Jacob Rothschild, British financier, politician and philanthropist, has died at the age of 87, his family announced Monday.
Son of Baron Victor Rothschild and member of the British branch of the Rothschild family, he began his career in the family bank in 1963, before leaving the group to take control and chair until 2019 the Rothschild Investment Trust (renamed more later RIT Capital Partners).
He also founded the J Rothschild Assurance Group, now St James's Place.
His family praised him in a statement Monday
as “a superbly accomplished financier, a champion of arts and culture
,” as well as a
“passionate support of charitable causes in Israel and Jewish culture”
and
“an enthusiastic environmentalist
. ”
Born in Berkshire (west London) in 1936, educated at the elite Eton school and Oxford University, Jacob Rothschild supported several cultural institutions, such as the National Gallery in London, and had posed for several artists including the British painter David Hockney.
He served in the House of Lords, the upper house of the British Parliament, from 1991 to 1999. Jacob Rothschild had four children.