Before the Medici family rose to power in the early 15th century, the Peruzzi family was one of Florence’s two premier banking families (alongside the Bardi) that helped pioneer the modern world of banking! Alongside the Bardi, the Peruzzi were ruined by a combination of King Edward III of England Read more…
An early advocate of central banking in the US – a country famed for its disdain for such a concept as it was “too British” – Paul Warburg led a group of bankers including the famed J. P. Morgan to create the Federal Reserve. And whilst not perfect by any Read more…
Today, Goldman Sachs stands as one of the largest investment banks in the world. Yet few know the story of their founder, Marcus Goldman, the humble immigrant who arrived in the US to get a slice of his own American Dream. Early Life The man who history would remember as Read more…
Though his older brothers, Edmond and Joseph, are often touted as being two of the most gifted bankers of family, Moise Safra was arguably the most influential of the three brothers, driving the family to become the “Rothschilds of Latin America” as some call them. He wasn’t necessarily as skillful Read more…
Though the also Jewish Rothschild family are often touted as being the world’s most secretive banking family, that title should instead go to Brazil’s Safra family and their patriarch Jacob Safra, who was arguably the greatest banker no one has ever heard of. He was perhaps even a better banker Read more…
Early Life Frederick Henry Royce was born in the village of Alwalton, in Huntingdonshire, just five miles west of Peterborough on March 27 1863, as the youngest of five children born to flour mill owner James Royce, and his wife, Mary King Royce. Though his first name was legally Frederick, Read more…
Today, few people remember the name “Jacob Schiff” yet during the late 19th century and early 20th century, you would have to travel a long way to find someone who didn’t know his name. A contemporary of bankers like J. P. Morgan, Jacob Schiff was the foremost Jewish banker on Read more…
Today’s Rothschild family are notoriously coy about their wealth, with absolutely no one having any idea how much individual members or the entire family is worth. Yet one broke with this tradition: Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, a member of the family’s French branch. Having been bankers for countless generations, the Read more…
A lawyer by trade, Herb Kelleher famously started Southwest Airlines in 1968. Serving as their in-house counsel and later, CEO, Herb oversaw Southwest’s growth from a small Texas-based carrier to a national carrier that shook up the airline industry! Remaining involved with the company from then until his death 51 Read more…