Wedding snub as Rothschild dynasty is torn apart by feud
THE heir to one of the world’s great banking dynasties has fallen out with his family in spectacular fashion, even refusing to invite his father to his own wedding.
I am sorry to report that Lord Rothschild, 80, has not been asked to attend the nuptials between his only son and heir Nat and former Page Three girl Loretta Basey next weekend. And, as a result, Nat’s mother Serena will not be there.
Sir David Tang, a family friend, let the news slip last week at a public talk he hosted at the China Exchange with Ben Elliot, who runs upmarket concierge company Quintessentially. In front of an astonished audience of 75, David told Ben, who went to Eton with Nathaniel: ‘Nat Rothschild is getting married and his father is not going. But there it is. That is a piece of gossip.’
The reasons behind Nat’s decision not to invite his father to his wedding in the swanky Swiss ski resort of Klosters remain a mystery. Speculation that Loretta’s revealing modelling career – with 20 Page Three appearances to her name – has not met with Lord Rothschild’s approval is unfounded, with sources insisting Loretta’s past does not bother her prospective in-laws.
The root cause of the feud seems to run much deeper.
Nat, 44, has had a difficult few years with his investments. In 2014, he set up an Uber-style carpooling app, Maaxi, which ceased operating after ten months.
When he fell off the Sunday Times Rich List earlier this year, a commentator noted: ‘Nat was in the Rich List last year with £170million but has dropped out owing to a collapse in his investments.’ His father, worth £650million, is ranked at number 182 on the list. In 2010, Nat made a disastrous investment in the Indonesian coal market. The company he put his money in was reported to have lost hundreds of millions. In a statement to his investors last year, he declared the venture would be his ‘first and last investment in Indonesia’s coal sector’.
Nat’s frequent tweets have attracted attention. In one recent missive, he urged followers to support the legalisation of drugs, writing: ‘Overwhelming evidence that 1971 Misuse Of Drugs Act needs reform #legalize.’ Loretta, who turns 26 today, was once a prolific social media user, but recently deleted her public accounts. For the past two years, she has been working in sales for an upmarket private jet charter company.
The couple will hold a second wedding reception at Oare House in Wiltshire later this month, but Lord and Lady Rothschild are expected to be absent from that party too.