Rothschild banking family of England

Through their collaborative efforts, the Rothschilds rose to prominence in a variety of banking endeavours, including loans, government bonds and trading in bullion.

Their financing afforded investment opportunities, and during the 19th century, they became major stakeholders in large-scale mining and rail transport ventures that were fundamental to the rapidly expanding industrial economies of Europe.

Through the creation of a network of agents, couriers and shippers, the bank was able to provide funds to the armies of the Duke of Wellington in Portugal and Spain.

The providing of other innovative and complex financing for government projects formed a mainstay of the bank's business for the better part of the century.

[citation needed] Nathan Mayer's eldest son, Lionel de Rothschild (1808–1879), succeeded him as head of the London branch.

In 1887, the French and English Rothschild banking houses loaned money to, and invested in, the De Beers diamond mines in South Africa, becoming its largest shareholders.

[1] As a result, some members of the Rothschild family used the nobiliary particle de or von before their surname to acknowledge the grant of nobility.

They built hospitals and shelters for the needy[citation needed], supported cultural institutions and were patrons of individual artists.