Salomon Mayer von Rothschild
Salomon Mayer Freiherr[1] von Rothschild (9 September 1774 – 28 July 1855) was a Frankfurt-born banker in the Austrian Empire and the founder of the Austrian branch of the prominent Rothschild family.
Salomon Mayer von Rothschild
28 July 1855
Banker, art collector, philanthropist
Caroline Stern
Mayer Amschel Rothschild
Gutlé Schnapper
Career[edit]
Trained in finance and with years of experience, Salomon was sent in 1820 to Austria to formalize the family's existing involvements in financing Austrian government projects. In the same year, 1820, he established S M von Rothschild in Vienna. The business financed the Nordbahn rail transport network, Austria's first steam railway, and also funded various government undertakings where large amounts of capital had to be raised. He made connections amongst the country's aristocracy and its political elite through Prince Klemens von Metternich and Friedrich von Gentz.
Under the direction of Salomon, the Viennese bank was highly successful, playing an integral role in the development of the Austrian economy. In recognition of his services, he was raised to the Austrian nobility in 1816 by Emperor Francis I, the patent being offered to all five brothers, although declined by Nathan Mayer Rothschild.
In 1822, Salomon von Rothschild, along with his four brothers, was further honoured when the Emperor awarded him the hereditary title of Freiherr (German for 'Baron'). In 1843, Salomon Freiherr von Rothschild became the first Jew to ever be given honorary Austrian citizenship.
Salomon's personal wealth was enormous, and he acquired extensive properties and made investments in art and antiquities. Despite the fact that he made substantial contributions to philanthropic causes, the concentration of vast wealth by the few members of the Austrian elite resulted in a growing civil unrest in the country.
By the time of the revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas, anti-Rothschild sentiments were frequently being voiced and written about in broadsheets such as Ein offener Brief an Rothschild. With the fall of Metternich, Salomon lost some of his political clout and his bank a considerable amount of money.
Under pressure, the 74-year-old handed over the reins of the bank to his son Anselm, but it was not without rancor. He left Vienna and retired to Paris, where he died in 1855. From his art collection, some of the objets d'art from the Italian and French Renaissance, together with 18th-century works, were donated to the Louvre, including two paintings by Carlo Dolci.