Gustav Ritter von Epstein (10 April 1828 – 23 September 1879) was an Austrian industrialist and banker who commissioned the

Palais Epstein Palais Epstein is a in Vienna, Austria. It was built for the industrialist and banker Gustav Ritter von Epstein. The architect was Theophil Freiherr von Hansen, who also designed the adjacent Austrian Parliament Building. Unlike traditional Baro ...

Biography

Epstein was born on 10 April 1828 in Prague. He was the fourth child of Leopold Epstein, who was the director of the National Bank at the time, and his wife Caroline, who was from a prestigious textile industry family. After Gustav's father died in 1864, he took over his father's banking business. Due to his philanthropy, in 1866, Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

bestowed Epstein with the Iron Crown 3rd Class. The next year, Epstein commissioned the architect

Otto Wagner Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau mo ...

to build him a villa in Baden. Most of Gustav's fortune was destroyed in the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...

, partially due to Adolf Taussig, who had speculated with Epstein's money before committing suicide later that year. In response, Epstein sold his villa to Archduke Rainer Ferdinand a few months later. Epstein died in 1879 in Vienna. According to contemporary sources, Brigitte Haentjens described him as following:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Gustav von 1828 births 1879 deaths Austrian Ashkenazi Jews 19th-century Austrian Jews Jews from Austria-Hungary Austrian bankers Jewish bankers Bankers from Austria-Hungary Businesspeople from Prague Industrialists from Austria-Hungary Businesspeople from Austria-Hungary