Baron Guy Édouard Alphonse Paul de Rothschild (; 21 May 1909 – 12 June 2007) was a French banker and member of the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of Fr ...

. He owned the bank Rothschild Frères from 1967 to 1979, when it was nationalized by the French government, and maintained possessions in other French and foreign companies including

Imerys Imerys S.A. is a French multinational company which specialises in the production and processing of industrial minerals. It is headquartered in Paris and is a constituent of the CAC Mid 60 index. Imerys has operations in over 40 countries and ...

. He was named to the

International Best Dressed List The International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time. The American magazine ''Vanity Fair'' is currently in charge of the List a ...

Hall of Fame in 1985.

Early life and education

Baron Guy de Rothschild was born in Paris, the son of Baron

Édouard de Rothschild Édouard Étienne Alphonse de Rothschild (; born 27 December 1957) is a businessman and part of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Early life and education Édouard de Rothschild was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is the s ...

(1868–1949) and his wife, the former Germaine Alice Halphen (1884–1975). He has three siblings. Guy's elder brother, Édouard Alphonse Émile Lionel (1906–1911), died at the age of four of appendicitis; he also had two younger sisters,

Jacqueline Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film), ...

and Bethsabée. Half of his great-grandparents were Rothschilds. He was a great-great grandson of the German patriarch of the Rothschild family

Mayer Amschel Rothschild Mayer Amschel Rothschild (23 February 1744 – 19 September 1812; also spelled ''Anschel'') was a German-Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Referred to as a "founding father of international finance", Rothschild ...

(1743–1812), who founded the family's banking in the 18th century in Frankfurt, Germany. He grew up at his parents' townhouse on the corner of the

rue de Rivoli Rue de Rivoli (; English: "Rivoli Street") is a street in central Paris, France. It is a commercial street whose shops include leading fashionable brands. It bears the name of Napoleon's early victory against the Austrian army, at the Battle of R ...

and the

Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. ...

in Paris (a property once occupied by Talleyrand and now the United States Embassy) and their country estate at

Château de Ferrières Château de Ferrières () is a French château built between 1855 and 1859 for Baron James de Rothschild in the Goût Rothschild style located in central France, some 26 km east of Paris. Rothschild ownership of the Château de Ferrières was ...

, 25 miles east of Paris. Château de Ferrières is a massive house built to a design by

Joseph Paxton Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

in the 1850s, based on Paxton's earlier design of

Mentmore Towers Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George ...

for

Baron Mayer de Rothschild Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

of the English branch of the Rothschild family. He was educated at the

Lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. It is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inception, var ...

and

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...

in Paris, and by private tutors. He undertook military service with the cavalry at

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur s ...

, and played

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

for France. He won the

Grand Prix de Sud-Ouest Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

in 1948.

Personal life

Guy de Rothschild married twice: *In 1937, he married a distant cousin, Baroness Alix Hermine Jeanette Schey de Koromla (1911–1982). Alix was the former wife of Kurt Krahmer and the younger daughter of Baron Philipp Schey von Koromla. They had one child,

David René de Rothschild Baron David René James de Rothschild (; born December 15, 1942) is a French banker and a member of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Since 2018, he is supervisory board chairman of Rothschild & Co and chairman of Rothschild Continuat ...

(born 1942). Rothschild also raised his wife's daughters from her prior marriage to Krahmer, Lili and Bettina. They divorced in 1956. *In 1957, he married Baroness Marie-Hélène van Zuylen van Nyevelt (1927–1996). Marie-Hélène's first marriage to Count

François de Nicolay Count François de Nicolay (31 August 1919 – 21 November 1963) was a member of the House of Nicolay in France who was a farm manager, arboriculturist, and a politician who was elected to the Senate of France. Early life and education Count ...

—with whom she had one son, Philippe de Nicolay—had been dissolved in 1956. Like his first wife, she was a distant cousin, though in this case, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. They had one child, Baron

(born 1957). After his second marriage, Guy de Rothschild renovated the Château de Ferrières, using it to put on lavish balls in the early 1970s, before donating it to the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in 1975. The same year, he bought the

Hôtel Lambert The Hôtel Lambert () is a ''hôtel particulier,'' a grand mansion townhouse, on the Quai Anjou on the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. In the 19th century, the name ''Hôtel Lambert'' also came to designa ...

on the

Île Saint-Louis Île Saint-Louis (), in size, is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France (the other natural island is the Île de la Cité, where Notre-Dame de Paris is located). Île Saint-Louis is connected to the rest of Paris by ...

in Paris, the top floors of which became his Paris residence.

Service in World War II

In 1940, as a result of the

German occupation of France in World War II The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an military Administration (Nazi Germany), interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during Wor ...

, Guy de Rothschild's parents and sister Bethsabée fled France and made their way to safety in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Guy de Rothschild had enlisted in the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

and was a company commander in the 3rd Light Mechanised Division during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

in early 1940. After fighting the Nazis at

Carvin Carvin () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography An ex-coalmining commune, now a light industrial and farming town, situated some northeast of Lens, completely encircled by the N17 and ...

, he was part of the French Army that was forced to retreat to

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

. He was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

for his actions on the beaches at Dunkirk, from where he was evacuated to England. He immediately returned to France, landing at Brest, and taking charge of the family's office at

La Bourboule La Bourboule (; Auvergnat dialect, Auvergnat: ''La Borbola'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Puy-de-Dôme Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme d ...

, near

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attrac ...

. Under the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

, his father and uncles were stripped of their French nationality, removed from the register of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, and the family was forced to sell its possessions. Rothschild managed to persuade the buyers to grant options under which he would later be able to buy the family's interests back. He left France again, via Spain and Portugal, to join his parents in

. He joined the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

and boarded the cargo ship, ''Pacific Grove'', to travel back to Europe. His ship was torpedoed and sunk in March 1943, and he was rescued after spending 12 hours in the waters of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. In England, he joined the staff of General Koenig at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...

near Portsmouth.

Banking and business

Guy de Rothschild studied law at university then joined de Rothschild Frères in 1931 when it was being run by his father and a cousin,

Robert de Rothschild Robert Philippe Gustave de Rothschild (19 January 1880 – 25 December 1946) was a French banker, philanthropist and polo player. Early life Robert de Rothschild was born on 19 January 1880 in Paris, France.

, who died in 1946. As part of his learning to manage the family's businesses, in 1933 he joined the executive board of their Northern Railway Company. At the end of World War II, Guy de Rothschild returned to the bank's offices at rue Laffitte in Paris in 1944. On his father's death in 1949, Guy de Rothschild took formal control of the business. Years later, Rothschild was on the

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

of the 20 December 1963 issue of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine in a story that said he took "over the family's French bank during the disorder of war and defeat, changed its character from stewardship of the family fortune to expansive modern banking." Following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Guy de Rothschild served as a director of the

Banque de France The Bank of France (French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the ...

. On his father's death, he also inherited part of

Château Lafite-Rothschild A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

but did not run it.

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

, who would later become

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister i ...

, was recruited by Guy de Rothschild from a job as a teacher, and worked for him from 1953 to 1962, during which time he became the general manager of the Rothschild bank. The bank diversified, from investment management under De Rothschild Frères to the deposit-taking Banque de Rothschild, with branches throughout France. Guy was its president from 1968 to 1978. In 1968 Guy de Rothschild became a partner at N M Rothschild & Sons,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, while cousin Sir Evelyn de Rothschild was appointed a director of Banque Rothschild, Paris.

Imetal S.A.

In France, Rothschild developed the country's largest private

uranium mining Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account f ...

company, the Compagnie Française des Minerais d'Uranium. In 1961, Guy de Rothschild took over as Chairman of Imetal S.A. in which the family had a substantial stake. His involvement marked the first time any Rothschild had personally participated in the management of the business. Among its holdings, the international mining conglomerate owned Société Le Nickel (SLN) in

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. In 1969, SLN acquired Peñarroya, a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

an based company which mined and processed

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

. Two years later SLN took over La Compagnie de Mokta, which specialized in

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

and

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

. Rothschild restructured the family's various mining interests, including Peñarroya which became part of SLN.

Nationalization

In the early 1970s the government of France began nationalizing a number of industries and after declaring nickel to be a vital market commodity, SLN's assets were nationalized in 1974 and placed under a new company, Société Metallurgique. The result left the Rothschild's SLN as a holding company with a fifty percent interest in Société Metallurgique. When the Rothschild's bank was nationalized in 1981 by the socialist government of

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

, a discouraged Guy de Rothschild left France and moved temporarily to New York City. "A Jew under Pétain, a pariah under Mitterrand, that's enough!" (french: Juif sous Pétain, paria sous Mitterrand, cela suffit!) he wrote in a frontpage op-ed in ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' in 1981. Following another change in government policy, in 1987 a new banking business was established by his son

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and nephew Éric, who founded Rothschild & Cie Banque.

Thoroughbred racing

Guy de Rothschild was a renowned breeder of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

s as the family owns

Haras de Meautry Haras de Meautry in Touques, Calvados, Normandy, France, is a thoroughbred horse breeding farm. It was acquired in the 19th century by horse-racing enthusiast Alphonse James de Rothschild (1827–1905) who passed it down to his offspring so that ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. He inherited Château de Reux in the

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

area in Lower Normandy about 125 miles north of Paris. He produced prominent

race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s, the most famous perhaps was Exbury. Guy de Rothschild chaired the association of racehorse breeders in France from 1975 to 1982. Among the major races Guy de Rothschild's horses won were: *

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

- (1) - '' Exbury (1963)'' *

Grand Critérium Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

- (4) - ''Dragon Blanc (1952), Le Géographe (1953), Soleil (1965), Mariacci (1974)'' *

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and ...

- (4) - ''

Vieux Manoir Vieux Manoir (1947–1981) was a French Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and Champion sire. Background Bred by Edouard Alphonse de Rothschild, Baron Edouard A. de Rothschild and raced by his son Guy de Rothschild, Guy following his death in 1 ...

(1950), White Label (1964), Soleil Noir (1979), Le Nain Jaune (1982)'' *

Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Saint-Cloud over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it i ...

- (3) - ''Ocarina (1950), Violoncelle (1951), Exbury (1963)'' *

Poule d'Essai des Poulains Molof (Ampas, Poule, Powle-Ma) is a poorly documented Papuan language spoken by about 200 people in Molof village, Senggi District, Keerom Regency. Classification Wurm (1975) placed it as an independent branch of Trans–New Guinea, but Ros ...

- (3) - ''Guersant (1952), Cobalt (1953), Soleil (1966)'' *

Poule d'Essai des Pouliches The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at ...

- (2) - ''Dictaway (1955), Timandra (1960)'' *

Prix de Diane The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 2,100 met ...

- (3) - ''Cerisoles (1957), Timandra (1960), Hermières (1961)'' * Prix Ganay - (4) - ''Guersant (1953), Exbury (1963), Free Ride (1965), Diatome (1966)'' *

Prix Jacques le Marois The Prix Jacques Le Marois is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred colts and fillies aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 ...

- (3) - ''La Bamba (1964), Luthier (1968), Kenmare (1978)'' * Prix Jean Prat - (2) - ''Tang (1962), Lightning (1977)'' *

Prix Morny The Prix Morny is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs), and it is scheduled ...

- (2) - ''Soleil (1965), Madina (1967)'' *

Prix Royal-Oak The Prix Royal-Oak is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs), a ...

- (3) - ''Ciel, oilé (1949), Barbieri (1964), Lady Berry (1973)'' * Prix Saint-Alary - (2) - ''Scala (1965), Grise Mine (1984)'' * Prix Vermeille - (3) - ''Haltilala (1966), Paysanne (1972, dead-heat), Indian Rose (1988)''

Art collector

The French Rothschild family had long been collectors of art beginning with

James Mayer de Rothschild James Mayer de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (born Jakob Mayer Rothschild; 15 May 1792 – 15 November 1868) was a German-French banker and the founder of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Early life James de Rothschild was born ...

made the first significant acquisitions. Notable in his collection, Guy de Rothschild inherited Jan Vermeer's '' The Astronomer''. In 1940 the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s confiscated it from his father and sent it to Germany. In 1945 the painting was returned to the Rothschild family and acquired by the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

in 1983.

Philanthropy

In 1950, Guy de Rothschild became the first president of the Fonds Social Juif Unifié (FSJU) (United Jewish Welfare Fund), a federation of about 200 Jewish social, educational, and cultural associations. He headed the FSJU until 1982 at which time his son,

, assumed its leadership. The FSJU played a large part in restructuring the French Jewish community following World War II. After marrying Marie-Hélène van Zuylen de Nyevelt de Haar, a Roman Catholic, in 1957 Guy felt compelled to resign the Presidency of the Jewish Consistory, the organization created in 1905 to represent French Jewry. In 1975, Rothschild and his wife donated the

to the

Death

Widowed in 1996, Guy de Rothschild died in 2007.

Works

* ''The Whims of Fortune: The Memoirs of Guy de Rothschild'' by Guy de Rothschild.

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

(1985) / ''Contre bonne fortune'' (French) by Guy de Rothschild. Belfond (1983). , * ''The relationship between business and government in France (Benjamin F. Fairless memorial lectures)'' by Guy de Rothschild. Carnegie-Mellon University press (1983). ASIN: B0006YDWD2 * ''Le fantôme de Léa: Roman'' (French) by Guy de Rothschild. Plon (1998). , * ''Mon ombre siamoise'' (French) by Guy de Rothschild. Grasset (1993). ,

References

External links

Book review by ''The New York Times'': ''The Whims of Fortune: The Memoirs of Guy de Rothschild''

''

''. 20 December 1963. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothschild, Guy De 1909 births 2007 deaths French art collectors French bankers 20th-century French Jews Guy French military personnel of World War II French racehorse owners and breeders French philanthropists Jewish art collectors Jewish philanthropists Lycée Condorcet alumni Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners