Élie de Rothschild

French banker and art collector

Élie de Rothschild

Élie de Rothschild at Royaumont in 1994

Born| (1917-05-29)29 May 1917

Paris

Died| 6 August 2007(2007-08-06) (aged 90)

Scharnitz

Spouse|

Liliane Fould-Springer

(m. 1947; died 2003)​

Children| 3

Élie Robert de Rothschild (29 May 1917 – 6 August 2007) was the guardian of the French branch of the Rothschild family banking dynasty. He followed his father as a partner in the family bank, de Rothschild Frères, and ran the Château Lafite-Rothschild premier cru claret vineyard from 1946 to 1974.

## Lineage

[edit]

Élie de Rothschild was the younger son of Baron Robert de Rothschild and Nelly Beer. His father was a partner in de Rothschild Frères with his cousin, Baron Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild. His mother was the daughter of Edmond Beer, a great-great-niece of the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, and elder sister of Marie-Louise Beer, who married Lionel Nathan de Rothschild from the English branch of the Rothschild family. Élie and his siblings (Diane, Alain and Cécile) were brought up at Château de Laversine, near Chantilly, and at the family mansion at 23 avenue de Marigny near the Elysée Palace in Paris.

## World War II service

[edit]

He and his brother served as officers in a cavalry regiment—the Anciens 11èmes Cuirassiers—when Nazi Germany invaded France in 1940. Both were captured by the Nazis close to the Belgian border during World War II. Élie was taken to the prisoner of war camp Oflag X-B at Nienberg near Hamburg. After being discovered planning to escape, he was taken to Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, then to Oflag X-C at Lübeck, one of the toughest POW camps. There, he was reunited with his brother. Despite being persons of Jewish descent, both were treated by the Wehrmacht as captured officers. He was released in early 1944. Elie later recounted that, despite the harsh condition of the prison, he had been treated well and respectfully throughout.

While in Colditz, Élie had written to his childhood sweetheart Baroness Liliane Fould-Springer and asked her to marry him, which they did by proxy by 1942—Élie being allowed to take his marriage vows while imprisoned. Her mother thought her foolish to take on the Rothschild name with the Nazis in control of France. However, they were not troubled during the Nazi occupation. The Fould-Springers had extensive interests in Austria, and one branch of the family owned Château Beychevelle, a Bordeaux estate close to Château Lafite in Pauillac in the Médoc.

## Post-war life

[edit]

After the war, Élie, Alain and their wives shared the family mansion at avenue de Marigny, which had been used as the Luftwaffe headquarters during the war. Élie and his family moved to 11 rue Masseran in the 1950s, where he displayed his great collection of art, including works by Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Dubuffet and Picasso. This collection was described in the book Great Private Collections, by Douglas Cooper; when Alvar Gonzales Palacios discovered a Dancer of Canova, he researched its history, and found out that, for a while, it had been in the Hotel Massaran, attributed to Carpeaux.

Élie and his brother assisted their cousin, Guy de Rothschild, to rebuild the Rothschild Frères investment bank, and its Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord subsidiary. Élie took charge of Château Lafite-Rothschild, the premier cru Pauillac vineyard in the Médoc, in 1946, which he owned jointly with Alain, Guy and their English cousin Jimmy de Rothschild. Élie became president of the family's Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) in 1956, diversifying into hotels, motels and restaurants.

### Offshore business

[edit]

He built a web of at least 20 secrecy-cloaked trusts in the South Pacific between 1996 and 2003, some of which continued operating after his death in 2007. As documents from the Offshore leaks revealed at least 20 trusts and 10 holding companies were set up for Rothschild in the Cook Islands, with typically opaque names including, fittingly, ″Anon Trust″. The companies have a common shareholder called ″Mandalor Limited″, an equally opaque company based in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Élie was a friend of Prince Aly Khan and Gianni Agnelli. In 1954, when Liliane was out of town, Élie was introduced to divorcée Pamela Churchill (later Pamela Harriman). According to Élie, "She was sweet, charming and pretty. I wanted to go to bed with her and I did." Nevertheless, Liliane quickly saw off her rival. When the Duke of Windsor asked her: "Which Rothschild is the lover of Pamela Churchill?' she replied: "My husband, Sir".[citation needed] This remark undermined Pamela as much as any other retributive strikes and presently the affair receded.[1] His nephew Éric de Rothschild, son of Alain, took over at Château Lafite-Rothschild in 1974.

## Death

[edit]

Élie died of a heart attack when on vacation at his hunting lodge near the village of Scharnitz outside Innsbruck in Austria. His wife predeceased him in 2003. His son is married to Nili Limon, the daughter of Mordechai Limon, commander of the Israel Navy in the 1950s.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Vickers, Hugo (9 August 2007). "Baron Elie de Rothschild". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
2. ^ Haaretz: "Russian billionaire takes a local interest" by Moti Bassok and Sophie Shulman March 25, 2004

## Sources

[edit]

* Mssr. Rothschild's Tribute at Respectance.com
* Reflected Glory: the Life of Pamela Churchill Harriman, Sally Bedell Smith, 1996. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80950-8
* Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 7 August 2007
* Obituary, The Times, 8 August 2007[dead link]
* Obituary, The Independent, 9 August 2007

* v
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Rothschild

General|

* Genealogy of the Rothschild family
* Mayer Amschel Rothschild
* Amschel Mayer Rothschild
* Rothschild Mausoleum
* Rothschild Park
* Prix Rothschild
* Baron Rothschild
* Baron Rothschild (Austria)
* British Empire
* French Empire
* Austro-Hungarian Empire
* Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
* Holy See

Banking and
companies|

* Rothschild & Co
* RIT Capital Partners
* Edmond de Rothschild Group
* de Rothschild Frères
* S. M. von Rothschild
* Imerys
* Eramet
* Club Med
* Libération
* Economist Group (The Economist)
* Mouton Cadet
* Opus One Winery
* Chemins de Fer du Nord
* Vítkovice Mining and Iron Corporation
* Palestine Jewish Colonization Association
* Yad Hanadiv
* Creditanstalt
* British South Africa Company
* Rio Tinto
* De Beers
* Caspian and Black Sea Oil Company
* Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway
* Asia Resource Minerals
* Genel Energy
* Alliance Assurance

Properties|

* Rothschild properties in the Home counties
* Ascott House
* Aston Clinton House
* Champneys
* Eythrope
* Exbury Gardens
* Gunnersbury Park
* Halton House
* Mentmore Towers
* Tring Park Mansion
* Waddesdon Manor
* Spencer House
* Palais Rothschild
* Château Mouton Rothschild
* Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay
* Château Clarke
* Château de Ferrières
* Château Lafite
* Château de Laversine
* Château des Laurets
* Château de la Muette
* Château Rothschild, Boulogne-Billancourt
* Haras de Meautry
* Hôtel Lambert
* Hôtel de Marigny
* Hôtel de Pontalba
* Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild
* Talleyrand Building

Austria|

* Salomon Mayer von Rothschild
* Anselm Salomon von Rothschild
* Mathilde Hannah von Rothschild
* Nathaniel Mayer Anselm von Rothschild
* Ferdinand de Rothschild
* Salomon Albert Anmselm von Rothschild
* Ludwig (Louis) von Rothschild
* Eugéne Daniel von Rothschild
* Jeanne Stuart von Rothschild
* Alice Charlotte von Rothschild

United Kingdom|

* Alfred de Rothschild
* Amschel Mayor James Rothschild
* Sir Anthony de Rothschild, 1st Baronet
* Anthony Gustav de Rothschild
* Anthony James de Rothschild
* Charles Rothschild
* Charlotte Henriette de Rothschild
* David Mayer de Rothschild
* Dorothy de Rothschild
* Edmund Leopold de Rothschild
* Emma Georgina Rothschild
* Evelina de Rothschild
* Evelyn Achille de Rothschild
* Sir Evelyn de Rothschild
* Ferdinand de Rothschild
* Hannah de Rothschild, Countess of Rosebery
* Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild
* Kathleen (Nica de Koenigswarter) Rothschild
* Leopold de Rothschild
* Leopold David de Rothschild
* Lionel de Rothschild
* Lionel Nathan de Rothschild
* Lynn Forester de Rothschild
* Mayer Amschel de Rothschild
* Miriam Louisa Rothschild
* Nathaniel de Rothschild
* Nathan Mayer Rothschild
* Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild
* Nathaniel Rothschild, 5th Baron Rothschild
* Nicky Hilton Rothschild
* Serena Rothschild
* Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild
* Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild

France|

* Alphonse James de Rothschild
* Aline Caroline de Rothschild
* Ariane de Rothschild
* Arthur de Rothschild
* Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild
* Benjamin de Rothschild
* Betty von Rothschild
* Charlotte de Rothschild
* Bethsabée de Rothschild
* David René de Rothschild
* Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild
* Edmond James de Rothschild
* Édouard Etienne de Rothschild
* Edouard Alphonse de Rothschild
* Élie de Rothschild
* Elisabeth de Rothschild
* Guy de Rothschild
* Hélène de Rothschild
* Henri de Rothschild
* Jacqueline Rebecca de Rothschild
* James Armand de Rothschild
* James Mayer de Rothschild
* Marie-Hélène de Rothschild
* Nadine de Rothschild
* Nathaniel Robert de Rothschild
* Nicole de Rothschild
* Pauline de Rothschild
* Philippe de Rothschild
* Philippine de Rothschild
* Salomon James de Rothschild
* Maurice de Rothschild
* Gustave de Rothschild
* Robert de Rothschild
* Alain de Rothschild
* Éric de Rothschild
* Marie Angliviel de la Beaumelle

Naples|

* Charlotte von Rothschild
* Carl Mayer von Rothschild
* Mayer Carl von Rothschild
* Adelheid von Rothschild
* Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild
* Berthe von Rothschild
* Thérèse von Rothschild
* Marguerite de Rothschild
* Bina von Rothschild

* Category: Rothschild family

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

Other|

* IdRef

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