Benjamin de Rothschild, the Jewish scion of the famous Rothschild banking dynasty who oversaw the banking empire started by his father in 1953, died of a heart attack on Friday at his home in Pregny, Switzerland at the age of 57.

De Rothschild was born in 1963, to Baron Edmond and Baroness Nadine de Rothschild. In 1997, when he was 34, he took over the Switzerland-based Edmond de Rothschild Group named for his father.

The Edmond de Rothschild Group owns an investment firm in Israel and has donated significant sums to various causes, including a NIS 50 million donation in April to purchase medical equipment for Israel’s hospitals to assist in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

De Rothschild, whose assets are estimated today at about $190 billion, is survived by his wife Ariane, who has managed the Rothchild group with him for many years, and four daughters, Alice, Eve, Olivia, and Naomi.

Ariane, who is not Jewish, has generously donated money to philanthropic causes in Israel over the years.

The Rothschild’s fame dates back to the 19th century, to Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who was born in the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt am Main. He later became the “founding father of international finance” through the banking dynasty he spread through his five sons, who opened branches in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna and Milan.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)