David René de Rothschild

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David René de Rothschild
de Rothschild (2014)
Born	(1942-12-15) December 15, 1942 (age 78) New York City, U.S.
Education	Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
Alma mater	Sciences Po
Occupation	Financier
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Board member of	de Rothschild Frères Groupe Casino De Beers Group Compagnie Financiere Martin Maurel Rothschild & Cie Banque Paris Orleans Rothschild Continuation Holdings N M Rothschild & Sons
Spouse(s)	Olimpia Anna Aldobrandini de Rothschild (m.1974)
Children	4
Parent(s)	Guy de Rothschild Alix Hermine Jeannette Schey de Koromla

Baron David René James de Rothschild (French pronunciation: ​[david ʁəne ʒɛms də ʁɔtʃild]; born December 15, 1942) is a French banker and a member of the French branch of the Rothschild family. He is Supervisory Board Chairman of Rothschild & Co and chairman of Rothschild Continuation Holdings, a Swiss holding company (which is believed to be controlled by Concordia BV, another holding company, registered in the Netherlands).^[1] He was formerly a chairman of De Beers. Since May 2013, de Rothschild is the chairman of the Governing Board of the World Jewish Congress,^[2] the international Jewish organization representing Jewish communities in 100 countries.

Early life and education[]

David de Rothschild was born in New York City, as a result of his parents having to escape the Germans during the German occupation of France in World War II. He is the son of Guy de Rothschild (1909–2007) and his first wife and distant cousin, the former Baroness Alix Hermine Jeannette Schey de Koromla (1911–1982). His maternal grandfather was the Hungarian Baron Pips Schey. While his mother remained in New York City throughout the war, his father went to England where he joined the Free French Forces. Following the liberation of France, the family returned to their home in Paris. His parents eventually divorced. David de Rothschild was educated at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris in Paris from which he graduated in 1966.

He has one half-brother: Baron Édouard de Rothschild from his father's later marriage to Baroness Marie-Hélène van Zuylen van Nyevelt; two half-sisters, Lili and Bettina Krahmer, from his mother's first marriage to Kurt Krahmer; and one step-brother, Philippe de Nicolay from his stepmother's first marriage to French Count François de Nicolay.

Career[]

He began his business career at , one of the family's international mining businesses headquartered in Paris. He then began training in de Rothschild Frères bank.

French nationalisation[]

French government reform of banking regulations ended the legal distinction between banques d'affaires and deposit banks and in 1967 de Rothschild Frères became Banque Rothschild, a limited-liability company. David de Rothschild's father was an aggressive businessman who strove to expand the bank and their investments in mining and oil exploration as chairman of Imetal S.A.. However, the family fortunes suffered a severe setback following the election to the French Presidency of the socialist government of François Mitterrand in 1981.^[3] The new parliament nationalized a number of large companies and banks including that of the Rothschild family. An angry and discouraged 72-year-old Guy de Rothschild left France for a time and settled in New York City where the family had existing but limited business activities.

Later career[]

In an interview, dated 18 October 2003, with George Trefgarne published in The Spectator, David de Rothschild indicated that it took until 1986, when the Socialists lost power, for the Rothschild family to get a new banking license in France. In 1987—joined by his half-brother Edouard, step-brother Count Philippe de Nicolay, and cousin —he created a successor company, Rothschild & Cie Banque. Capitalized at only $1 million and starting with just three employees, they soon built their tiny investment bank into a major competitor in France and continental Europe.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, following the retirement of Sir Evelyn Robert de Rothschild as head of N M Rothschild & Sons of London, the UK and French firms merged to become one umbrella entity called "Group Rothschild". Ownership was shared equally between the French and British branches of the family under the leadership of David de Rothschild. In 2007, the British branch sold their share to the French branch. The French branch now fully owns N M Rothschild & Sons.^{[citation needed]}

As of 2008, David de Rothschild holds the following corporate positions:^{[citation needed]}

• Chairman of N M Rothschild & Sons
• Chairman of Rothschild Continuation Holdings
• Vice Chairman of
• Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Paris Orleans
• Senior Partner of Rothschild & Cie Banque
• Member of the Supervisory Board of ^[4]
• Member of the Supervisory Board of Compagnie Financiere Martin Maurel.^[4][5]
• Member of the Supervisory Board of De Beers Group^[4]
• Member of the Supervisory Board of Groupe Casino^[4]

In 2015, David de Rothschild was indicted in Spain for fraud in relation to a scheme that allegedly defrauded British retirees who signed up for an inheritance tax minimisation scheme.^[6][7]

Personal life[]

In 1974, David de Rothschild married the Italian Princess Olimpia Anna Aldobrandini (b. 1955) in Reux, Calvados. They have four children:^[8]

• Lavinia Anne Alix de Rothschild (b. 1976).
• Stéphanie Anne Marie de Buffévent (b. 1977), married Augustin de Buffévent in 2005.
• Alexandre Guy Francesco de Rothschild (b. 1980), married Olivia Bordeaux-Groult in 2009. Alexandre became executive chairman of the family business in 2018.^[9][10]
• Louise Lili Béatrice de Rothschild (b. 1989)

The Rothschilds make their home in Normandy at Château de Reux, about 165 kilometres (103 mi) from Paris, on the seigneury between the village of Reux and the small town of Pont-l'Évêque, where David de Rothschild served as town mayor for 18 years. The place is France's preeminent horse breeding area and is close to Haras de Meautry, the breeding farm run by his brother Edouard. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1991.^[11]

David de Rothschild also owns a share of the Château Lafite-Rothschild vineyard but is not active in its day-to-day operations.

David de Rothschild replaced former French minister Simone Veil as president of the French Entente Cordiale Scholarship trust, a Franco-British scholarship programme.^[12]

References[]

• See list of references at Rothschild banking family of France.