Chairman of Swiss branch of Edmond de Rothschild banking empire dies at 57
Benjamin de Rothschild, who ran the Edmond de Rothschild banking empire and took the lender private in 2019, died at the age of 57.
He suffered a heart attack at his home in Pregny, Switzerland, on Friday afternoon, the company said on its website.
De Rothschild was the chairman of Edmond de Rothschild Holding, the Swiss branch of the Rothschild banking dynasty that was created by Baron Edmond de Rothschild.
Baron de Rothschild launched the group in 1953, bought a Swiss private bank and branched out into the asset management business, making the Rothschilds one of the richest families in the world. The family has been running banking institutions in Europe for about 300 years.
De Rothschild inherited the business from his father in 1997 and after delisting the company, worked to simplify its operations. He took a back seat and stepped away from the day-to-day operations after his wife, Ariane, took over as chief executive in 2015.
“He has a great distance, a completely different temper,” she told the Financial Times in an earlier interview.
“I admire it because I can’t. I have to be totally hands-on.”
Born in July 1963, de Rothschild, was described as a “visionary entrepreneur” who was passionate about finance, speed, sailing and cars, the company said.
Cynthia Tobiano, deputy chief executive of the company, said the Edmond de Rothschild business would not be affected by the chairman’s sudden death.
“Obviously, they discussed and took long-term decisions at the family holding level with him, but at the bank level, Ariane is chairing the board, with the executive committee designing and executing the strategy,” the Financial Times cited her as saying.
Ariane, a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies and Pace University in New York, previously worked at Societe Generale and AIG.
She is the first woman to run a Rothschild-branded financial institution.
As of the end of 2019, the group had 173 billion Swiss francs ($194bn) in assets.
With operations in 15 countries, it is engaged in wealth management, corporate finance, property and private equity businesses, among others.
It employs 2,600 people at its offices in 32 locations around the world.
De Rothschild was an active philanthropist, involved in the Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation Hospital. He is survived by his wife and their four adult daughters.
“The thoughts of the group’s employees go out to his wife Ariane de Rothschild and his children, as well as to all his family and loved ones,” the company said.