Carl Fürstenberg
Carl Fürstenberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Danzig, Province of Prussia |
| Died | February 9, 1933 (aged 82) Berlin, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, banker |
| Known for | Director of Berliner Handels-Gesellschaft; revitalizing Germany's mining sector; involvement in German South West Africa diamond industry |
Carl Fürstenberg (28 August 1850 – 9 February 1933) was a prominent German financier during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, playing a crucial role in revitalizing Germany's mining sector throughout his career.
Biography
Fürstenberg, born to Jewish parents in Danzig, commenced his professional journey as an apprentice under the local banker R. Damme while employed at a textile factory in West Prussia. At the age of seventeen, he relocated to Berlin, where he initially worked for the textile company Gebr. Simon before securing a position at the esteemed Disconto-Gesellschaft, a leading German joint-stock bank. In 1871, he advanced to become departmental manager at the distinguished S. Bleichröder Bank, owned by aristocrat Gerson von Bleichröder.
In 1883, Fürstenberg took on the role of first director at the joint-stock institution Berliner Handels-Gesellschaft (B. G.-H.), which he successfully managed for many years, earning the bank the informal title Fürstenberg's bank. The following year, in 1884, he was inducted into the influential Gesellschaft der Freunde. Under his stewardship, B. G.-H. became the principal banking partner for Emil Rathenau's industrial enterprise AEG. In 1902, Fürstenberg appointed Walther Rathenau, Emil Rathenau’s son, as co-director of B. G.-H., a position Walther held until 1907.
Beyond banking, Fürstenberg significantly contributed to the growth of the diamond industry in German South West Africa (present-day Namibia) and supervised the development of the railway connecting Lüderitz Bay and Kubub.
His achievements were formally recognized in 1901 when he was awarded the Cross of Commander with Star of the Order of Franz Joseph.
Fürstenberg died in Berlin on 9 February 1933.
Quotations
Among his notable remarks, Fürstenberg stated: “The first thing you learn in banking is to respect the zeros.” Regarding shareholders, he commented: “Shareholders are stupid and cheeky. Stupid because they buy shares and cheeky because they still want dividends,” and further observed: “Net profit is the part of the balance sheet that the Management Board can no longer hide from shareholders with the best will in the world.”
He also reflected: “If the state goes bankrupt, it is of course not the state that goes bankrupt, but the citizens.”
References
- Fürstenberg, Carl: Die Lebensgeschichte eines deutschen Bankiers 1870–1914, ed. by Hans Fürstenberg; Berlin: Ullstein 1931.