Julius Baer (;
né Isaac Baer; born 2 January 1857 – 9 March 1922) was a German-born Swiss banker, businessman and philanthropist. Baer was the founder and namesake of
Julius Baer Group, and the patriarch of the
Baer family.
Early life and education
Baer was born in
Heidelsheim (today part of
Bruchsal),
Grand Duchy of Baden
The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918.
The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...
to Joseph (1816–1891) and Rosina (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Dreyfuss; 1819–1907) Baer, into 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. His father worked as private money lender and merchant of animal skins, while his mother was a homemaker. He was the second youngest of five siblings. Baer was educated at the Jewish School of Heidelsheim and completed a banking apprenticeship at ''Bankhaus August Gerstle'' in
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
from 1883 to 1885.
Career
In 1886, he became a partner in the private bank ''Samuel Dukas & Co.'' in
Basel, Switzerland. A position he continued to hold until 1896, when he was deployed by his brother-in-law Ludwig Hirschhorn, to
Zurich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. He became a partner in ''Bank Hirschhorn, Uhl & Bär'', which existed since 1890, and is the ultimate predecessor of today's
Julius Baer Group. Since 1901, the bank bore only his name, and was known as ''Julius Bär & Co.'', which became one of the leading Swiss private banks.
He was on several board of directors including
Lake Thun railway line,
Südostbahn and
Oerlikon-Bührle
''Oerlikon-Bührle'' (full name ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, Bührle & Co.'', initially ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon'') was a Switzerland, Swiss arms industry, armaments company based in Oerlikon (Zürich) from 1906 to 1999.Jürg Fink ...
(1908–1922).
Family
In 1891, he married Marie Ulrich (1869–1917), with whom he had three sons;
*
Richard Josef Baer (1892–1940), mathematician and physicist
* Walter Jakob Baer (1895–1970),
director at
Julius Baer
* Werner Baer (1899–1960), director at
Julius Baer and art collector (namely exhibited at
Kunsthaus Zürich)
His grandson,
Hans J. Baer (1927–2011), was a long-term executive director and president of
Julius Baer, who became known through his involvement as a
mediator in retrieving Jewish funds in the
Volcker Commission in the 1990s.
Literature
Publications about Julius Baerin the
Swiss National Library
Baer, Juliusby Ueli Müller in Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (HLS)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baer, Julius
Swiss bankers
1857 births
1922 deaths
Emigrants from the German Empire
Immigrants to Switzerland