Rothschild
French-British multinational financial services group focused on investment banking, wealth management, asset management and alternative investments.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Rothschild & Co is a multinational financial services group headquartered in Paris and London and associated with the French and British branches of the Rothschild family. Its modern organization combines the historic London house N M Rothschild & Sons with the French Rothschild business that was rebuilt through the listed holding company Paris Orléans after the nationalization of Banque Rothschild in 1981. The group operates principally through Global Advisory, Wealth and Asset Management, and Five Arrows, its alternative-investments platform. The firm's London history began when Nathan Mayer Rothschild moved from Manchester to London and established N M Rothschild & Sons at New Court in 1811. The business became prominent in sovereign finance, bond issuance and cross-border payments. During the Napoleonic Wars it helped arrange the movement of British government subsidies to allied forces, and in later decades it advised governments and financed infrastructure, railways, mining and industrial enterprises. Its London office also became associated with the historic London gold-fixing process, although Rothschild later withdrew from direct bullion trading. The French lineage developed from the Rothschild family's postwar transformation of the former Paris-Orléans railway holding company into a corporate and banking investment vehicle. After Banque Rothschild was nationalized by the French government in 1981, David de Rothschild and Eric de Rothschild recapitalized the family business under the Paris Orléans name. The business regained the Rothschild name in 1986 as Rothschild & Cie Banque. The English and French houses announced a combination in 2003, unified their operations over the following years, and adopted Rothschild & Co as the operating and holding-company name. Global Advisory provides mergers and acquisitions advice, strategic advice, debt advice, restructuring services, equity advice and capital-markets services. The group has traditionally emphasized independence, confidentiality and advice-led relationships rather than the balance-sheet scale of universal banks. It has advised corporations, financial sponsors, governments and family-owned businesses on transactions, privatizations, refinancing and complex restructurings. Wealth and Asset Management provides private banking, investment management and wealth-planning services, with an emphasis on preserving capital across generations. The acquisition of Martin Maurel in 2017 strengthened its French private-banking franchise. Five Arrows invests in private equity, private credit and related alternative strategies, deploying capital from the group alongside external institutional and private investors. The Rothschild name is also connected historically with family-owned wine interests, including Bordeaux and Champagne activities, but these are not the core operating businesses of Rothschild & Co. In the 2020s the family pursued a transaction to take the listed company private. The offer, announced in 2023 and reported at an indicative value of approximately €3.7 billion, reflected the family's intention to simplify ownership and provide a longer-term private-company framework. The group remains an active international financial-services business serving institutions, companies, governments, entrepreneurs and wealthy families.
History
Rothschild & Co's history is the combined history of the London and French Rothschild banking houses. Mayer Amschel Rothschild established the family banking dynasty in Frankfurt and expanded it through a network of sons in major European financial centers. Nathan Mayer Rothschild settled first in Manchester, where he traded textiles and handled finance, before moving to London. In 1811 he founded N M Rothschild & Sons at New Court, which remains symbolically and historically central to the firm's London identity. During the Napoleonic period the London house arranged government finance and helped transfer funds to Britain's allies on the Iberian Peninsula. It subsequently became an important participant in sovereign bond markets. The bank financed or invested in railways, mining, government projects and industrial enterprises, and in 1825 supplied bullion to the Bank of England during a liquidity crisis. Later generations were involved in major transactions including Britain's 1875 purchase of a controlling interest in the Suez Canal. The family businesses also invested in Rio Tinto and De Beers and advised on international commercial expansion. The First World War and the changing structure of international finance shifted the business away from nineteenth-century merchant banking and toward corporate advice, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, asset management and private investment. The Austrian Rothschild interests were confiscated under Nazi rule, while the French and Austrian family branches were dispersed during the Second World War. After the war, the British and French houses developed their North American operations and broadened their advisory activities. The French business had a distinct corporate route. Paris-Orléans began as a railway company founded in 1838 and was nationalized in 1938 into SNCF. After the Second World War the French Rothschild family used the remaining Paris-Orléans structure as a holding company for banking, property, insurance, industrial and wine investments. The French state nationalized Banque Rothschild in 1981. David and Eric de Rothschild rebuilt the family business through Paris Orléans in 1983 and returned to the Rothschild name in 1986. The English and French houses announced their combination in 2003. Their banking activities were progressively integrated, and the group was rebranded Rothschild & Co in 2011. Paris Orléans adopted the same name in 2015. The group expanded its private-banking presence through the 2017 Martin Maurel acquisition, sold its trust-services business in 2018, and acquired a stake in financial-research and brokerage firm Redburn in 2019. It also reorganized parts of its asset-management portfolio, including the announced 2022 sale of its U.S. asset-management arm to Wintrust. In 2023 the Rothschild family announced an intention to take Rothschild & Co private by purchasing listed shares. The transaction represented a significant change in the ownership structure of a group that had used a public holding company for decades. Its current business model remains centered on independent financial advice, private and institutional asset management, wealth preservation and alternative investments.
- 2023
Privatization proposal announced
[1]The Rothschild family announced plans to repurchase publicly traded shares and take the group private.
- 2017
Martin Maurel acquired
[1]The acquisition strengthened the group's French private-banking platform.
- 2011
Rothschild & Co brand introduced
[1]The group adopted Rothschild & Co as its unified global operating name.
- 2003
English-French combination announced
[1]The British and French Rothschild houses began the process of combining their banking operations.
- 1983
Family business recapitalized through Paris Orléans
[1]David and Eric de Rothschild rebuilt the French family business under the Paris Orléans structure.
- 1981
Banque Rothschild nationalized
[1]The French government nationalized Banque Rothschild and renamed the resulting institution Compagnie Européenne de Banque.
- 1875
Suez Canal financing role
[1]The London Rothschild house helped finance the British government's acquisition of a controlling interest in the Suez Canal.
- 1838
Paris-Orléans railway company founded
[1]The corporate predecessor of the later French Rothschild holding structure was established as a railway company.
- 1811
N M Rothschild & Sons established in London
[1]Nathan Mayer Rothschild founded the London banking house at New Court.
Products and positioning
Independent, high-end and relationship-led financial advice for governments, corporations, financial sponsors, entrepreneurs, family businesses and high-net-worth clients.
Investment banking
Global Advisory
The group's advisory business covers mergers and acquisitions, strategic transactions, debt advice, restructuring, equity advice and capital markets. It serves corporations, governments, financial sponsors and family-owned companies, with a model focused on independent advice rather than large-scale lending or trading balance sheets.
Wealth management and asset management
Wealth and Asset Management
This business provides private banking, portfolio management, investment solutions and wealth-planning services for wealthy families, entrepreneurs, institutions and other clients. Its stated emphasis is long-term wealth preservation and intergenerational planning.
Alternative investments · 2007
Five Arrows
Five Arrows is the alternative-assets platform of Rothschild & Co. It invests in and manages private equity, private credit and related strategies, combining the group's capital with money from institutional and private investors.
Private banking
Rothschild private banking
The private-banking offering provides investment management, financing and wealth-structuring services to private clients. The Martin Maurel transaction expanded the group's French private-bank network and combined two established family-owned financial businesses.
Marketing campaigns
- 2011Global Rothschild & Co rebrand
Global
The group replaced several historic operating names with Rothschild & Co to present a more unified international identity across its advisory, wealth and asset-management businesses.
Outcome. Unified brand adopted
Brand decisions
2023
Pursue privatizationM&ABackground
The Rothschild family sought to simplify the ownership structure of the publicly traded group.
Action taken
The family announced an offer to repurchase listed shares and take Rothschild & Co private.
Aftermath
The proposal was reported at an indicative value of approximately €3.7 billion and marked a move away from several decades of public listing.
Indicative transaction value. €3.7 billion (2023 announcement)
2017
Acquire Martin MaurelM&ABackground
Rothschild sought to strengthen its private-banking and wealth-management presence in France.
Action taken
Rothschild & Co acquired the family-controlled French private bank Martin Maurel.
Aftermath
The combination made Rothschild & Co a leading private bank in France according to the referenced account.
2011
Adopt the Rothschild & Co global identityStrategyBackground
The English and French banking operations had been progressively integrated after the 2003 combination.
Action taken
Management introduced Rothschild & Co as the unified international brand.
Aftermath
The name was later applied to the parent company, Paris Orléans, in 2015.
Recent events
- 2023
Rothschild & Co takes steps toward privatization[1]
M&A
The Rothschild family announced an offer intended to repurchase publicly traded shares and take the group private.
- 2018
Rothschild & Co sells its trust-services division[1]
M&A
The group sold the trust-services business as part of a refocusing of Wealth Management on private banking and related services.
- 2017
Rothschild & Co acquires Martin Maurel[1]
M&A
The acquisition combined two long-established French financial families and expanded Rothschild's private-banking business in France.
- 2011
Rothschild & Co adopts a unified global brand[1]
Other
The group changed its principal trading name from the historic English and French banking names to Rothschild & Co.
- 2003
Rothschild & Co announces combination of the English and French Rothschild houses[1]
M&A
The two principal family banking businesses announced plans to combine under the Paris Orléans holding structure.
Sources2 sources
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