
Originariamente Scritto da
Princ.Citeriore
Carl Mayer von Rothschild
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Calmann "Carl" Mayer von Rothschild
Carl Mayer von Rothschild (
April 24,
1788 -
March 10,
1855) was a
German-born banker in the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the founder of the
Rothschild banking family of Naples.
Born
Calmann Mayer Rothschild in
Frankfurt am Main, he was the fourth of the five sons of
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743-1812) and Gutlé Schnapper (1753-1849). He would become known as "Carl" by the family except for his
English relatives who translated it as "Charles". Raised in an increasingly prosperous family, he was trained in his father's banking business and lived at home until age twenty-nine when he acquired a modest residence at 33 Neue Mainzer Strasse in Frankfurt am Main in preparation for his marriage on September 16, 1818 to Adelheid Herz (1800-1853). They would have the following children:
Wanting to expand the family business across
Europe, the eldest Rothschild son
Amschel remained in Frankfurt, while each of the other sons were sent to different European cities to establish a banking branch. The 1821 occupation of
Naples by the
Austrian army provided the opportunity for the Rothschilds to set up business in the Kingdom. As such, Carl Rothschild was sent to Naples where he established
C M de Rothschild & Figli to operate as a satellite office to the
Rothschild banking family of Germany headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.
Carl Rothschild has sometimes been seen as the least gifted of the five brothers. However, he proved himself in Naples as a strong financial manager and someone very capable at developing all-important business connections. He established a good working relationship with
Luigi de' Medici, the "Direttore della Segreteria di Azienda del Regno di Napoli" (Finance Minister), and his operation became the dominant banking house in Naples. As a result of Carl's success, the Rothschilds had a substantial banking presence in England and three other major European capitals, giving the family considerable influence and an advantage over their competitors.
In 1822, Carl Rothschild and his four brothers were each granted the title of
baron, or
Freiherr, by
Austria's
Francis I. During the winter of 1826,
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, future
King of the Belgians was a guest of Carl von Rothschild at his villa in Naples. In 1829, Carl was appointed consul-general of Sicily at Frankfurt and in January of 1832 the
Jewish banker was given a ribbon and star of the
Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George at a ceremony with the new
Roman Catholic Pope,
Gregory XVI.
Carl von Rothschild maintained homes in Frankfurt am Main and in Naples. In 1837 he built the Villa Günthersburg on a large country property outside Frankfurt am Main owned by his father at what is now
Günthersburg Park. In 1841, he bought the
Villa Pignatelli at
San Giorgio a Cremano with a spectacular view of
Mount Vesuvius.
Two years after his wife Adelheid died in 1853 and one year after their son Anselm Alexander Carl died at the age of eighteen, Carl von Rothschild passed away in Naples. One seventh of his estate went to his daughter Charlotte with the rest divided equally between his three surviving sons. Adolf Carl took over the business in Naples from his father and Mayer Carl and Wilhelm Carl succeeded their childless uncle Amschel in Frankfurt.