Julius Philipp was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Germany.
[2] In 1901, he founded a small metal trading company in Hamburg, Germany.
[1] In 1914, with the advent of World War I, Siegfried Bendheim, an apprentice, German citizen, and minor partner in Philipp Brothers, avoided internment by the British government by moving to New York City where he established Philipp Brothers, Inc.[1] Oscar Philipp was not affected by the war as he had previously obtained British citizenship.
[1] In 1923, another apprentice and second cousin to Bendheim, Siegfried Ullmann, moved to the New York office.
[1] In 1934, Julius moved Philipp Brothers' German operations to Amsterdam due to the rise of Nazi Germany.