He bought and sold rare coins, and later succeeded in buying out several other coin dealers. In 1769, he became a court agent for Prince William IX of Hesse-Kassel, who was the grandson of George II of England, a cousin to George III, a nephew of the King of Denmark, and a brother- in-law to the King of Sweden. Soon Rothschild became the middleman for big Frankfurt bankers like the Bethmann Brothers, and Rueppell & Harnier. After expanding his business to antiques, wineries, and the importing of manufactured materials from England, the Rothschild family began to amass a sizable fortune.

Prince William inherited his father's fortune upon his death in 1785, which was the largest private fortune in Europe. Some of this money had come from Great Britain paying for the use of 16,800 Hessian soldiers to stop the revolution in America, because the money was never given to the troops. In 1804, the Rothschilds secretly made loans to the Denmark government, on behalf of Prince William.

In June, 1806, when Napoleon's troops pushed their way into Germany, Prince William fled to Denmark, leaving his money with Mayer Rothschild. History tells us that Rothschild secretly buried William's ledgers, which revealed the full extent of his wealth, a list of debtors and the interest required from them, and 600,000 pounds ($3,000,000), to keep Napoleon from confiscating it. Buderus von Carlhausen ( Carl Buderus), the Treasury official who handled William's finances, was given 'power of attorney,' and he in turn made Rothschild his chief banker, responsible for collecting the interest on the royal loans. Napoleon announced that all debts being paid to Prince William, were to go to the French Treasury, and offered a 25% commission on any debts that he would collect. Rothschild refused.

Developing circumstances soon allowed the Rothschilds to formulate a plan which would guarantee them the financial control of Europe, and soon the world. It began with taking advantage of the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo, which was fought at La-Belle-Alliance, seven miles south of Waterloo, which is a suburb of Brussels, Belgium. Early in the battle, Napoleon appeared to be winning, and the first secret military report to London communicated that fact. However, upon reinforcements from the Prussians, under Gebhard Blucher, the tide turned in favor of Wellington. On Sunday, June 18, 1815, Rothworth, a courier of Nathan Rothschild, head of the London branch of the family, was on the battlefield, and upon seeing that Napoleon was being beaten, went by horse to Brussels, then to Ostende, and for 2,000 francs, got a sailor to get him to England across stormy seas. When Nathan Rothschild received the news on June 20, he informed the government, who did not believe him. So, with everyone believing Wellington to be defeated, Rothschild immediately began to sell all of his stock on the English Stock Market. Everyone else followed his lead, and also began selling, causing stocks to plummet to practically nothing. At the last minute, his agents secretly began buying up the stocks at rock-bottom prices. On June 21, at 11 PM, Wellington's envoy, Major Henry Percy showed up at the War Office with his report that Napoleon had been crushed in a bitter eight hour battle, losing a third of his men. This gave the Rothschild family complete control of the British economy, and forced England to set up a new Bank of England, which Nathan Rothschild controlled.

However, that wasn't the only angle he used to profit from the Battle of Waterloo. Mayer Amschel Rothschild sent some of William's money to his son Nathan in London, and according to the Jewish Encyclopedia: "Nathan invested it in 800,000 pounds of gold from the East India Company, knowing it would be needed for Wellington's peninsula campaign. He made no less than four profits: (1) on the sale of Wellington's paper (which he bought at 50¢ on the dollar); (2) on the sale of gold to Wellington; (3) on its repurchase; and (4) on forwarding it to Portugal. This was the beginning of the great fortune."

After Napoleon's defeat, Prince William returned to resume his rule. Buderus was made a Baron, and the Rothschilds were the richest bankers in Europe.

In 1817, France, in order to get back on their feet again, secured loans from a French banking house in Ouvrard, and from the Baring Brothers in London. The Rothschilds saw their chance to get a firm grip on the French economy, and on October, 1818, Rothschild agents began buying huge amounts of French government bonds, which caused their value to increase. On November 5th, they were dumped on the open market, creating a financial panic as their value declined. Thus, the Rothschilds gained control of France.

Mayer Rothschild had established banks in England, France, and Germany. His sons, who were made Barons of the Austrian Empire, were set up to continue and expand his banking empire. Amschel Mayer Rothschild (1773-1855, who in 1838 said: "Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.") was in charge of the bank in Frankfurt, Germany, which was known as M. A. Rothschild and Sons (which closed in 1901, after the deaths of Mayer Karl and his brother, Wilhelm Karl- the sons of Karl Mayer Rothschild). Salomon Mayer Rothschild (1774-1855) was the head of the bank in Vienna, Austria, known as S. M. Rothschild and Sons (which was closed during World War II after the Nazi occupation).

Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836, who once said: "I care not what puppet is placed upon the throne of England to rule the Empire on which the sun never sets. The man who controls Britain's money supply controls the British Empire, and I control the British money supply.") was the head of the bank in London, England, which was known as N. M. Rothschild and Sons (and has occupied the same premises since 1809, at 2 New Court, St. Swithin's Lane in London, near the Bank of England and Stock Exchange). Karl Mayer Rothschild (1788-1868 ) was the head of the bank in Naples, Italy (closed in 1861). James Mayer Rothschild (1792-1868) was in charge of the bank in Paris, France, which was known as Messieurs de Rothschild Freres (whose name was changed to La Banque Rothschild in 1967).

This was the beginning of the House of Rothschild, which controlled a fortune estimated to be well over $300,000,000. Soon the Rothschilds spanned Europe with railroads, invested in coal and ironworks, financed England's purchase of the Suez Canal, paid for oil exploration in Russia and the Sahara Desert, financed the czars of Russia, supported Cecil Rhodes' diamond operations, aided France in creating an empire in Africa, financed the Hapsburg monarchs, and saved the Vatican from bankruptcy. In this country, through their American and European agents, they helped finance Rockefeller's Standard Oil, Carnegie Steel, and Harriman's Railroad. Werner Sombart, in his book The Jews and Modern Capitalism, said that from 1820 on, it was the "age of the Rothschild" and concluded that there was "only one power in Europe, and that is Rothschild." In 1913, the family fortune was estimated to be over two billion dollars.
After Mayer Rothschild died on September 19, 1812, his will spelled out specific guidelines that were to be maintained by his descendants:

1) All important posts were to be held by only family members, and only male members were to be involved on the business end. The oldest son of the oldest son was to be the head of the family, unless otherwise agreed upon by the rest of the family, as was the case in 1812, when Nathan was appointed as the patriarch.
2) The family was to intermarry with their own first and second cousins, so their fortune could be kept in the family, and to maintain the appearance of a united financial empire. For example, his son James (Jacob) Mayer married the daughter of another son, Salomon Mayer. This rule became less important in later generations as they refocused family goals and married into other fortunes.
3) Rothschild ordered that there was never to be "any public inventory made by the courts, or otherwise, of my estate...Also I forbid any legal action and any publication of the value of the inheritance."

American and British Intelligence have documented evidence that the House of Rothschild, and other International Bankers, have financed both sides of every war, since the American Revolution. Financier Haym Salomon, who supported the patriots during the American Revolution, then later made loans to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe, was a Rothschild agent. As explained earlier, during the Napoleonic Wars, one branch of the family funded Napoleon, while another financed Great Britain, Germany, and other nations. Their boldest maneuver came prior to the Civil War.

The Rothschilds operate out of an area in the heart of London, England, the financial district, which is known as 'The City', or the 'Square Mile.' All major British banks have their main offices here, along with branch offices for 385 foreign banks, including 70 from the United States. It is here that you will find the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange, Lloyd's of London, the Baltic Exchange (shipping contracts), Fleet Street (home of publishing and newspaper interests), the London Commodity Exchange (to trade coffee, rubber, sugar and wool), and the London Metal Exchange. It is virtually the financial hub of the world.

Positioned on the north bank of the Thames River, covering an area of 677 acres or one square mile (known as the "wealthiest square mile on earth"), it has enjoyed special rights and privileges that enabled them to achieve a certain level of independence since 1191. In 1215, its citizens received a Charter from King John, granting them the right to annually elect a mayor (known as the Lord Mayor), a tradition that continues today.

Both E. C. Knuth, in his book Empire of the City, and Des Griffin, in his book Descent into Slavery, stated their belief that 'The City' is actually a sovereign state (much like the Vatican), and that since the establishment of the privately owned Bank of England in 1694, 'The City' has actually become the last word in the country's national affairs, with Prime Minister, Cabinet, and Parliament becoming only a front for the real power. According to Knuth, when the queen enters 'The City,' she is subservient to the Lord Mayor (under him, is a committee of 12-14 men, known as 'The Crown'), because this privately-owned corporation is not subject to the Queen, or the Parliament.

There seems to be little doubt that the Rothschilds continue to influence the world economy, and it is known that they are squarely behind the movement to unite all the western European nations into a single political entity, which is just another step towards one-world government.

Last updated 17/04/2004