Rothschild & Co
Rothschild & Co is a multinational private and alternative assets investor, headquartered in Paris, France and London, England. It is the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the British and French branches of the Rothschild family.
"N M Rothschild & Sons" and "Rothschild & Cie Banque" redirect here. For other Rothschild-branded banks, see Rothschild Bank (disambiguation).Company type
SCA (under Rothschild family control)
1811 (as N M Rothschild & Sons)
Worldwide[1]
- David René de Rothschild (Honorary Chairman)[2]
- Marc-Olivier Laurent (Chairman of the Supervisory Board)[3]
- Alexandre de Rothschild (Executive Chairman)[4]
- Robert Leitão (co-Chairman of the Group Partners Committee and Managing Partner)[1]
- François Pérol (co-Chairman of the Group Partners Committee and Managing Partner)[1]
- Javed Khan (Managing Partner, CEO of Five Arrows)[5]
- Mark Crump (Managing Partner, CFO)[5]
€ 374 million (2020)[6]
€ 309 million (2020)[6]
€ 78.1 billion (2020)[6]
€ 14.7 billion (2020)[6]
3,589 (2020)[6]
- Rothschild Martin Maurel (France, Belgium, Monaco)
- Rothschild Bank (Global)
The banking business of the firm covers the areas of investment banking, restructuring, corporate banking, private equity, asset management, and private banking. It is also known to serve as the advisor and lender to governments and major corporations.[7] In addition, the firm has its own investment account in private equity.
Rothschild's financial advisory division is known to serve British nobility as well as the British royal family. Past chairman Sir Evelyn Robert de Rothschild was the personal financial advisor of Queen Elizabeth II, and she knighted him in 1989 for his services to banking and finance.[8]
Controversies and legal issues[edit]
Jürg Heer scandal[edit]
Jürg Heer worked for Rothschild Bank AG (since October 2018 Rothschild & Co. Bank AG) in Zurich for more than twenty years, the last nine as its credit manager. He was dismissed in June 1992. Heer was accused of taking kickbacks of more than US$20 million in exchange for making unsecured and unapproved loans to the German and Canadian real estate magnate Karsten von Wersebe resulting in a loss of US$155 million to the bank. In 1998, in the district court of Zurich, Heer confessed that he embezzled about US$33 million from Rothschild Bank AG between 1986 and 1992.[64][65] The Rothschild family committed CHF 150 million to supporting its bank in recovering from one of the then largest financial frauds in Switzerland.[66]
NM Rothschild & Sons Ltd vs. Rothschild & Co (UK) Ltd[edit]
On 27 January 2009 NM Rothschild & Sons Ltd filed under s.69(1)(b) of the UK Companies Act 2006 for a change of name of the respondent company, Rothschild & Co (UK) Ltd, which had been registered since 31 October 2008. The Company Names Tribunal found for the applicant and ordered the respondent to change its name or else have its name changed by the adjudicator, as well as to pay the applicant's costs.[67]
Von Schönau-Riedweg vs. Rothschild Bank AG & others[edit]
On 20 December 2012 Rothschild Bank AG brought suit against its client Corinna von Schönau-Riedweg in Switzerland, seeking a declaration that the bank had no liability with respect to the private equity transactions recommended by Rothschild Bank's former employee Wilfrid von Plotho.[68] As a reaction to this suit von Schönau brought suit in the Superior Court in Boston/USA against Rothschild Bank AG, Rothschild Trust (Schweiz) AG, Wilfrid von Plotho and others. In December 2014 a separate and final judgment over US$15 million against von Plotho and his Panamanian offshore company ARA Management was entered in force; neither von Plotho nor ARA Management appealed from that judgment.[68] In June 2019 the Appeals Court of Massachusetts (Boston) decided that von Schönau's suit against Rothschild Bank should be revived, as she had made a showing that Wilfrid von Plotho, she claims caused her millions of dollars to lose, was Rothschild Bank's agent in Switzerland as well as in the USA.[69]
Non-Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice[edit]
According to the Non-Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (Tax Division) of June 2015, Rothschild Bank (now Rothschild & Co. Bank AG) admitted that it had 66 U.S.-related accounts held by entities created in Panama, Liechtenstein, British Virgin Islands or other foreign countries with U.S. beneficial owners. Knowing it was highly probable that the U.S. clients were engaging in schemes to avoid U.S. taxes, Rothschild Bank permitted the accounts to trade in U.S. securities without reporting account earnings, or transmitting any withholding taxes, to the IRS.[70] Of the U.S. related accounts with an aggregate maximum balance of approximately US$836 million had U.S. beneficial owners, representing approx. 5% of the aggregate maximum balance of Rothschild Bank's total assets under management during the period in question.[70] In recognition of its illegal conduct Rothschild Bank agreed to pay US$11,510,000 as a penalty to the U.S. Department of Justice without having to admit any guilt in the matter.[71][72]