Origins & Early Life

Mayer Amschel Rothschild (23 February 1743 or 1744 – 19 September 1812; also spelled Anschel) was a German Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty, which dominated international finance in Europe between the 1820s and the 1870s. Referred to as a "founding father of international finance", Rothschild was ranked seventh on the Forbes magazine list of "The Twenty Most Influential Businessmen of All Time" in 2005. Mayer Amschel Rothschild was born in 1744 to an Ashkenazi Jewish family, in the Judengasse, the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt, Holy Roman Empire (now Germany), one of eight children of Amschel Moses Rothschild (died 1755) and his wife, Schönche Rothschild (née Lechnich; died 1756). The ancestry of the Rothschilds is originated back to 1569 to Izaak Elchanan Rothschild (Isaac (Isaak) Elchanan Bacharach, zum Hahn), whose name is derived from the German zum rothen Schild (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red shield", in reference to the house where the family lived for many generations (At the time, houses were designated by signs with different symbols or colors, not numbers).

Pivotal Works & Achievements

His grandchildren and descendants took this name as...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

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