Inside
history
The
investment banking arm of the family-owned Rothschild Group, Rothschild has
been serving governments, corporations and wealthy individuals for two
centuries. Its London headquarters
have never moved from New Court, St Swithin's Lane, though over the years its
offices have been rebuilt and expanded.
The latest version, a Rem Koolhaas-designed tower with a rooftop
pavilion, is slated for occupancy in mid-2011.
The
Rothschild story began in 1769 when Mayer Amschel Rothschild began offering
banking services in his home town of Frankfurt, Germany. His five sons carried the family
business—and the family name—across Europe, winning fame as the financiers who
funded the Duke of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon. In later years, the Rothschilds
arranged loans for the Prussian government; kept the Bank of England afloat
during a financial crisis; financed the British government’s purchase of a
controlling stake in the Suez Canal; helped De Beers founder Cecil Rhodes
establish his eponymous scholarship at Oxford; and played a major role in
financing the London Tube. The
modern Rothschild family includes vast holdings of art and land, not to mention
historic estates and some of the most esteemed vineyards in the French wine
country.
