Benjamin de Rothschild facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Benjamin de Rothschild
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| Born | 30 July 1963 |
| Died | 15 January 2021 (aged 57) |
| Nationality | French |
| Education | Institut Florimont Pepperdine University |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Spouse(s) | |
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| Parent(s) | Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild (1926–1997) Nadine Lhopitalier (b. 1932) |
Benjamin de Rothschild (born 30 July 1963 – died 15 January 2021) was a French banker. He owned the Edmond de Rothschild Group from 1997 until his death in 2021. He was the son of Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild and Nadine de Rothschild. He was married to Ariane de Rothschild. In 2001, he started a professional offshore sailing team called Gitana Team.
In 2021, Forbes magazine said his family's wealth was worth about $1.4 billion.
Contents
Rothschild Family History
Benjamin de Rothschild was part of the famous Rothschild family, a banking dynasty that started many generations ago. He was a direct descendant of the family's founder, Mayer Amschel Rothschild.
His great-grandparents were Edmond James de Rothschild and Adelheid von Rothschild. His grandparents were Maurice de Rothschild and Noémie de Rothschild. Benjamin was the only child of Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild and Nadine de Rothschild. His father came from a Jewish family, and his mother later converted to Judaism.
Early Life and Education
Benjamin de Rothschild was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on 30 July 1963. He went to school at the Institut Florimont in Switzerland. Later, he earned a degree in Business Management from Pepperdine University in the United States.
His Work in Banking
After finishing college, Benjamin de Rothschild worked in his family's banks in California. In 1989, he moved back to Europe. He worked for a short time at British Petroleum in London. Then, he started his own company called Compagnie de Trésorerie Benjamin de Rothschild. This company helped manage financial risks for businesses.
When his father passed away in 1997, Benjamin took over as the head of the Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild. He changed how the group worked, focusing on key areas like managing money for others and helping companies merge or buy each other. In 1999, he started Edmond de Rothschild Investment Services in Israel. He also took over his father's role at the Caesarea Rothschild Foundation. In 2010, the Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild became known as the Edmond de Rothschild Group.
In 2015, Benjamin named his wife, Ariane de Rothschild, as the CEO of the group. She also became the chairwoman of the executive committee. In 2019, Benjamin de Rothschild's family made the Edmond de Rothschild Group completely private. This meant it was fully owned by the family. Ariane de Rothschild then became the chairwoman of the new, larger group.
Love for Sailing
In 2000, Benjamin de Rothschild bought a large sailboat and started a professional sailing team called Gitana Team. He followed his family's tradition of loving the sea, but he made his team special by using multihull sailboats. These are boats with more than one hull, like trimarans (boats with three hulls).
The team's first trimaran was the Gitana IX. Later, they built the Gitana X themselves. The Gitana 11 won a big race called the Route du Rhum in 2006.
In 2015, his team added special parts called "foiling dagger boards" and "T-rudders" to a boat. These parts helped the boat "fly" over the water! On 17 July 2017, they showed off a huge new boat called Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Gitana 17). It was the first giant multihull designed to fly in the open ocean. A street artist named Cleon Peterson decorated it. This Maxi boat won the Rolex Fastnet Race in August 2019 and the Brest Atlantiques race in December 2019.
Vineyards and Farms
Benjamin de Rothschild also loved vineyards and farms. He took over the Château Clarke wine estate, which his father had bought in 1973. He improved the wine-making process and hired an expert called Michel Rolland in 1998. This expert helped make the wines better and guided the family's new wine projects in South Africa and Argentina.
In 1997, Benjamin started a project with Anton Rupert to create the Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons vineyards in South Africa. He also brought together other wine lovers to create Le Clos de los Siete in Argentina. This farm makes a wine called Flechas de los Andes. In 2003, he bought the Château des Laurets vineyards in Bordeaux, France.
In 2005, he started making Champagne Barons de Rothschild with other family members. He also partnered with a Spanish winery called Vega Sicilia in 2009. In 2012, he bought land in New Zealand to make a wine called Rimapere. Benjamin de Rothschild was also a major owner in the famous Château Lafite Rothschild wine estate.
Benjamin and his wife also owned a farm near Paris called La Ferme des 30 Arpents. This farm makes a special kind of brie de Meaux cheese.
Personal Life
Benjamin de Rothschild married Ariane Langner on 23 January 1999. They had four daughters together.
He was a big fan of cars and collected them. He even bought Formula One Ferrari race cars from the official team. He also owned a Ferrari California. In a unique move, he bought the engine of the crashed Concorde plane (Air France Flight 4590) and asked an artist to turn it into a piece of art.
He was considered one of the wealthiest members of the Rothschild family. He owned a grand private mansion in Paris.
Death
Benjamin de Rothschild passed away on 15 January 2021, at his home in Pregny-Chambésy, Switzerland. He was 57 years old and died from a heart attack. After his death, his wife, Ariane de Rothschild, became the main person in charge of the family business.
See also
In Spanish: Benjamin de Rothschild para niños
