Édouard de Rothschild was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is the son of Guy de Rothschild (1909–2007) and Marie-Hélène van Zuylen van Nyevelt (1927–1996). His father is Jewish and his mother is of half Egyptian, quarter Dutch, and quarter Jewish descent.
He attended the Cours Hattemer, a private school. He studied law at Panthéon-Assas University in France and in 1985 graduated with an Master of Business Administration degree from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
He stepped down in June 2004 saying he would remain involved as the non-executive chairman of the bank"s supervisory board while taking on projects unrelated to finance. In January 2005, Édouard de Rothschild invested €20 million for a 37% controlling stake in the French newspaper Libération. The left-wing daily was founded by philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and Maoist militant journalist Serge July in 1973 but in recent years has sustained substantial losses.
He owns a share of the Château Lafite vineyard.
Until May 2005, he was a member of the Supervisory Board at Imerys South America, a company the family had been a majority or significant shareholder in since 1880.
