Benjamin Cohen

Benjamin Cohen was a Dutch financier and tobacco merchant. He took over his father’s tobacco company, and made it into one of the most prosperous and influential firms in Holland. He had tobacco plantations in Holland and exported tobacco to the Baltic area. Cohen was in diamond business as well. In 1788 his firm contracted to import 40,000 carats of diamonds annually from Brazil. He also ran large-scale financial operations, first in Amersfoort and from 1786 in Amsterdam, with clients like the Prussian government to whom he made two loans; first in 1793 of five million guilders and the second in 1796 of three million guilders. As a financial expert, he acted as financial adviser to Prince William V of Orange, who was his guest in Amersfoort in 1787 during the Patriotic Revolt.

Cohen was a parnas (leader) of the Ashkenazi community in Amsterdam, and sponsored the publication of Hebrew mathematical and philosophical works.