Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild

2.1. N M Rothschild & Sons and departure

Rothschild began his career in 1963 at the family bank, N M Rothschild & Sons, in London, where he served as a joint partner. Within the bank, he spearheaded the investment division known as the Rothschild Investment Trust (RIT). Jacob Rothschild was known for his preference for aggressive M&A activities, which led to a substantial influx of external capital into N. M. Rothschild & Sons, enabling numerous corporate acquisitions. One notable acquisition was Grand Metropolitan, which involved one of the largest financial transactions in British history at the time. His strategies significantly boosted the bank's performance.

However, a deep-seated family dispute led to his resignation in 1980. The bank's chairmanship had passed from his father, who had pursued a scientific career and lost control of the majority voting shares, to his distant cousin, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, who held 60% of the shares. Evelyn favored a more conservative approach to banking, clashing with Jacob's bold M&A strategies, which Evelyn deemed overly independent. Although his father, Victor, briefly served as head of the bank in 1975 to mediate the conflict, he ultimately sided with Evelyn, leading Jacob to leave N. M. Rothschild & Sons. He sold his minority stake in the bank but retained independent control of the Rothschild Investment Trust. Evelyn also requested that Jacob cease using the "five arrows" as a trademark, a symbol traditionally associated with the Rothschild family. However, as the symbol was not trademarked, Jacob refused and adopted an "upward-pointing five arrows" logo, a direct counterpoint to N. M. Rothschild & Sons' "downward-pointing five arrows." This split marked a divergence in the family's financial paths, with N. M. Rothschild & Sons returning to conservative management under Evelyn, while RIT pursued aggressive investment and acquisition strategies under Jacob.

2.2. RIT Capital Partners and other ventures

After his departure from the family bank in 1980, Rothschild transformed the Rothschild Investment Trust into RIT Capital Partners plc, which became one of the largest investment trusts listed on the London Stock Exchange, with a net asset value of approximately 2.00 B GBP. He served as Chairman of RIT Capital Partners plc and its subsidiary, J Rothschild Capital Management.

In 1991, he co-founded J. Rothschild Assurance Group (now St. James's Place plc) with Mark Weinberg. His business interests extended beyond traditional banking; in 1989, he partnered with Sir James Goldsmith and Kerry Packer in an unsuccessful bid for British American Tobacco. From November 2003 until his retirement in 2008, he served as Deputy Chairman of BSkyB Television. Until 2008, he was also a Director of RHJ International and a Member of the International Advisory Board of The Blackstone Group.

Rothschild's investment strategies were characterized by foresight. After expanding RIT through acquisitions, he began liquidating company shares and accumulating cash just before the 1987 Wall Street Crash and the bursting of the UK's bubble economy in the 1990s. This timely withdrawal demonstrated adherence to the Rothschild family's historical maxim: "Sell early, earlier than you think."

He resumed investment activities in 1993 by establishing RIT Capital Partners and St. James's Place Capital. He also founded Rothschild Wolfensohn Investment Company in the United States. Recognizing opportunities in post-Soviet Russia, he helped establish the Russian-American Investment Company in 1992. By 1994, he had founded Rothschild Asset Management, initiating investments in the biotechnology industry. He also maintained a venture called J. Rothschild Investment Management Ltd. in the Pacific, with a notable board of directors including Gilbert de Botton, John Hodson, Peter Howard, Peter Oppenheimer, David Wood, Richard Wilkins, Nils Taube, Zvi Schloss (husband of Eva Schloss), and Nicholas Roditi. He also served as a Member of the council for the Duchy of Cornwall for the Prince of Wales.

2.3. Oil interests

Rothschild also developed significant interests in the oil sector. In 2003, it was reported that Russian oil industrialist Mikhail Khodorkovsky's shares in YUKOS were transferred to him under an agreement made prior to Khodorkovsky's arrest.

In November 2010, an entity affiliated with Rothschild acquired a 5% equity interest in Genie Energy, a subsidiary of IDT Corporation, for 10.00 M USD. In 2013, Israel granted Genie Energy exclusive oil and gas exploration rights to a 153 mile^{2 (396 km2)} area in the southern part of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

5.1. Arts and heritage

Rothschild played a crucial role in British arts and heritage. He chaired the Trustees of the National Gallery from 1985 to 1991. From 1992 to 1998, he served as Chairman of the National Heritage Memorial Fund. In the 1990s, he also chaired the Heritage Lottery Fund, an influential position responsible for distributing over 1.20 B GBP in grants from the National Lottery to the heritage sector. He was known for his personal commitment to the arts, making annual donations of 500.00 K GBP.

His involvement extended to various other prestigious institutions:

• He was a Trustee of the State Hermitage Museum of St Petersburg until 2008.
• He served as a Trustee of the Qatar Museums Authority until 2010.
• He chaired the Pritzker Prize for Architecture from 2002 to 2004.
• He was Chairman of both the Gilbert Collection Trust and the Hermitage Development Trust, both associated with Somerset House.
• He was a Trustee and Honorary Fellow of the Courtauld Institute at Somerset House.
• He was a Fellow, Benefactor, and member of the Visitors' Committees of the Ashmolean Museum Oxford until 2008.

In 2014, he was awarded the J. Paul Getty Medal for his "extraordinary achievement in the fields of museology, art historical research, philanthropy, conservation and conservation science."

Rothschild was particularly active in the restoration of Somerset House in London, where he helped secure the Gilbert Collection and ensured the long-term future of the Courtauld Institute of Art. As a private initiative, he undertook the restoration of Spencer House, one of London's finest surviving 18th-century townhouses, located adjacent to his own offices. This restoration was highly praised, including by Diana, Princess of Wales.

5.2. International and Israeli Philanthropy

In 1993, Rothschild collaborated with John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, to establish the Butrint Foundation. This foundation was dedicated to documenting and preserving the archaeological site of Butrint in Albania, near Rothschild's holiday home on Corfu. He remained Chairman of the Butrint Foundation until his death.

Jacob Rothschild also continued the Rothschild family's long-standing charitable commitment to Israel. He served as Chairman of Yad Hanadiv, the family foundation responsible for gifting the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and the Supreme Court buildings to Israel between 1989 and 2018. Under his leadership, Yad Hanadiv expanded its focus beyond funding national landmarks to include initiatives in education, environmental protection, and advancing equal opportunities for Israel's Arab minority. He also served as acting chancellor of the Israel Open University, which was established by his aunt, Dorothy de Rothschild.

Furthermore, he was President of The Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe and the patron and chairman of the board of trustees of The Rothschild Foundation. He was also the Honorary President of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.

Rothschild served as a Member of the Arts & Humanities Research Board, established by the British government. He was an honorary fellow of the British Academy and a Trustee of The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund. He was also a Member of the UK Main Honours Board (retired 2008), Chairman of the Honours Committee for Arts and Media (retired 2008), a Trustee of the Edmond J Safra Foundation (retired 2010), and a Member of the committee of the Henry J Kravis Prize for Creative Philanthropy (retired 2010).

6.1. In the United Kingdom

• Order of Merit (OM) - 2002
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) - 1998 New Year Honours, "for services to the Arts and to Heritage."
• Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) - 2020 New Year Honours, "for services to The Prince's Council, Duchy of Cornwall"
• The Prince of Wales Medal for Arts Philanthropy - 2013
• Honorary degrees from the universities of Oxford (Doctor of Civil Law, 2002), London, Exeter (Doctor of Laws, 1998), Keele, Newcastle, and Warwick.
• Honorary Fellow of the British Academy (Hon FBA) - 1998
• Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art (FRCA) - 1992
• Honorary Fellow of King's College London (Hon FKC) - 2002
• "Apollo Personality of the Year" - 2002
• Honorary President of the Institute for Jewish Policy - 2002
• Mont Blanc Award - 2004
• Tercentenary Medal for St Petersburg - 2005
• Honorary Student of Christ Church, Oxford - March 2006

6.2. In the United States

• The Hadrian Award from the World Monuments Fund - 1995
• The Classical America - Arthur Ross Award - 1998
• The Iris Foundation Award - the BARD Institute - 1999
• The Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement - 2000
• The Centennial Medal of the American Academy in Rome - 2002
• The Kennedy Center's International Committee Lifetime Achievement Gold Medal in the Arts Award - 2006
• Royal Oak Foundation "Timeless Design Award" - 2009
• The J. Paul Getty Medal - 2014

6.3. In Continental Europe

• Commander of the Order of Henry the Navigator - 1985 (Portugal)
• Europa Nostra Medal of Honour in Brussels - 2003
• Freedom of the City of Saranda - 2003 (Albania)
• Honoree of the Gennadius Library Trustees' Annual Award - 2010
• National Flag Order - 2014 (Albania)

6.4. In Israel

• The Sir Winston Churchill Award - 2004
• The Weizmann Award (50th Anniversary of the State of Israel)
• Honorary degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Doctor of Philosophy, 1992)
• Honorary fellowships from City of Jerusalem and the Israel Museum
• The Commonwealth Jewish Council Award