The business financed the Nordbahn rail transport network, Austria's first steam railway, and also funded various government undertakings where large amounts of capital had to be raised.

[citation needed] Under the direction of Salomon, the Viennese bank was highly successful, playing an integral role in the development of the Austrian economy.

In recognition of his services, he was raised to the Austrian nobility in 1816 by Emperor Francis I, the patent being offered to all five brothers, although declined by Nathan Mayer Rothschild.

Despite the fact that he made substantial contributions to philanthropic causes, the concentration of vast wealth by the few members of the Austrian elite resulted in a growing civil unrest in the country.

[citation needed] By the time of the revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas, anti-Rothschild sentiments were frequently being voiced and written about in broadsheets such as Ein offener Brief an Rothschild.