Hannah Rothschild on privilege, duty and shaping a centuries-old dynasty

Hannah Mary Rothschild was born in London in 1962 and grew up with her sisters Beth and Emily and her brother Nathaniel, the 5th Baron Rothschild. Her father, Jacob, 4th Baron Rothschild, was known for his work in finance, the arts and philanthropy until his death early last year.

Although she did not join the family business after her studies, she remained connected to the charitable work supported by her family.

“From a very young age, we were involved in family charities,” she said.

At the UK-based Rothschild Foundation, which she now heads, she describes the three main missions as arts and culture, community, and environment. “What we tend to support are charities and existing organisations, because they are more integrated into the community.”

One of the Foundation’s main activities is the preservation of Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, a French Renaissance-style palace with a world-class art collection and landscaped gardens that attracts approximately 400,000 visitors annually.

“Basically, we want people to understand what the collection is and why it is important and why history is important,” she said.

As for Yad Hanadiv, which operates in Israel, the priority is to allocate more resources to education, with the aim of strengthening the foundations of an open and vibrant democratic society. Yad Hanadiv’s programs include promoting equal educational and professional opportunities for the country’s Arab community.

“When my ancestors created it, we prepared it for everyone, regardless of their religion and belief,” she said. “That informs everything we do.”

On the investment side, Hanna said she leaves decisions at RIT and other entities to senior executives. In her personal portfolio, she has 10% gold and 1% cryptocurrencies.

“I don’t really understand cryptocurrencies… I still think there’s an aspect of the Emperor’s New Clothes,” she said, though she added that she didn’t want to deliberately ignore a trend that might be here to stay.

In response to a question about the Rothschild family’s continued success over more than two centuries, Hanna said that the simple rule that binds family members is “togetherness.” Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who founded the trading empire in the 1760s, later sent his five sons to various major capitals of Europe from their base in Frankfurt, creating an early international banking network through constant contact.

While the family business empire relies heavily on outside expertise, “we also believe that there is a kind of rule within the family that is wise and thoughtful, which I think is a kind of principle,” she said.

Communication is also important, she added. Previous generations of the Rothschilds understood that business was done not only in the boardroom, but also on the “dance floor.”

“Business is who you know, and how you interact with people,” she said. “So they realized they had to get more sophisticated, and they set out to make themselves more sophisticated.”

She shared an anecdote about fox hunting, which was a major socialization activity with local landowners and a natural way for the family to demonstrate their social standing. After the Rothschilds were excluded from some hunting parties, the family bought land and organized their own events.

Hannah described the most challenging aspect of running a family organization as managing sensitivities, as people have different ways of looking at things.

“It’s a constant adjustment, legacy and succession… I think as people change, you have to adjust the legacy, you have to adjust the succession,” she said.

As the largest Rothschild family of its generation, it sees its role as educating the next generation and making them feel like they are part of the family and have a role to play.

“My hopes for the Rothschild legacy are that we continue to use our enormous privileges, the money we have raised, and the good reputation we have fostered to help others, beyond our own family.”