Jean-Conrad Hottinguer

Jean-Conrad Hottinguer was a Swiss-born banker who later became a Baron of the French empire.

Jean-Conrad was born on 15 February 1764 as Hans-Konrad to a prominent burgher family in Zurich. He later changed his name to Jean-Conrad. He studied finance in Geneva, where he took a particular interest in the emerging areas of commercial laws and international trade. He became a devoted student of public borrowing in both France and England.

In 1784, Hottinguer left the city of Zurich to go pursue a business career in Paris. During the turbulent years of the French Revolution, banking and trade associations were closed down to be reborn later on under the Directoire. Hottinguer left France during this troublesome period and traveled around Europe and America; he met his future wife Martha Redwood in London, the granddaughter of the founder of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport and married her on 24 August 1793. During this time, he made an array of contacts, and set up a useful business network around the world. This resulted in a number of fruitful commercial and business relationships, including the Bishop of Autun, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord.

After many years of traveling, Hottinguer finally returned to France in 1796 to continue working as French banker. Business recommenced at Hottinger & Cie in Paris once the Revolution ended. The French economy was once again able to function properly when banking and trading had resumed. Hottinger & Cie became intimately involved in financial and trade industries in France, Switzerland and many other areas of the world thanks to the work of Hottinguer.

In 1803, Hottinguer was appointed as a founding member of The Board of Governors for The Banque de France. He then went on to become a member of the general Council of trade and then president of the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. On 19 September 1810 he was made a Baron of the French empire. This hereditary title would pass to the oldest son of each generation.

Hottinger later became interested in the insurance industry. In the first year that the insurance industry was open to bankers, he created the first Compagnie Royale D`Assurances. In 1818, he joined forces with Benjamin Delessert to create the Caisse d'Epargne et de Prévoyance de Paris, this was France’s first savings bank. Jean-Conrad died on 12 September 1841 and was later succeeded by his son Jean-Henri Hottinguer.