Sir Evelyn de Rothschild dies aged 91: Financier and philanthropist who helped unite British and French arms of famous banking dynasty and was one of the Queen’s financial advisers passes away ‘peacefully at home’

• Sir Evelyn de Rothschild died ‘peacefully at home’ his family has confirmed 
• He was the CEO of the NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd bank between 1972-1989
• Under his watch, the family bank’s assets ballooned from £40m to £4.6bn
• He was knighted by the late Queen in 1989 for services to banking and finance 

British financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild has died at the age of 91, his family has said in a statement.

Sir Evelyn was the son of Anthony de Rothschild and Yvonne Cahen d’Anvers of the Bischoffsheim banking family.

He is widely recognised as one of the leading philanthropists and financiers of his generation and was knighted by the Queen in 1989 for services to banking and finance. 

A keen horse trainer and owner, Sir Evelyn’s horse Crystal Ocean won the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2018.

In a statement, his family said: ‘It is with great sorrow that Lady de Rothschild announces the death of her beloved husband, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, after a short illness.

‘Sir Evelyn passed away peacefully yesterday evening at his home in London with his loved ones by his side.

‘The family appreciates thoughts and prayers at this very sad time.’

Sir Evelyn de Rothschild has died at the age of 91, his family has said in a statement. He is pictured in 2018 in New York

Born in London in 1931, he was attended Harrow School and the University of Cambridge before dedicating his life to his family’s bank after his father retired in 1961. 

Sir Evelyn was chief executive and chairman of the bank NM Rothschild and Sons Ltd between 1976-2003, and he was chairman of The Economist from 1972-1989.

The financial dynasty had been started by his great-great-great-grandfather in the late 18th century and helped to finance the Duke of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon in the 1815 Battle of Waterloo.

Under Sir Evelyn’s watch his family’s bank’s total assets swelled from £40 million to £4.6 billion.  

In 1989 he was knighted by the Queen for services to banking and finance. 

Before he finally stepped down from his finance role, Sir Evelyn managed to achieve his long-planned goal of uniting the London branch of his family bank –  known today as Rothschild & Co – with its French counterpart, Rothschild & Compagnie Banque.

‘The first important strength of the family is unity,’ he told the New York Times in 1996, as he and his cousin, David de Rothschild, head of the French house, announced their new partnership.

Sir Evelyn was the son of Anthony de Rothschild and Yvonne Cahen d’Anvers of the Bischoffsheim banking family

As well as his role with his family’s bank, Sir Evelyn was also the chairman of the Economist magazine from 1972 to 1989, a paper which he called ‘probably the most important independent publication in the world’ during an interview with Bloomberg News in 2002. 

The Rothschild dynasty was founded by Mayer Amschel, who started out buying and selling old coins in a Frankfurt ghetto.

In the early 1800s, Mayer sent his five sons out across Europe to establishes bases in London, Paris, Vienna, Naples and Frankfurt. 

However, by the 20th century the family’s influence had started to wane, with European countries relying more on American banks to finance both world wars against Germany.  

Sir Evelyn is survived by his wife Lynn, pictured left, three children and two step-sons

Sir Evelyn was married three times, in 1966 to Jeannette Bishop, in 1973 to Victoria Schott, and in 2000 to Lynn Forester.

He had three children with Victoria, and two step-sons with Lynn. 

In later life Sir Evelyn turned to philanthropy, chairing the Eranda Rothschild foundation, which has donated more than £73 million to medical research, education and the arts.

In 2002 he also founded Elephant Family, a conservation charity, with the Rajmata of Jaipur, and the Duchess of Cornwall’s late brother Mark Shand.

In racing circles he is perhaps best known as the owner and breeder of Crystal Ocean, who won eight times for Sir Michael Stoute before being retired at the end of 2019.

A keen horse trainer and owner, Sir Evelyn’s horse Crystal Ocean won the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2018. Sir Evelyn is pictured receiving the trophy at Ascot from King Charles in 2018

The son of Sea The Stars claimed Group One honours in that year’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot under Frankie Dettori. He also won the 2018 Hardwicke Stakes, as well as back-to-back renewals of both the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown and the Al Rayyan Stakes at Newbury. 

Other notable horses to carry the Rothschild silks to big-race success include the Stoute-trained pair of Crystal Capella and Hillstar, with the latter a Royal Ascot winner in the 2013 King Edward VII Stakes before going on to claim the Canadian International the following year.

Sir Evelyn also enjoyed top-level success over jumps courtesy of Ogee, trained by Renee Robeson – winner of the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at the 2009 Grand National meeting at Aintree.

He is survived by his wife Lynn and three children Jessica, Anthony, and David, as well as two step-sons, Benjamin Forester Stein and John Forester Stein. 

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