He used his wealth to fund issues close to his heart, including Jewish causes, education and the arts.
London:
Jacob Rothschild, the British financier, prominent member of the Rothschild banking empire and philanthropist, has died at the age of 87, his family announced Monday.
“Our father Jacob was a towering figure in many lives, an accomplished financier and a champion of the arts and culture,” a family statement said.
He was also “a devoted public servant, a passionate supporter of Israeli and Jewish cultural philanthropy, an ardent environmentalist and a much-loved friend, father and grandfather,” the statement noted. The statement did not say when he died.
Born in 1936 in Berkshire, west of London, Rothschild was the eldest son of Victor Rothschild, a British scientist, intelligence officer and oil executive who advised both Conservative and Labor governments .
Jacob Rothschild, a member of the House of Lords of the British Parliament from 1991 to 1999, began his career at the family bank NM Rothschild & Sons.
He left to co-found J. Rothschild Assurance Group (now St James’s Place), which has become one of Europe’s largest funds and wealth managers, controlling more than £155 billion ($195 billion) in assets.
He used his wealth to fund issues close to his heart, including Jewish causes, education and the arts.
He was chairman of the board of directors of the National Gallery, and his love of art extended to admiring portraits of painters Lucian Freud and David Hockney.
He was married to his wife Serena, who died in 2019, and they had four children: Hannah, Beth, Emily and Nat.
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