & Co..." God-fearing Rockefeller swore on the Bible that these and other companies did not belong to him, although they were all controlled by his trust.

Competitors, however, also tried to distort the facts. Scofield, Sherman & Teagle brought witnesses who painted in paint how the Rockefellers let them go around the world. Two widows appeared in court, Mrs. Backus and Mrs. Hunt, who had sold their oil refineries to Standard Oil. The widows argued that the plants were sold under duress and at a bargain price, but the Rockefeller lawyers were able to prove that the price was fair in both cases. Still, Standard Oil again had to retreat, and Scofield, Sherman & Teagle thus secured favorable rates for themselves. However, all the victories of competitors faded against the backdrop of the successes of the Rockefellers. In the early 1880s, their trust controlled about 80% of all oil refining capacities in the country and about 90% pipelines. Incomes grew year by year. In 1883, the total net profit of the trust was $11.231 million, and in 1890 it reached $19.131 million. John Rockefeller turned out to be the world's first dollar billionaire, which, of course, did not add to his popularity among competitors.

Presenting Standard Oil as a bloodthirsty monster, the US authorities cut it into 34 parts

Photo: NY Daily News/ Getty Images/ Fotobank

Standard Oil's serious problems may have begun in 1890, when Congress passed the Sherman Act, which prohibited the obstruction of free trade by creating monopolies, but it was not until Theodore Roosevelt that the law really took effect. In 1906, the presidential administration sued Standard Oil, and in 1909 the court ordered the dissolution of the trust. John Rockefeller, by then more interested in golf and charity than in business, divided his empire into 34 companies, maintaining a controlling stake in each of them, after which he continued to enjoy life.

In the 20th century, the Rockefeller and Rothschild clans faced a similar fate. Having reached the peak of wealth and power by the beginning of the century, both families began to be perceived in wide circles as a threat to social foundations. In the case of the Rockefellers, there was a massive press campaign aimed at discrediting their trust, which contributed to the dissolution of the shadow empire. The success of the Rothschilds gave rise to a surge of anti-Semitism in Europe, which coincided with the emergence of nation-states across the continent. The Rothschilds were actually citizens of the world, which helped them to conduct business in European capitals.

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