MYTHS BUSTED

Some the bizarre claims that have stalked the Rothschild family

MORE POWERFUL THAN THE CROWN Conspiracy theorists say that Nathan Rothschild claimed to control Britain through its finances: “The man who controls Britain’s money supply controls the British Empire, and I control the British money supply.” Of course, Nathan Rothschild never said this. A similar line, “Give me control of a Nation’s money supply, and I care not who makes its laws”, is often attributed to his father Mayer. First cited in 1939, the quotation has never been verified but may represent Mayer’s point of view during his lifetime. SECRET AGENTS OF THE ILLUMANTI Conspiracy theorists claim that the Rothschilds are part of the Illuminati, the supposed secret society controlling the world. (The real Illuminati, who controlled nothing of importance, disbanded in the late 1700s.) They point to a lavish 1972 party thrown by Marie-hélène de Rothschild in which celebrity guests including Salvador Dalí dressed in outlandish costumes in celebration of surrealism. While the costumes and décor mirrored great works of art, conspiracy theorists imagined that the costumes were secret Illuminati symbols, which the top-secret group photographed for all to see. They’re just that secret. LIZARDS FROM OUTER SPACE Conspiracy theorists like David Icke claim that the Rothschilds are reptilian creatures masquerading as human beings, along with most of the world’s political, economic and social leaders. Believers hold that these cold-blooded monsters act inhumanely because they feed off the blood and misery of humankind. Do we really need to say that no one has ever found proof of a reptilian Rothschild? THE RUSSIAN OR ROTHSCHILD REVOLUTION? Conspiracy theorists claim that the Rothschilds tried to enhance the value of their oil holdings by funding the Russian Revolution to gain access to Russian oil fields. Leopold de Rothschild, head of the British branch of the family bank, loaned the Provisional Government in Russia a considerable sum of money after the February Revolution in order to keep Russia in World War I. But the family was openly hostile to the Bolsheviks and refused to accept any deposits from the Soviet state for decades after the October Revolution. THE TITANIC SUNK ON PURPOSE? Conspiracy theorists say the Rothschilds ordered the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 to eliminate other millionaires who opposed the creation of a central bank in the United States, specifically Benjamin Guggenheim, Isidor Strauss and John Jacob Astor IV. However, while the US Federal Reserve was established in 1913, many others that weren’t on board the Titanic, particularly Democratic politicians, opposed the central bank. In fact, a much stronger central bank bill had been considered from 1910 to 1912 but failed even after the Titanic sank because of Democratic opposition in Congress. A compromise, not the deaths of three millionaires, created the Federal Reserve the next year.