The group announced on Saturday that Benjamin de Rothschild, chairman of the holding company of the French-Swiss private bank and asset manager Edmond de Rothschild, had died of a heart attack.
De Rothschild had already returned from the day-to-day management of the financial affairs he had inherited from his father Edmond, leaving it in the hands of his energetic wife Ariane, while pursuing his passion for fast yacht racing and cars.
“He has a great distance, a very different mood,” she once told the FT. ‘I admire it because I can not. I have to be completely practical. ”
The group described Benjamin de Rothschild as a “visionary entrepreneur, passionate about finance, speed, sailing and cars, wine lover [and] and active philanthropy ”.
He leaves behind a family business founded in 1953 and now has 173 billion SFB ($ 194 billion) in assets under management. In addition to wealth management, the group is involved in corporate finance, private equity and real estate. It employs 2,600 people in 32 locations around the world.
Deputy CEO Cynthia Tobiano said Edmond de Rothschild’s business would not be affected by Benjamin’s sudden death.
“It is clear that they have discussed and made long-term decisions with him at family level, but at bank level Ariane is the chair of the board and the executive committee that designs and executes the strategy.” Edmond de Rothschild, in Geneva, is completely private in 2019. taken.
Mrs Tobiano added: “Covid is a catalyst to work even faster with digitization if your customers are unable to meet face-to-face.”
Two branches of the extended Rothschild family finally settled a dispute over the name three years ago, with the investment bank Rothschild & Co and Edmond de Rothschild, based in Paris, undoing shareholders and agreeing to the name Rothschild not to be used on its own in trademarks.
Last year, former Russian Rosneft chief Sergei Bogdanchikov accused Edmond de Rothschild of having a setback scheme that robbed millions of dollars from his investment fund and eventually cost him more than $ 100 million. The private bank declined to comment on the ongoing case.
In recent years, however, Benjamin de Rothschild has been more focused on the family’s sailing sponsorships than on the business, including a campaign currently underway for Gitana team’s fast watercraft trimaran to win the Jules Verne trophy by the world record for breaking bypass under sail – which is currently just under 41 days.
The victory in the challenge, Ms Tobiano said, “would be a great legacy and one he would have liked.”