Felix Somary

Felix Somary
Born	(1881-11-21) 21 November 1881 Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Died	11 July 1956(1956-07-11) (aged 74) Zurich, Switzerland
Occupation(s)	Banker, political economist
Known for	Economic prognostications; founding Italy’s merchant bank Mediobanca; financial consultancy during WWII

Felix Somary (born 21 November 1881 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary – died 11 July 1956 in Zurich, Switzerland) was a distinguished Austrian-Swiss banker and an expert in political economy.

Life

Originating from Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time, Somary was the son of Dr Simon Somary, a lawyer serving at the Imperial and High Court. Having lost four older siblings to diphtheria, he developed a strong bond with his sisters Ella and Paula. He received his education at Vienna’s Schottengymnasium and began tutoring in subjects such as Greek, mathematics, and history at the age of fourteen. His initial essay on Austrian corporations highlighted the transition from speculative activities toward investment, attracting both commendation and criticism from Luigi Einaudi, who would later become Italy’s President. At the University of Vienna, he pursued studies in law and political science under renowned scholars Carl Menger and Eugen von Philippovich, sharing his academic journey with peers like Joseph Schumpeter and Ludwig von Mises.

After completing his doctorate in 1904, Somary spent a year at the University of Berlin aiming to qualify as a lecturer back in Vienna. During this period, he encountered influential figures such as economist Gustav von Schmoller and sociologist Max Weber. Subsequently, Philippovich offered him a role at the Anglo-Austrian Bank where he worked and connected with Sir Ernest Cassel. Between 1910 and 1914, Somary lectured in Berlin while fostering commercial relationships among Britain, Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe, and the Near East. He maintained that World War I might have been prevented had Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination not disrupted budding Anglo-German cooperation.

During the First World War, Somary played a significant role in reorganizing Belgium's National Bank under occupation and collaborated with Hjalmar Schacht. In 1916, alongside Max Weber, he co-authored a report cautioning against intensified submarine warfare due to its potential to provoke U.S. involvement and adverse financial repercussions. He also supported Poland’s inclusion within Austria’s multiethnic state, and by 1919 had become senior partner at Bankhaus Blankart & Co. in Zurich.

Following the war, European banks faced substantial exposure to worthless war bonds. Somary anticipated a stark choice between insolvency and hyperinflation; although he advocated for bankruptcy as the preferable outcome, hyperinflation prevailed. He expressed these concerns at Germany’s Verein für Sozialpolitik. As early as 1926, he warned of an impending Great Depression by highlighting risks linked to reliance on U.S. credit amid rising protectionism. This earned him the sobriquet The Raven of Zurich due to his grim economic prognostications. Present during the 1929 Wall Street crash, he advised acquaintances to liquidate all stock holdings. By 1931, he acknowledged U.S. economic supremacy stating: "It is almost an intolerable thought that the U.S.A. will be the centre of industry, while Europe will act as hotel keeper to Americans."

In 1930 Somary wed Austrian countess May Demblin and converted to Catholicism. Two years later he acquired Swiss citizenship. He held teaching positions at Heidelberg University and various American universities including Chicago, where he collaborated with Schumpeter on theories regarding economic cycles. Prior to World War II, he counseled Baron Rothschild to transfer assets out of Germany—a recommendation largely disregarded by Rothschild. In 1934 Somary was among leading economists who received Gottfried Haberler's work on business cycle theory.

In 1939 Somary advised Switzerland’s Federal Department of Public Economy during negotiations aimed at securing emergency wartime supplies from the U.S. government. The following year he emigrated with his family to the United States aboard the last ship departing Spain before wartime travel restrictions took effect; notable fellow passengers included Béla Bartók and Stefan Zweig.

Between 1941 and 1943 he served as a financial consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense focusing on establishing stable currencies within European and African theaters prior to Allied invasions. He opposed proposals to abolish Japan’s Emperor after the war, emphasizing its critical role in peace treaty discussions.

His publication Bankpolitik was commended by Joseph Schumpeter in Geschichte der ökonomischen Analyse. After World War II concluded, Somary was instrumental in founding Italy’s merchant bank Mediobanca. When major Italian banks hesitated to establish this new institution, Somary provided significant loans and purchased shares that persuaded them to proceed.

Publications

• Bankpolitik (1915)
• Émile Lévasseur
• Die Erfahrungen des letzten Jahres für die Kriegsbereitschaft des deutschen Geld- und Kapitalmarktes
• Währungsprobleme Österreich-Ungarns
• Grundriss der politischen Oekonomie (co-authored with Eugen Philippovich)
• Allgemeine Volkswirtschaftslehre (co-authored with Eugen Philippovich)
• Changes in the structure of world economics since the war (1931)
• End the crisis! A plea for action (1933)
• Krisenwende? (1932)
• Die Ursachen der Krise
• Democracy at bay: a diagnosis and a prognosis (1952)
• Erinnerungen eines politischen Meteorologen (in collaboration with Wolfgang Somary, 1994)
• The Raven of Zurich: The Memoirs of Felix Somary (translated by A. J. Sherman, 1986)

Further reading

• Etchings by Rembrandt: from the collection of Felix Somary (1984)
• Analysis of his collection featured in Frits Lugt's Les marques de collections de dessins & d'estampes, L.4384