Rothschilds , The 500 Trillion Dollar Family

When we hear or think about the words “richest man in the world” our minds generally turn to successful billionaires such as Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. But what if there was a group of people even richer than these philanthropists, a group rumoured to control 1/8^th of the entire world’s wealth. Well such a group may exist, and it goes by the name of the Rothschilds.

Responsible for feats such as Financing Wars, Building the Suez Canal, and even bailing out The Bank of England, The Rothschilds have certainly accomplished a lot.

To understand who this family is and how they amassed such an indescribable fortune, let us look at back to how they started.

Mayer Amschel Rothschild – The Founder

The Rothschild family as we know it was founded by a man named Mayer Amschel Rothschild, born 1744 in Frankfurt, Germany. Being a Jew in the 1700s meant that Mayer could lend and borrow mean at a rate of interest, something the Christians of that era couldn’t do because of the Bible. Mayer established a very successful career for himself as a Court Jew, a banker. Having nobles such as Crown Prince Wilhelm, Europe’s richest man at that time, and the Austrian Emperor as his customers, it is easy to say that Mayer established the foundations of a Banking Empire.

Towards his twilight years, Meyer sent 4 of his sons to 4 different cities in Europe, namely: Vienna, Naples, London and Paris, and kept one in Frankfurt with him with the aim of establishing a Financial Empire all over Europe. At this same time the French Revolution begun, and this became one of the Catalysts that boosted the Rothschild Family into what it is today. Charged with supplying equipment and rations for both sides of the war, the Rothschild family amassed a fortune and has since then kept building on it.

Meyer’s Very Weird Inheritance Rules

Towards the end of his life Meyer established some very odd rules about the family in order to protect their money. 1^st and foremost he forced his children to enter into Consanguinity, marriage only between cousins, in order to keep the wealth safe. 2) He also forbade female members of the family from inheriting any wealth, thus forcing them to marry into the family. Suffice to say Meyer grew paranoid towards the end of his life.

The Most Successful Rothschild- Of the Rothschilds, the most successful one is by far the third son, Nathan Meyer Rothschild who grew an empire so big that at a point of time he was considered Europe’s Central Bank and is responsible for the Rothschild Family being where it is today.

So how much are they worth?

While the Family itself is very secretive about its fortune, experts have estimated at the value they hold together. While the figure of 500 Trillion seems to be an exaggeration, the LA Times put together that the Family is anywhere between 500 Billion and 1 Trillion, which still easily places them above the richest Man in the World, Jeff Bezos with 150 Billion.