Maurice Edmond Charles de Rothschild (1881-1957)

Maurice Edmond Charles de Rothschild was the second son of Edmond de Rothschild and was born at Boulogne-sur-Seine on 19 May 1881. He was considered by some members of the family to be a wayward character, displaying rather too fond an interest in leisure activities, and too little in the business which supported them. However, well into his middle years, he became a 'self-made' billionaire, through skilled investments in the markets. Maurice created for himself a political career, serving as a senator for the Hautes-Pyrénées from 1919 and then from 1924 of the Hautes-Alpes.

Maurice married Noémie Halphen in Paris in 1888. Maurice followed his father into membership of the Academy of Fine Arts, in recognition of his collecting tastes which he had honed during a short spell as a picture dealer. Maurice had also organised a zoological expedition to Africa and wrote scientific papers.

Maurice and Noémie inherited some of the Rothschilds' finest properties: on rue du Monceau and rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré in Paris, Armainvilliers and Pregny, where he died on 5 September 1957.

See also Noémie de Rothschild (née Halphen) »