A Classification of American Wealth
History and genealogy of the wealthy families of America - Sponsors

With the outstanding growth of international commerce and the Industrial Revolution, banking became so lucrative, that certain houses rose to outstanding wealth and prominence. The most successful Jewish banking family was Rothschild, whose progenitor started in the 1760's as a dealer in old collectible coins, based in Frankfurt's Judengasse, literally "Jew Street". In two generations, Mayer Amschel Rothschild and his five sons established a banking empire that stretched all over Europe and was the foremost financial power of the Old Continent. America was then still young and  Jewish bankers presence scarce*.

Jewish banking presence in the United States of America effectively started in the aftermath of the 1837 panic, when a young Rothschild agent [August Belmont] on the way to Cuba, established a bank on his own, with the intention to represent Europe's foremost Jewish banking family. The other major Jewish banking houses, J. & W. Seligman, Kuhn, Loeb & Company, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs,… were all established during or after Civil War, by former merchants. A generation later, they had a consequent if not quite dominating position on Wall Street.
 

A short introduction about the Rothschilds August Belmont & Co J. & W. Seligman & Co Kuhn, Loeb & Co Other Jewish banking houses in America (coming later) - Lehman Brothers - Goldman, Sachs & Co - James Speyer & Co - Lazard Freres

*Sephardic Jews like Asser Levy were successfully established as merchants in New York and other American cities at the earliest of colonial times and Haym Solomon was an outstanding financier of the American Revolution, whose engagement with patriot bonds eventually led to his ruin. But no noteworthy Jewish banking firm was established in the United States of America before August Belmont took over the Rothschild agency in 1837.

 

Bankers of the Gilded Age >   Jewish Banking Houses  :    « Previous  1 -  2   Next »

Copyright © 2000-2007 : D.C.Shouter and RAKEN Services    /   a RAKEN web site