Highlights

  • The Rothschilds have built a seismic fortune through banking, international connections, and savvy investments over three centuries.
  • Rich in more than just wealth, they have married into royalty and continue to diversify their fortune to retain their power.
  • While estimates of individual net worth can be challenging due to secrecy, some members, like David de Rothschild, have staggering levels of wealth.

Their name is synonymous with extraordinary wealth, power and privilege. Indeed, the Rothschilds are a family like no other, and have amassed seismic wealth over the past three centuries. The international dynasty gained their billions through banking, starting from humble beginnings in Frankfurt, Germany during the 1700s with founder Mayer Amschel Rothschild, and steadily rising to become one of the richest families in the world.

Through their impressive connections, members have married into royalty and made unions with similarly wealthy families such as the Rockefellers and the Hiltons, when James Rothschild married Nicky Hilton.

Today, the family's total net worth is estimated at an eye-watering $400 billion, with some estimates ranging to an astonishing $1 trillion.

Although the family's bank balance and influence has waned slightly since its peak during the 19th century, they still hold one of the largest private fortunes in the world, and remain active in the fields of finance, mining, and real estate, in addition to their philanthropic work. Through diversifying and continually adapting to new trends, the family has managed to keep hold of their fortune across the centuries.

While there is no doubt that the family is certainly extremely wealthy, it is hard to make concrete estimates on the net worths of individuals, and the family's extreme secrecy (which has led to certain conspiracy theories about them) only makes ranking the members more difficult.

But despite these limitations, let's run down a list of the richest living members of the family, ranked by their individual net worth, based on what we know.

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Updated February 2024: On February 26, it was announced that the most senior member of the Rothschild family had passed away. Lord Jacob Rothschild passed away at the age of 87. A cause of death has not been revealed, although there were no reports of ill health before Rothschild's passing. His daughter, Hannah, will be succeeding him as the chair of the Rothschild Foundation.

Given he is no longer living, Rothschild has been removed from this list. At his time of death, Rothschild was worth an estimated $5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

4 Nathaniel Rothschild

Net Worth: $1 Billion

Nat Rothschild
via YouTube
  • Career: Hedge fund investor

Nathaniel has been dubbed by The New York Times as the man who 'may become the richest Rothschild'. Aged just 52, Nathaniel 'Nat' Rothschild is heir apparent to the title Baron Rothschild, which was held by his father, Jacob.

An alumnus of Eton College and Oxford University, Nathaniel has built upon his family's experience and amassed a wide range of business interests, having worked for hedge funds and invested heavily in coal mining across the world.

His net worth is estimated in the region of $1 billion, though he is rumored to be in line for a $40 billion inheritance set up in Swiss trusts - and this figure may be a very conservative estimate.

3 James Rothschild

Net Worth: $1.3 Billion

James Rothschild and Nicky Hilton
via Instar
  • Career: Financing and banking

Financier and banking heir James Rothschild, 36, is another extremely wealthy member of the Rothschild family. The British businessman is one of the founders of Tru Arrow. He's also worked for Rothschild & Co in the past, and serves on the next gen advisory council at Rockefeller Capital Management.

He is the son of the late Amschel Rothschild, one of the richest members of the British branch of the family, and is also famous for his glamorous union with the similarly wealthy heiress and socialite Nicky Hilton, marrying in 2015 in a star-studded ceremony at Kensington Palace, London, with Nicky's sister Paris as maid of honor.

The couple share two daughters together, Lily and Theodora. They also welcomed a son in July 2022. However, the couple has opted to keep his name under wraps.

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2 Ariane de Rothschild

Net Worth: $1.4 Billion

Ariane Rothschild
via YouTube
  • Career: Banker and winery owner

The wife of the late Benjamin de Rothschild, a French banker and owner of several vineyards, Ariane de Rothschild likely inherited her husband's enormous fortune, which was estimated by Forbes to be around $1.4 billion when he died.

The son of Edmond Adolphe, a financier and lead member of the French branch of the family, Benjamin inherited and built upon an enormous family fortune and was one of the richest members of the Rothschild family at the time of his death. He and Ariane married in 1999, and shared four daughters together.

Inheritance aside, Ariane is also a banker, herself, and made history as the first woman to ever run a Rothschild banking institution. That's still not all, though. Ariane is also the first woman in Geneva to be at the helm of a private bank.

Ariane has continued adding to the family's wealth by way of the wine business. In July 2023, she purchased a New Zealand wine farm that specializes in pinot noir.

1 David Mayer de Rothschild

Net Worth: $10 Billion

David Mayer de Rothschild
via Instar
  • Career: Ecoexplorer

Perhaps the most intrepid of all the Rothschilds, David Mayer, 45, is a well-known adventurer and environmentalist, who has made several polar and tropical expeditions and has sailed on the ship Plastiki to raise awareness of ocean plastic pollution.

For his work, the enthusiastic environmentalist has received significant recognition among his peers, and has published a series of books on his experiences traveling in remote regions.

Various sources estimate his wealth to be around $10 billion, the vast majority of which comes from his sizable inheritances. There's also a chance he earned some cash from work as an ambassador for Hyundai's IONIQ electric cars.

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Source: Celebrity Net Worth, BusinessInsider