Simon Moritz Bethmann
Simon Moritz Bethmann | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1721 Nassau near Frankfurt am Main, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 1782 |
| Occupation(s) | Trader, financier |
| Known for | Co-founder of the Bethmann bank |
Simon Moritz Bethmann (1721–1782) was a prominent German trader and financier.
Life
Born in Nassau near Frankfurt am Main, Simon Moritz was the youngest child of the estate manager Simon Moritz Bethmann (1687–1725). In 1748, together with his brother Johann Philipp, he established the foundation of what later became the Bethmann bank, utilizing an inheritance from their maternal uncle Jakob Adami in Frankfurt received in 1746. That same year, both siblings secured Frankfurt citizenship by paying 800 guldens each. Meanwhile, their brother Johann Jakob expanded the family’s commercial reach by becoming a merchant and shipowner based in Bordeaux.
In 1755, Simon Moritz assumed the role of deacon at the Niederländische Gemeinde Augsburgischer Confession, a charitable organization connected to Lutherans who had escaped religious persecution in Antwerp. Together with Johann Philipp, he purchased the Basler Hof estate from the patrician Johann Friedrich Maximilian von Stalburg; this location continues to serve as the headquarters for the Bethmann bank.
Simon Moritz married Elisabeth Rummel, daughter of Leipzig’s esteemed Balthasar Rummel. Renowned for his charitable contributions, he left a legacy donation of 50,000 guldens to Frankfurt’s Citizens' Hospital. He passed away without heirs in Frankfurt in 1782.
See also
Further reading
External links
- "About" page of the Dutch Congregation of the Augsburg Confession