Jacob Rothschild, the 87-year-old banking family heir, was a prosperous businessman and philanthropist.
The city magnate began his banking career at NM Rothschild & Sons, the family bank. Sir Mark Weinberg co-founded several businesses after leaving in 1980, the most well-known of which was J. Rothschild Assurance Group.
The office was held by city postholder and BSkyB deputy chair Lord Rothschild from 2003 to 2008. He managed RIT Capital Partners, a large London Stock Exchange investment trust, from 1988 until 2019.
National charities and artists adored him. He led the National Gallery trustees from 1985 until 1991. From 1992 until 1998, he headed the National Cultural Memorial Fund, which awarded £1.2 billion in art.
For his contributions to literature, the arts, sciences, and the humanities, he was given this honor in 2002. In London, he renovated Somerset House.
Business owners and lawmakers offered condolences Monday. I felt “deep sadness” at James’s. says, “Lord Rothschild leaves an extraordinary legacy in helping to shape the financial advice profession in the UK as a hugely accomplished financier and co-founder of St James’s Place.”
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In his obituary, Sir Ronald Cohen said that “the world has lost a remarkably creative and successful leader of finance, philanthropy, and the arts.” In addition to being the chairman of Portland Trust, Cohen formed Apax Partners.
He said Rothschild “made the very most of the privilege he was born into, contributing hugely to the cultural and commercial life of Britain.” The chairman of the trustee board of the British Museum is the former chancellor, George Osborne. The Waddesdon Gallery of the British Museum exists because of him.
He was referred to as “one of Britain’s greatest cultural philanthropists who did so much to support the arts in this country” by Tory culture minister Ed Vaizey between 2010 and 2016.
Christ Church, Oxford, and Eton graduate Jacob Rothschild was a city sniper in the 1980s. The £13 billion 1989 acquisition of British American tobacco with Sir James Goldsmith and Kerry Packer was one of his many transactions.
The Palestinian Authority described him as “a tall figure in many people’s lives, a brilliant financier, a champion of the arts and culture, a dedicated public servant, an enthusiastic supporter of Jewish and Israeli charitable causes, an avid environmentalist, and a much-loved father, grandfather, and friend.”
After fifty years of marriage to Serena, Rothschild lost three daughters, one son, and a sizable number of grandchildren in 2019.
At X, the Rothschild Foundation declared that “his family, colleagues, and many friends will be greatly missed.”
From April 1991 until November 1999, when Labour reorganized the House of Commons and removed the majority of the hereditary lords, Rothschild belonged to the crossbencher group.
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