Benjamin de Rothschild

Edmond de Rothschild Group
Company type	Private company
Industry	Banking, asset management, investment services
Founded	1953; 73 years ago
Founder	Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild (predecessor), Benjamin de Rothschild (leader since 1997)
Fate	Continues under Ariane de Rothschild since 2021
Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Benjamin de Rothschild (Chairman 1997–2021), Ariane de Rothschild (CEO and Chairwoman since 2015)
Products	Banking, asset management, mergers and acquisitions advisory, lifestyle assets under Edmond de Rothschild Heritage
Owner	Benjamin de Rothschild family (full private ownership consolidated in 2019)
Website	www.edmond-de-rothschild.com

Benjamin de Rothschild (30 July 1963 – 15 January 2021) was a prominent French banker who led the Edmond de Rothschild Group from 1997 until his passing. He was the son of Edmond Adolphe and Nadine de Rothschild and was married to Ariane de Rothschild. In 2001, he established the professional offshore sailing team known as Gitana Team.

In 2021, his net worth was estimated at $1.4 billion by Forbes.

Family

Benjamin de Rothschild descended from the founder of the dynasty, Mayer Amschel Rothschild, as a seventh-generation heir. He was the great-grandson of Edmond James de Rothschild and Adelheid von Rothschild, the grandson of Maurice de Rothschild and Noémie Halphen, and the sole offspring of Edmond Adolphe and Nadine (née Lhopitalier) de Rothschild. His paternal lineage was Jewish, while his mother converted to Judaism. Additionally, he traced direct Sephardi-Jewish Portuguese ancestry through Jacob Rodrigues Pereira.

Early life

Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 30 July 1963, Benjamin Edmond Maurice Adolphe Henri Isaac de Rothschild attended the Swiss Institut Florimont before obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Pepperdine University.

Banking

Following his studies, de Rothschild gained experience working within family-controlled banks in California. In 1989, he moved back to Europe, briefly joined British Petroleum in London, and later founded Compagnie de Trésorerie Benjamin de Rothschild, specializing in sophisticated financial risk management solutions.

Upon his father’s death in 1997, he assumed the role of chairman at Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild. He transformed the group by focusing on asset management and mergers and acquisitions. In 1999, he established Edmond de Rothschild Investment Services in Israel and took charge of the Caesarea Rothschild Foundation. The firm was rebranded as the Edmond de Rothschild Group in 2010.

In March 2015, he appointed his wife, Ariane de Rothschild, as CEO and chairwoman of the executive committee. By 2016, lifestyle-related assets were unified under the label Edmond de Rothschild Heritage. In March 2019, full private ownership of the Edmond de Rothschild Group was consolidated by the Benjamin de Rothschild family, integrating its French banking operations into the Swiss holding company structure with Ariane de Rothschild becoming chairman.

Sailing

In 2000, Benjamin de Rothschild purchased the Elf Aquitaine and launched the professional Gitana Team, continuing his family’s legacy with multihull sailboats. The team’s initial trimaran was Gitana IX (previously Elf Aquitaine), succeeded by the advanced Gitana X. The Gitana 11 triumphed at the Route du Rhum race in 2006.

By 2015, Gitana Team incorporated foiling daggerboards and T-rudders into a Multi One Design 70 ft vessel to allow it to "fly" above water. This innovation culminated in unveiling the cutting-edge Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Gitana 17) on 17 July 2017. Measuring 32 by 23 meters, this maxi trimaran was offshore racing’s first designed for open ocean foiling and featured artwork created by street artist Cleon Peterson.

The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild achieved significant success by winning the 48th Rolex Fastnet Race in August 2019—surpassing the prior record held by Loïck Peyron’s Banque Populaire V—and securing victory at the Brest Atlantiques in December 2019 under skippers Charles Caudrelier and Franck Cammas.

Vineyards and Agricultural Estates

Benjamin de Rothschild inherited the Château Clarke property, originally acquired by his father in 1973. He modernized the estate's fermentation infrastructure and enlisted the expertise of oenologist Michel Rolland in 1998 to improve vineyard quality and manage new projects in South Africa and Argentina.

In 1997, he collaborated with Anton Rupert to create Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons based in South Africa. Additionally, he was a co-founder of Le Clos de los Siete located in Argentina's Uco Valley, which produces the Flechas de los Andes label. In 2003, he purchased the Château des Laurets vineyards situated in Bordeaux. By 2005, together with Baron Éric de Rothschild and Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, he launched the Champagne Barons de Rothschild brand. His portfolio expanded further through a 2009 partnership with Spanish winery Vega Sicilia. In 2012, he acquired vineyards spanning in New Zealand’s Marlborough Region, where he developed the Rimapere wine. Benjamin also held the largest shareholding in the prestigious Château Lafite Rothschild estate.

Together with his wife, he owned a farm near Paris dedicated to producing the esteemed Brie de Meaux AOC cheese.

Personal Life

On 23 January 1999, Benjamin de Rothschild married Ariane Langner, and they had four daughters. Ariane did not convert to Judaism following their marriage. Benjamin was an avid automobile enthusiast, possessing Formula 1 Ferraris through the official "F1 Clienti" program run by the racing team, along with a Ferrari California model. He also acquired the engine from the ill-fated Concorde (Air France Flight 4590) crash and transformed it into a commissioned art installation.

His family fortune was ranked 22nd on Challenges magazine’s 2019 list of French wealthiest individuals, 43rd on Switzerland’s Bilan 2019 wealth ranking, and placed 1349th on Forbes global billionaires list in 2019. Among the Rothschild lineage, he was one of the most affluent members and owned a hôtel particulier located on rue de l'Élysée in Paris.

Death

Benjamin de Rothschild passed away at age 57 on 15 January 2021 due to a heart attack at his residence in Pregny-Chambésy, Switzerland. Following his death, his wife, Ariane de Rothschild, took over full leadership of the family enterprises.

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