Integritas
Our Group
Main image: Apartments on the Rue de Prague, Paris, built as part of the Fondation’s programme initiated in 1904
Overlay image: Plans for the Rue de Prague apartments, 1904
In this Section
An unprecedented response to social welfare needs – Fondation Rothschild
In 1904 the Fondation Rothschild was formally established in Paris by members of the French Rothschild family, building upon the foundation created by James de Rothschild in 1852 and continuing the family’s commitment to social welfare across European cities.
In response to rising social inequality in recently industrialised cities, the new foundation broadened its vision to meet the growing needs of the working poor. It set out an ambitious project that was unprecedented in its scope and scale, going beyond housing to embrace health, education, nutrition and childcare.
Lacking any precedent project, the Fondation launched an architectural competition and consulted with projects supported by their UK-based cousins.
Within a decade, the Fondation erected five substantial housing complexes across Paris providing almost a 1,000 apartments before the First World War.
Our story
Drawing on a heritage spanning seven generations
When Mayer Amschel Rothschild created his family business in the s he understood the value of building a reputation for trust, and preserving that reputation for the long term.
Our heritage provides us with both a strong foundation, and a clear vision for the future.”
ALEXANDRE DE ROTHSCHILD — Executive Chairman
When his five sons expanded the business across Europe at the turn of the 19th century they, in turn, appreciated the importance of close collaboration, trusted relationships, and detailed local market knowledge which remain as important to Rothschild & Co today as they did then.
These qualities were enshrined in the foundation document of our modern business, the Rothschild family’s first partnership agreement, created by Mayer Amschel in 1810. The tenets of the agreement became the business model adopted by his five sons as they established the business in the financial centres of Europe – London, Paris, Vienna, Naples and Frankfurt.
Supported by their wives and extended connections, the brothers established the family business reputation and network in new markets. By investing in expertise, their businesses became seen as the authority on new ventures and markets. 200 years later and today, in our seventh generation of family leadership, the tenets of the original agreement, and the acumen of the five brothers and their families, are evident in the way we approach our businesses, and our people.
We have remained at the centre of the world’s financial markets for more than two centuries, through changing times and upheavals. An “eighteenth century start-up”, we have retained an entrepreneurial spirit, embracing innovation and never resting on our laurels.
Anniversaries of
Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founding father, is born
Salomon von Rothschild is born, later the founder of the Viennese business
James de Rothschild registers his Bank with the Paris Tribunal de Commerce, formally creating the family’s French business
We co-issue the Austrian Government 5% Loan to raise £2.5m towards repayment of Austria's debt to Great Britain for the defence of Belgium
We help to create the Alliance British and Foreign Life and Fire Assurance Co, to address the exclusion of Jews and Quakers from British insurance market
We issue loans for the Brazilian and Neapolitan Governments
We issue 62.5m Francs of bonds for the Eastern Railway of France
Construction of the Rothschild orphanage at rue Lamblardie, Paris
The outbreak of World War I: Lionel de Rothschild heads the City Recruiting Office hosted at New Court, our London office
We co-issue state loans for Czechoslovakia and Hungary
We launch our Wealth Management business in Milan
Some key moments in our story
The Rothschild family traces its origins back to 15th century Frankfurt. The records of our Group begin with Mayer Amschel Rothschild in 1769, who built a successful family business.
Mayer Amschel created the first partnership agreement, adopted by his five sons as they established the business in the financial centres of Europe – London, Paris, Vienna, Naples and Frankfurt.
s
The five brothers combined their local knowledge, networks, and entrepreneurial spirit to become leaders and innovators with international reach.
An early success was their transformation of the sovereign bond market, creating better outcomes for both lender and borrower. The brothers' businesses would go on to issue bonds and loans for countries on every continent.
s
Rothschild support for new innovations and new global markets helped shape the future of our world.
A key example is railways, helping to establish early networks in France, India, Brazil and other countries, which opened up new markets and increased social mobility.
Other transformative projects included shipping canals, the London Underground, and mining where our assessment of opportunities was seen as authoritative.
s onwards
The Rothschild family’s business endeavours were seen as highly principled as well as successful, reflecting their commitment to ‘doing the right thingʼ. Many potentially profitable ventures were turned down on questions of principle. The businesses and family members used their expertise and influence to drive positive social change in a rapidly industrialising world, funding significant housing, healthcare and education projects.
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Rothschild family members worked together across Europe to promote peace in the build-up to the Franco-Prussian war.
The French business endured significant adversity during the invasion. Members of the business attended the peace negotiations, and helped France raise sufficient funds to complete payments two years ahead of schedule, ending the Prussian occupation.
Following the devastating 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, the UK business participated in the Tokyo Reconstruction loan to help the Japanese state rebuild the city.
Rothschild family businesses endured World War II through the tenacity, optimism and skill of their people. Members of the French family in exile in New York created the basis of our modern US business.
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The group re-established itself in peacetime. The French business developed rapidly post-war, particularly in Asset Management and Wealth Management.
We established new offices in every corner of the globe, from Milan to Mexico, Jakarta to Johannesburg, Sydney to São Paulo, reflecting our understanding of the importance of local knowledge in a transforming world.
s
The Group became leaders in new areas of financial services, such as privatisations, devising a programme for the UK and adapting it for many countries.
A major challenge to our French business was its nationalisation by the Government, losing its historic home and ability to trade under the family’s name.
Led by David and Éric de Rothschild, family members and associates worked together across borders to rebuild the French business, regaining its market-leading position and use of the family name.
Our French and UK businesses merged to create a unified group with a single and clear vision under the leadership of David de Rothschild.
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We continue to pool our expertise, extend our global reach and innovate new solutions for the benefit of our clients.
Significant events include our French wealth management business’ merger with Banque Martin Maurel in 2016, the launch of Global Advisory’s Financing Advisory offering, and the creation of Five Arrows.
Rothschild & Co delisted from the Euronext Paris stock exchange, demonstrating the family’s confidence in our business. We strengthened our shareholding structure, reflecting our belief in collegiality and partnership.
Our approach to business
Rothschild & Co is a family-controlled group of three established and highly complementary market-leading businesses, united by a shared approach.
Our common approach is a unique fusion of our heritage, scale and expertise.
This creates a differentiated proposition that benefits our clients, partners, stakeholders and colleagues. It helps us to build strong market positions for each of our businesses and supports our Group’s sustainable performance and growth.
The way we do business
- Client focus – building enduring relationships, remaining highly connected and valuing long-term success
- Excellence – demonstrating deep know-how and breadth of experience, considered and strategic thinking and an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset
- Partnership culture – collaborating, sharing knowledge and opportunities and seeking synergies between businesses
- Strong principles – committed to a culture of integrity and doing the right thing
- Global reach built from local presence – enabling us to fully understand our clients’ ecosystems, and bridge cross-border differences
- Sustainability – a long-term ambition to use our expertise and influence to help facilitate the sustainability transition of the global economy.
Our global scale
We understand the importance of local knowledge and close proximity to our clients in providing exceptional service. The unrivalled scale of our global network enables us to assist our clients wherever they, their business or their assets are located.
> For contact details of our offices please visit our website
Countries
Locations
Our people
Rothschild & Co is a company of opportunity, entrepreneurialism and growth.
Our approach to our people is rooted in the family motto and our approach to business. They inform our leadership ethos and the way we hire and develop our colleagues.
For more than 200 years our success has been built upon our people. Throughout that time, we have been driven by the pursuit of excellence – always going the extra mile for our clients while taking a long-term view, seeking success and growth that can be measured over decades. We believe that enduring success requires innovation, openness to change and listening closely to the evolving needs of our clients.
We are like the mechanism of a watch... each part is essential.”
SALOMON VON ROTHSCHILD TO HIS BROTHER NATHAN MAYER ROTHSCHILD, C.
A strong and distinct culture
We are, at our core, a family-owned business. The enduring role of the family has a lasting influence on our culture. We place great emphasis on integrity and doing the right thing, on building trust, treating others fairly, and holding ourselves and each other accountable for our decisions and what we do.
Teamwork has always been fundamental to our approach. By collaborating within and across teams, we can bring the combined strength and breadth of our abilities to bear on our clients’ challenges.
To support the diverse range of clients we work with across the world effectively, we build teams with a broad mix of backgrounds, skills and experience. We take pride in a workplace where everyone feels welcome, included and respected.
As a people business, we understand the importance of nurturing talent to the future success of our group.”
ALEXANDRE DE ROTHSCHILD — Executive Chairman
A long-term approach to colleague growth
We invest in finding the right colleagues to take our group forward. We hire the best minds and are creative in where we find them, providing market-leading early careers programmes where new joiners can make an important contribution to our Group from day one.
Once we find the right people, we invest deeply in their professional growth and development to help them build a successful career with us, and to the benefit of our clients. We provide a broad range of learning opportunities that support individuals in building new skills and increasing knowledge at every stage of their careers, including mentoring and wellbeing support. We recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to career development.
Rothschild & Co is the sum total of our outstanding people.
> To learn more about working at Rothschild & Co, and for current career opportunities, please visit our website
selected numbers
Managing Directors completed the flagship inclusive leadership programme
new joiners were welcomed to the group, of which 40% were women
joined us through the global graduate programme
colleagues actively contributed to the group diversity, inclusion and balance strategy through their roles on global and regional committees
+
hours of training focused on building inclusive behaviour
Our sustainability priorities
As a long-term oriented business, we want to use our expertise and influence to help facilitate the sustainability transition of the global economy.
The rapidly evolving sustainability landscape presents both a challenge and an opportunity for many of our clients, as they balance short-term risks and opportunities with long-term outcomes and ambitions. As a family-controlled and diversified financial services group, with more than 200 years of experience, we can play a role in supporting clients on their transition journey and in navigating change.
Our revised sustainability priority framework provides us with focus and a long-term roadmap for the nuanced consideration of most relevant sustainability risks, impacts and opportunities across all our activities.
Throughout 2024 our investment businesses continued to develop and implement their Responsible Investment strategy according to the legal framework and asset class specificities. Our Global Advisory business continued to take a leading advisory role on transactions relating to innovative energy and climate transition technology and energy management1. In the meantime, the Group revised its targets and commitments aimed at fostering a diverse and inclusive people culture, as well as reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions.
Low-carbon transition
Helping sustain and grow value from the low-carbon transition for our clients, our investors, and our businesses
- Advising our clients on navigating, retaining and realising value from the low-carbon transition
- Identifying transition-related investment opportunities for our clients and investors
- Using our influence to promote transition-related technologies
- Managing inherent climate-related investment risks and impacts
- Decarbonising our own footprint
Distinct people culture
Attracting, developing and retaining high-potential, team-oriented and self-motivated colleagues to deliver the best expertise for our businesses, our clients and investors
- Attracting, retaining and progressing diverse individuals and fostering a culture that values and unlocks their broad perspectives and skills
- Providing professional development opportunities and the conditions to enable individuals to build skills, maximise their potential and progress in their careers
- Encouraging respect for colleagues’ life outside of work
- Encouraging responsible employment practices through engagement with companies
Business conduct
Conducting business fairly and with integrity to sustain the trust of our clients and our investors, and to protect our Group in the long term
- Fostering a responsible Group culture and prudent approach to risk that protects our clients, investors and our business in the long-term
- Preserving the confidentiality of the information shared with us by our clients, investors and employees
- Encouraging responsible business conduct through engagement with companies
Key numbers and targets
c.%
absolute reduction in operational greenhouse gas emissions
Operational 2030 targets
35% reduction of scope 3 business travel-related emissions per FTE and 42% absolute reduction of scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions (2023 baseline)
Five Arrows 2029 target
39% of eligible private equity portfolio by invested value with SBTi-validated targets (100% by 2040)
Asset Management 2030 target
75% of directly managed open-ended funds’ assets invested in companies with objectives aligned with a 1.5°C scenario
.%
female assistant directors and above
.%
female members in management board2
.%
female members in group partners committee2
2029 target
33% Female Assistant Director and above
2030 target
30% Female Members on Management Board and on the Group Partners Committee
All figures provided are as of 31 December 2024, except where stated differently 1. LSEG, Sustainable Finance Review: M&A, Financial Adviser League Table, by number of transactions, excl. accountancy firms. 2. As of February 2025
Our philanthropic foundation
R&CoGenerations is the group’s philanthropic foundation.
Its mission is to empower future generations and build a better world.
We fund and invest in purpose-led organisations committed to developing sustainable and impactful solutions that address social inequalities and combat climate change. We seek to drive change by supporting global and local initiatives across three strategic pillars. Our philanthropic activities are a continuation of the Rothschild family’s and the Group’s enduring tradition of philanthropy. They reflect the values and principles that have guided us for more than 200 years.
Strategic pillars
Championing education, skills and talents to help young people reach their potential
Nurturing young minds to be tomorrow’s innovators
Advancing social and environmental solutions to enhance communities for future generations
Tools for impact
We engage with non-profits and social enterprises to make the greatest possible impact, bringing together the combined resources and talents of Rothschild & Co. Our contribution includes:
> To learn more about R&Co4Generations, visit our website
achievements
,+
beneficiaries aged - supported1, primarily from under-resourced backgrounds
%
of beneficiaries have notably improved their confidence, soft skills, and academic performance through project participation
charity partners working in countries
/
of charity partners addressing biodiversity loss and environmental issues
%
of colleagues engaged2 with R&CoGenerations' activities
,
hours of colleague volunteering
The reporting period is 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024. The preparation and coordination of the 2024 Progress Report involved members of Rothschild & Co Group entities, the King Baudouin Foundation and R&Co4Generations’ partner charities. 1. Support includes restricted and unrestricted funding. 2. Directly interacted with partners or the foundation through volunteering, giving, and events.
Celebrating the Power of Sport
In 2024 we witnessed the profound impact of sport on society, uniting people from diverse backgrounds and transcending cultural, racial, and socioeconomic boundaries. In celebration of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games we established a network of 24 non-profits across 13 countries, who use sport to promote education, inclusion and the empowerment of women and girls.
Additionally, over 700 Rothschild & Co colleagues from 15 countries participated in our new Power of Sport Challenge to raise funds for our network of partners, logging 26,000 hours of activity from rock climbing to archery and sharing 2,700 photos.
Empowering New York City’s youth through STEAM
Renaissance Youth Center is a haven for New York City's at-risk youth, helping them become empowered, productive and responsible members of society through dynamic education, music, and sports programmes. R&Co4Generations supports their STEAM programme (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) for children aged 5-13. In 2024, we supported skills development in 120 students, among them Jonathan, age 11, who created his own video game with Scratch coding.
