Salomon Mayer von Rothschild

Salomon Mayer Freiherr von Rothschild
Born	Template:Birth date Frankfurt
Died	July 28, 1855(1855-07-28) (aged 80)
Occupation(s)	Banker, art collector, philanthropist
Known for	Founder of the Austrian branch of the Rothschild banking dynasty

Salomon Mayer Freiherr von Rothschild (born 9 September 1774 in Frankfurt – died 28 July 1855) was a banker who established the Austrian branch of the influential Rothschild banking dynasty.

Family

As the third offspring and second son of Mayer Amschel Rothschild and Gutlé Schnapper, Salomon entered into marriage with Caroline Stern in 1800. Their union produced two children: Anselm von Rothschild (1803–1874), who wed his cousin Charlotte Nathan Rothschild, and Betty von Rothschild (1805–1886), who in 1824 married her uncle James Mayer de Rothschild.

To broaden the family's banking influence across Europe, Salomon relocated to Vienna in 1820, where he formalized financial arrangements with the Austrian government and founded S M von Rothschild. Additionally, he held shares in the Paris bank de Rothschild Frères, established by his brother James in 1817. Marriages within the family, such as Betty's marriage to James, were deliberate strategies to preserve familial control over their enterprises.

Career

The Vienna-based bank under Salomon’s leadership financed Austria’s inaugural steam railway system, the Nordbahn, alongside numerous state projects demanding substantial investment. He cultivated influential relationships with Austria’s nobility and political figures, notably Prince Klemens von Metternich.

His institution significantly contributed to Austria’s economic progress. In recognition of these achievements, Emperor Francis I ennobled Salomon and his siblings in 1816 and conferred upon them the hereditary title of Freiherr (Baron) in 1822. Salomon was also the first Jewish individual to receive honorary Austrian citizenship in 1843.

Having amassed considerable wealth, he allocated resources toward real estate acquisitions, art collections, and philanthropic endeavors. Nonetheless, the concentration of wealth among Austria’s elite sparked social tensions. The revolutions of 1848 intensified anti-Rothschild sentiment, undermining Salomon’s political standing and inflicting financial setbacks on his bank.

At seventy-four years old, facing mounting pressures, he transferred bank leadership to his son Anselm and retired to Paris, where he passed away in 1855. Portions of his Italian and French Renaissance art holdings were donated to the Louvre, including masterpieces by Carlo Dolci.

See also

• Rothschild banking family of England
• Rothschild banking family of France
• Rothschild banking family of Naples

Sources

• The Rothschilds; a Family Portrait by Frederic Morton. Atheneum Publishers (1962) (1998 reprint)
• The Rothschilds, a Family of Fortune by Virginia Cowles. Alfred A. Knopf (1973)
• Rothschild: The Wealth and Power of a Dynasty by Derek Wilson. Scribner, London (1988)
• House of Rothschild: Money's Prophets: 1798-1848 by Niall Ferguson. Viking Press (1998)
• The House of Rothschild (vol 2): The World's Banker: 1849-1999 by Niall Ferguson. Viking Press (1999)

External links

• International center in London for research into the history of the Rothschild family, rothschildarchive.org; accessed 15 June 2017.
• Objets d'Art donated to the Louvre, insecula.com; accessed 15 June 2017.