15 Crazy Facts About The Rothschild Family
Wealth is often associated with fame, and many of us are familiar with the wealthy families of the world, from the Rockefellers to the Trumps (and of course the Kardashians). But none are as shrouded in a veil of secrecy as the Rothschild family, who are likely the most wealthy family to have ever existed – and that is not an exaggeration.
Some 19th century members of the family were also members of the nobility. They played a significant part in world events such as the Napoleonic Wars and even Brazil’s independence from Portugal. One of their members contributed not to the field of finance but to zoology, owning the largest collection of animals and insects in the world. Of course their ties go beyond finance, they reach out to the mining and wine industries as well, believe it or not.
A family this wealthy and this private is no stranger to multiple conspiracy theories. These theories are certainly not helped by the fact that they throw rather strange parties.
Their story has even been told on stage and on screen; they’ve appeared as side characters in other popular works of fiction.
Intrigued? Keep reading for 15 crazy facts about the Rothschild family
15.THEY PLAYED A PART IN NAPOLEON’S DEFEAT
Believe it or not, the Rothschilds may have played a part in Napoleon’s infamous defeat at Waterloo. They were already pretty wealthy at the time of Napoleon’s Wars. Nathan Mayer Rothschild entered the fray in 1813 and helped finance the British side to end the wars. The amount he provided would be the equivalent of $900 million USD today. Precious metal shipments were made to the armies spread across Europe by the Duke of Wellington. Rothschild may have even known about Napoleon’s defeat before the officials knew with his reliable system of couriers. He bought up government bonds and sold them for a 40% profit years later.
14.THEY ASSISTED BRAZIL WITH INDEPENDENCE
In the early part of the 19th century, the Brazilian Empire was trying to gain independence from their overlords in Portugal. This meant war, so after a multitude of battles, Portugal complied… sort of. They agreed that Brazil could be independent if they basically paid Portugal for the honor. Well, here’s where Nathan Mayer Rothschild comes in. Portugal wanted 2 million sterling, and Rothschild was the one to pay up. Now, Brazil did have to agree to pay off any debt the Portuguese government owed to Rothschild’s company, which from interest alone must have netted a decent profit. This goes to show what an influence the Rothschild’s had on political affairs.
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THEY OWNED THE LARGEST PRIVATE ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTION – EVER
One of the Rothschilds, Lord Walter, was passionate about zoology. When he was a child, he even collected animals and insect. He seemed to have reluctantly gone into the family business of banking, and finally in 1908 he was free to explore the world for various animal species after his parents established a zoological museum. He even commissioned other explorers to collect on his behalf. He famously drove a carriage driven by zebras to prove that the animals could be docile. His collection of animals and insects eventually grew into the hundreds of thousands, the largest ever owned by a private individual.
12.THEY ARE BEHIND ONE OF THE LARGEST MINING CORPORATIONS IN THE WORLD
Rio Tinto, a mining company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, was founded by a Rothschild venture. Founded in 1873 by a group of investors who purchased a mine complex in Spain from the Spanish government. It was at the end of the 1880s that the Rothschilds became involved with the company, and their production increased. The company now produces iron ore, copper, uranium, coal, diamonds and more. The company is all over the world and operates through multiple subsidiaries. Queen Elizabeth herself is rumored to be a shareholder through a private bank account. Mining is just one venture that the enterprising Rothschild family are a part of.
11.THEY COME FROM A LINE OF COUSIN UNIONS
Like many families of royal and noble status, intermarrying was apparently a thing amongst the Rothschilds. Cousin marriages were not uncommon for centuries, it was a way of keeping royal / noble / financial statuses stratified and contained. Mayer Amschel Rothschild, the founder of the family, clearly fell in line with this way of thinking. He arranged things so that the female members were limited in whom they could marry… if they wanted their inheritance. If they wanted their vast inheritance, they had to marry their cousins. From Rothschild’s perspective, it was the best way of keeping the money in the family and out of the hands of outsiders.
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