The Rothschilds

Japanese: ロスチャイルド家 - ろすちゃいるどけ（英語表記）the Rothschilds

A Jewish international financial conglomerate. Its founder, Mayer Amschel R. (1744-1812), started an antique coin dealer in Frankfurt in the 18th century, and built Europe's largest financial empire during the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars. The family has survived numerous revolutions, wars, and depressions, and today operates on a global scale not only in finance, but also in many other businesses, including oil, gold, diamonds, and wine.

[Sanshiro Yokoyama]

Founded in the 1760s

The Rothschild family, known in English as the Rothschilds and in German as the Rothschilds (meaning "Red Shield"), are of Jewish descent. Their business dates back to the 1760s, when Mayer Amschel, who had made acquaintances with the royal families and aristocrats of Germany as an antique coin dealer, expanded his business from currency exchange to bill discounting and foreign loans. Starting with sending his third son, Nathan Mayer R. (1777-1836), to England, he deployed his five sons in Frankfurt, London, Paris, Vienna, and Naples, and developed financial activities in a quintuple-centered system that crossed borders, which was groundbreaking at the time.

[Sanshiro Yokoyama]

The largest financial conglomerate in Europe in the 19th century

In the early 19th century, the family managed the assets of feudal lords who had been driven out by Napoleon, managing them on the London market, and made huge profits by dealing in skyrocketing commodities when Napoleon banned trade with Britain with the Continental System (1806). It is said that the family made huge profits on the market after quickly obtaining information through their own channels that Napoleon had been defeated by General Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. When the old powers of the Holy Alliance, revived after the victory, tried to ignore the emerging Rothschild family, the family disrupted the financial markets, demonstrating their power, and was entrusted with the finances of the Holy Roman Empire of Austria by Habsburg Chancellor Metternich. In this way, the family had a near monopoly on issuing and underwriting government bonds of various countries, and as the largest and most powerful financial conglomerate in 19th century Europe, they also influenced politics.

As the Industrial Revolution reached the industrialization stage and European countries began to manage their colonies, the family provided the funds, further increasing their assets by lending to a variety of sectors, from railroads to oil (Royal Dutch Shell) and diamonds (De Beers Consolidated Mines). When Britain bought 44% of the Suez Canal from Egypt, the Rothschilds provided the full financing. Their enormous power continued into the early 20th century, and during the Russo-Japanese War, the N.M. Rothschild Bank in London assisted Japan in issuing war bonds, against the backdrop of Britain's hostile relationship with Russia.

[Sanshiro Yokoyama]

After World War II

After World War II, the family was reduced to just the Paris and London branches, but the Paris branch recovered its assets that had been confiscated during the war, and the head of the family, Guy de Rothschild (1909-2007), fought well for Free France, which earned him favor with the De Gaulle government, and he appointed Georges Pompidou, who would later become prime minister and then president, as head of the Rothschild Brothers Bank, which led to a rapid recovery. When President Mitterrand's left-wing government came to power in 1981, it nationalized key industries, including the Rothschild Brothers Bank and mining companies, but this nationalization policy ended in failure and was revised, and the Paris branch survived.

The London branch, centered on the N.M. Rothschild Bank in the financial district of the City, lost its former strength as Britain went into decline after losing its colonies, and was further pursued by large commercial banks in the United States and then Japan, causing it to become relatively small and weak. However, the family's drive to be active has not diminished, with new investment trust banks, venture capital companies, and life insurance companies being established one after another, and investment areas ranging from wine (Ch. Lafite Rothschild in Bordeaux and Ch. Mouton Rothschild) to leisure (Club Med).

[Sanshiro Yokoyama]

Once again a global financial conglomerate

After the Cold War, a single market was established in Europe in 1993, and the euro currency began circulating in 2002. This has led to intensified competition in a wide range of industries, leading to the formation of alliances and alliances. The Rothschild banks in Paris and London are ranked highly for their track record in arranging corporate M&A (mergers and acquisitions), and the brand and know-how of the Rothschild family, which has always operated across borders, is once again being valued.

The Rothschild family has been difficult to see due to the secrecy of the "don't talk" policy and the family precepts of only allowing direct male descendants to participate in management since the first Mayer. However, some family members have published autobiographies, and the true nature of this international financial conglomerate that has survived like a phoenix, surviving countless social upheavals such as revolutions, wars, the Great Depression, and financial crises, is gradually becoming clear.

The Rothschild family, international financial capitalists who transcend national borders, are incompatible with nationalism and have distanced themselves from the movement to return to Mount Zion (Zionism). However, they have generously supported settlers and have engaged in charitable activities in Israel, which was founded in 1948.

[Sanshiro Yokoyama]

"The Rothschilds," by Nakagawa Keiichiro (included in "The Road to Great Fortune -- Western Europe," edited by Matsuda Tomoo, 1955, Chuokoron-Shinsha)" ▽ "The Rothschild Brothers," by Nakagi Yasuo (included in "People Who Changed the 20th Century," Vol. 9, edited by Okakura Koshiro, 1962, Kodansha)" ▽ "The Rothschilds -- The Mysterious Kingdom of European Finance," by Bouvier, translated by Inoue Ryuichiro (1969, Kawade Shobo Shinsha)" ▽ "The History of the Jewish People, vols. 1-6, edited by H.H. Ben-Sasson and chief editor of the Japanese edition by Ishida Tomoo (1978, Rokuko Publishing)" ▽ "The Rothschilds," by Tanaka Tomoyoshi (included in "French Business History," edited by Hara Terufumi, 1980, Yuhikaku)" ▽ "The Rothschilds -- The Financial Kingdom That Changed the World," by Nakagi Yasuo (1980, Seibundo Shinkosha)" ▽ "Banks: Rulers of the World, from Rothschild to Morgan, by Jean Bommier, translated by Kuroki Hisatoki (1984, Toyo Keizai Shinposha)" ▽ "The Rothschild Autobiography, by Guy de Rothschild, translated by Sakai Denroku (1990, Shinchosha)" ▽ "The Rothschild Kingdom, by Frederick Morton, translated by Takahara Tomiyasu (1991, Shinchosha)" ▽ "The Financial History of Japan, from the Ansei Opening to the Eve of High Economic Growth, by Tamaki Norio (1994, Yuhikaku)" ▽ "The Rothschild Autobiography: A Fruitful Life, by Edmund de Rothschild, translated by Furukawa Osamu (1999, Chuokoron-Shinsha)" ▽ "The Rothschilds: A Story of Wealth and Power, Volumes 1 and 2, by Derrick Wilson, translated by Motohashi Tamaki (Shincho Bunko)" ▽ "The Rothschilds: The Rise and Fall of the Jewish International Business Group" by Sanshiro Yokoyama (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ユダヤの国際金融財閥。18世紀、フランクフルトで古銭商を始めたマイヤー・アムシェルMayer Amschel R.（1744―1812）を始祖として、ナポレオン戦争の混乱期にヨーロッパ最大の金融王国を築いた。一族は幾多の革命、戦乱、恐慌を乗り切って今日も地球規模で金融業務だけでなく、石油や金、ダイヤモンド、ワインなど多くの事業を展開している。

［横山三四郎］

1760年代に創始

英語でロスチャイルド、ドイツ語でロートシルト（「赤い楯(たて)」の意）とよばれる一族はユダヤ人の家系である。その営業は1760年代にさかのぼり、古銭商としてドイツ地方の王侯貴族に知己を得たマイヤー・アムシェルが、両替から手形割引、対外借款などへと事業を広げたことに始まる。三男のネイサン・マイヤーNathan Mayer R.（1777―1836）をイギリスに送ったのを皮切りに、5人の息子をフランクフルト、ロンドン、パリ、ウィーン、ナポリに配し、当時としては画期的な国境を越えた五極体制で金融活動を展開した。

［横山三四郎］

19世紀にヨーロッパ最大の金融財閥に

19世紀初頭、一族はナポレオンに追われた封建領主の資産を預かってロンドン市場で運用、またナポレオンが大陸封鎖令（1806）でイギリスとの交易を禁じたさいには暴騰した商品を扱って大儲けした。1815年6月のワーテルローの戦いでは、ナポレオンがウェリントン将軍と戦って敗れたとの情報を独自ルートでいち早くつかんで市場で巨利を得たとされる。勝利して復活した神聖同盟の旧勢力が新興のロスチャイルド家を無視しようとすると、金融市場を混乱させてその力のほどをみせつけ、ハプスブルク家の宰相メッテルニヒからオーストリアの神聖ローマ帝国の財政を委ねられた。こうして各国の国債発行、引き受けをほぼ独占して、19世紀のヨーロッパの最大・最強の金融財閥として政治をも動かした。

　産業革命が工業化の段階に至り、ヨーロッパ諸国が植民地経営に乗り出すと、一族はその資金を提供、鉄道から石油（ロイヤル・ダッチ・シェル）、ダイヤモンド（デビアスDe Beers Consolidated Mines）などさまざまな分野に融資して資産をさらに増やした。イギリスがエジプトからスエズ運河の株44％を買ったときはロスチャイルド家が全額融資した。絶大な力は20世紀初頭まで続き、日露戦争ではイギリスのロシアとの敵対関係を背景に、ロンドンのN・M・ロスチャイルド銀行が日本の戦時国債の発行に協力した。

［横山三四郎］

第二次世界大戦後

第二次世界大戦後に一族はパリとロンドンの分家だけになったが、パリの方は戦時中に接収された資産を取り戻すとともに、当主ギー・ド・ロスチャイルドGuy de Rothschild（1909―2007）が自由フランスのためによく戦ったことからドゴール政権に好感をもたれて、後に首相から大統領になるジョルジュ・ポンピドーをロスチャイルド兄弟銀行の頭取に迎えて急速に復興した。大統領ミッテランの左翼政権が1981年に誕生すると、基幹産業の国有化を行い、ロスチャイルド兄弟銀行と鉱山会社も国有化されたが、この国有化政策は失敗に終わって見直され、パリ分家は生き延びた。

　金融街シティーにあるN・M・ロスチャイルド銀行を中心とするロンドン分家はイギリスが植民地を失って衰退するとともにかつての勢いを失い、さらにアメリカ、次いで日本の大規模な商業銀行に追撃されて相対的に小規模になって弱体化した。しかし新たに投資信託銀行やベンチャー投資会社、生命保険会社を次々と設立、投資分野もワイン（ボルドーのラフィットCh. Lafite Rothschild、ムートンCh. Mouton Rothschild）からレジャー（地中海クラブClub Med）まで多岐にわたって一族の活動意欲は衰えていない。

［横山三四郎］

ふたたび世界の金融財閥に

冷戦後のヨーロッパでは1993年から単一市場が発足、2002年からはユーロ通貨が流通した。このためあらゆる分野の産業で競争が激化して合従連衡(がっしょうれんこう)が行われるようになっているが、パリ、ロンドンのロスチャイルド銀行は企業のM＆A（合併・買収）取りまとめ実績で上位にあり、つねに国境を越えて活動してきたロスチャイルド家のブランドとノウハウがふたたび評価されている。

　ロスチャイルド家の姿はこれまで「語るなかれ」という秘密保持と、直系の男子しか経営に参加させない初代マイヤー以来の家訓のためになかなかみえなかった。しかし一族のなかには自叙伝を出す者も現われ、革命や戦争、大不況、金融危機など無数の社会変動をしのいで、不死鳥さながら存続してきた国際金融財閥の実像が明らかになりつつある。

　国境を越える国際金融資本であるロスチャイルド家は民族主義とは相いれず、シオンの丘への帰還運動（シオニズム）には距離を置いた。しかし入植者に対しては寛大な支援を惜しむことなく、また建国（1948年）されたイスラエルでも慈善活動を行っている。

［横山三四郎］

『中川敬一郎著『ロスチャイルド』（松田智雄編『巨富への道――西欧編』所収・1955・中央公論社）』▽『中木康夫著『ロスチャイルド兄弟』（岡倉古志郎編『20世紀を動かした人々』第9所収・1962・講談社）』▽『ブービエ著、井上隆一郎訳『ロスチャイルド――ヨーロッパ金融界の謎の王国』（1969・河出書房新社）』▽『H・H・ベンサッソン編、石田友雄・日本語版総編集『ユダヤ民族史』1～6（1978・六興出版）』▽『田中友義著『ロスチャイルド』（原輝史編『フランス経営史』所収・1980・有斐閣）』▽『中木康夫著『ロスチャイルド家――世界を動かした金融王国』（1980・誠文堂新光社）』▽『ジャン・ボミエ著、黒木寿時訳『地球の支配者　銀行――ロスチャイルドからモルガンまで』（1984・東洋経済新報社）』▽『ギー・ド・ロスチャイルド著、酒井伝六訳『ロスチャイルド自伝』（1990・新潮社）』▽『フレデリック・モートン著、高原富保訳『ロスチャイルド王国』（1991・新潮社）』▽『玉置紀夫著『日本金融史――安政の開国から高度成長前夜まで』（1994・有菱閣）』▽『エドマンド・デ・ロスチャイルド著、古川修訳『ロスチャイルド自伝――実り豊かな人生』（1999・中央公論新社）』▽『デリク・ウィルソン著、本橋たまき訳『ロスチャイルド――富と権力の物語』上下（新潮文庫）』▽『横山三四郎著『ロスチャイルド家――ユダヤ国際財閥の興亡』（講談社現代新書）』