Felix M. Warburg
Felix Moritz Warburg | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Hamburg, Germany |
| Died | October 20, 1937 (aged 66) New York City, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, philanthropist |
| Known for | Member of the Warburg banking dynasty; leadership in American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee; founding president of American Friends of the Hebrew University |
Felix Moritz Warburg (January 14, 1871 – October 20, 1937) was a German-born American financier and a distinguished member of the Warburg banking dynasty originating from Hamburg, Germany.
Early life
Warburg was born into a Jewish household in Hamburg as the grandson of Moses Marcus Warburg, who co-founded the M. M. Warburg bank in 1798, and the son of Moritz and Charlotte Esther Oppenheim Warburg. At age sixteen, he launched his professional journey with N. M. Oppenheim & Co. in Hamburg before eventually becoming a partner at Kuhn, Loeb & Co..
Career
In the 1908 U.S. presidential election, Warburg acted as a presidential elector. He assumed a prominent leadership position within the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, mobilizing resources to aid European Jews enduring hardship after World War I and throughout the Great Depression. By 1919, he was publicly highlighting the severe plight facing Jewish war victims.
Warburg established the American Friends of the Hebrew University in 1925, serving as its inaugural president to support the Hebrew University of Jerusalem located in Mandate Palestine. He committed significant financial backing to Jewish agricultural settlements in Russia alongside various other charitable endeavors.
Following the 1929 stock market collapse, Warburg escalated his relief efforts through the Joint Distribution Committee to assist Jews impacted by worldwide economic distress during the 1930s. After Adolf Hitler’s ascent to power, he played a crucial role in providing aid to Jews escaping Germany. By the time of his passing, Warburg had contributed $10 million globally toward Jewish philanthropic initiatives.
His influence extended beyond banking and charity; he was mentioned by General Smedley Butler during congressional hearings concerning the purported Business Plot.
Personal life
On March 19, 1895, he wed Frieda Schiff (1876–1958), daughter of notable financier Jacob Henry Schiff, in New York. Together they had five children:
- Frederick Marcus Warburg (1897–1973), investment banker
- Gerald Felix Warburg (1901–1971), arts patron who married first Marion Bab and subsequently Natica Nast, daughter of publisher Condé Montrose Nast
- Paul Felix Warburg
- Edward Mortimer Morris Warburg (1908–1992), married to Mary Warburg
- Carola Warburg Rothschild (1896–1987), spouse of Walter N. Rothschild, son of Simon F. Rothschild, chairman of Abraham & Straus and founder of Federated Department Stores
The Warburg offspring were deeply engaged in philanthropic and community activities. In 1927, Felix Warburg gifted four Stradivari instruments to the newly formed Musical Art Quartet affiliated with what is now known as Juilliard.
Felix Moritz Warburg passed away on October 20, 1937, in New York City following a short illness and was interred at Salem Fields Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Legacy
The philanthropic contributions of Felix Warburg include founding the Jewish settlement Kfar Warburg in Mandate Palestine (1939), which was named to honor him. He served as a trustee for the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and held the presidency of The 92nd Street Y (Young Men's Hebrew Association) from 1908 until 1916, during which period he donated the Heinsheimer Memorial Annex—the organization's first residential facility.
His Upper East Side mansion, known as the Felix M. Warburg House, was bequeathed by his widow and currently functions as the Jewish Museum, symbolizing his enduring cultural heritage.
Further reading
- Yehuda Bauer (1974) My Brother's Keeper: A History of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 1929–1939 Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia
External links
- M.M. Warburg & Co.
- Felix M. Warburg papers housed at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1871 births
- 1908 United States presidential electors
- 1937 deaths
- 19th-century German Jews
- American bankers
- American philanthropists
- Burials at Salem Fields Cemetery
- Businesspeople from Hamburg
- Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States
- German bankers
- German philanthropists
- Jewish American bankers
- Loeb family
- Warburg family