Nathan Meyer Rothschild

Nathan Meyer Rothschild was the third son of a Frankfurt banker, Amschel Mayer Rothschild and his wife Guetele Schnapper. He was a key person in Rothschild’s business expansion.

In 1797 at age of 21 Nathan was sent to London to open the branch office of the family firm. Bold, temperamental and highly intelligent, he was a perfect person for that task and soon he will become a key figure in family’s expansion. His brother Salomon in one letter wrote “… he is the commanding general” and “I am his field marshal…”.

With funds of £20,000 and not knowing the language, Nathan came to Manchester where he established himself as a as a textile and general merchant. In that time there was a great demand on the Continent for cheaper and more quality textile from England. In 1804 he established himself in London, and a marriage with Hannah, the daughter of a leading London merchant Levi Barent Cohen provided him with necessary capital and social relations. There he developed banking activities, dealing in bills of exchange and arranging foreign loans. Within a few years, Nathan had founded his own bank N.M. Rothschild and Sons (1811), at New Court, St Swithin’s Lane, and the Alliance Assurance Company (1824).

When in 1806 Napoleon imposed the continental blockade of England in order to weaken its economic power, Nathan immediately engaged in lucrative smuggling business using the family business network as a channel. By 1808 he already succeeded to earn a reputation as a man who had, thanks to his superior “management, judgment, foresight and connections,” regularly “succeeded in getting goods to the Continent”—though “not a word was passed about . . . how the goods had been sent.”

After the Landgrave William went in exile following the arrival of the French troops, his business affairs were entirely entrusted to the Rothschild’s, who became his main debt collectors and confidential advisers in various difficult matters. Nathan who resided in England was in charge for purchase of huge amounts of British securities on Landgrave’s behalf. By discreet and excellent speculation, Nathan successfully amassed a fortune without damaging his interests. Although he accomplished a lot in a very short time, his largest business ventures have only been on the horizon. Nathan’s next move was to enter into business ventures with the British government itself.

Namely, using his family business network once again, he successfully forwarded funds to Lord Wellington’s army which supported insurgents against Napoleon’s rule in Portugal and Spain. After the Napoleonic wars, he became the leading financier of English government responsible for large loans to European governments such as France, Prussia and Austria. Since the operations were extremely delicate and complex, Nathan was called “financial wizard” in Europe.

He died in 1836, and his fortune was estimate at least £3.6m. In 2010's terms that would be £10.1bn.