Zachary Hochschild (May 16, 1854 – November 6, 1912) was a German businessman, metal trader, and co-founder of '' Metallgesellschaft AG''.

Biography

Hochschild was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, the son of Justina (née Bendheim) and Koppel Jakob Hochschild. His brother was

Berthold Hochschild Berthold Hochschild (March 6, 1860 – January 24, 1928) was a mining magnate, a founder of the American Metal Company, and a philanthropist. Biography Hochschild was born to a Jewish family in Biblis, Grand Duchy of Hesse, the son of Augus ...

(1860–1928) who later founded the

American Metal Company American Metal Company was an American nonferrous metal trading and production company. History The origin of the American Metal Company (AMCO) begins with Metallgesellschaft AG of Germany, one of whose founders, Wilhelm Ralph Merton, tasked one ...

. Zachary worked as a youth for the Frankfurt metal company, ' and received in 1878, ''

procuration Procuration () is the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency. The word is applied to the authority or power delegated to a Procurator (disambiguation), procurator, or agent, as well as to the exercise of such authority expr ...

'' or the authority to act on behalf of the company. In 1881, Hochschild along with his brother-in-law Leo Ellinger and Wilhelm Merton took over the activities of ''Philipp Abraham Cohen'' and co-founded '' Metallgesellschaft AG'' in Frankfurt with 2 million Marks in share capital. As Hochschild was a long term executive at ''Cohen'', he was its sole member of the board. Responsibilities were divided: Hochschild focused on marketing, trading, and international activities; Merton was responsible for business strategy; and Ellinger for operations. Their main competition were the two other large metal trading companies of Germany: '' Aron Hirsch & Sohn'' in

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

, and ''Beer, Sondheimer & Co'' in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, also closely held Jewish family companies. Although Metallgesellschaft was a joint stock company, it was operated like a family business with key positions allocated to long-time loyal employees who were gradually rewarded with stock in the company. He is credited with opening up the company to international sources of metals which satisfied German demand. In 1884, Hochschild sent his brother Berthold to the United States to establish an operation.Stack, Elizabeth
Immigrant Entrepreneurship: "German American Biographies: "Carl Morris Loeb"
Retrieved December 21, 2017 In 1887, the

was incorporated as a joint stock company in New York with 51% Metallgesellschaft ownership so as to facilitate local decision-making; Metallgesellschaft executive Jacob Langeloth was named its president. In 1889, Hochschild saw the company through the Paris "copper crash". In 1906, he was named as a member of the Supervisory Board of ''Berg- und Metallbank AG'' (renamed ''Metallbank und Metallurgische Gesellschaft AG'' in 1910) which became the primary financial institution supporting the trading business of ''Metallgesellschaft AG''.

Personal life and death

In 1881, he married Philippine Ellinger; they had three daughters, Henriette (1882–1965) who married Rudolf Carl Euler in 1903. He died on November 6, 1912, at the age of 58 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

., Alice Gustine (1889-1948) who married Paul von Monakow and Anna Sarah (1891-1972) who married Paul Reiner. The sons of his cousin were

Bolivian Bolivian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Bolivia ** Bolivian people ** Demographics of Bolivia ** Culture of Bolivia * SS Bolivian, SS ''Bolivian'', later SS ''Alfios'', a British-built standard cargo ship {{disambiguation ...

tin baron

Mauricio Hochschild Moritz (Mauricio) Hochschild (February 17, 1881 – June 12, 1965) was a leading mining industry businessman in the first half of the twentieth century. Along with Simón Iturri Patiño and Carlos Víctor Aramayo, he was one of the three so-calle ...

and Chilean mining magnate Sali Hochschild. His nephews were American Metal executives Harold K. Hochschild and Walter Hochschild.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hochschild, Zachary 19th-century German Jews 1854 births 1912 deaths German businesspeople in metals Zachary German commodities traders