Background
Simon Moritz was born in Nassau, northwest of Frankfurt am Main, the youngest son of the identically named Nassovian administrator Simon Moritz Bethmann (1687–1725).
Simon Moritz was born in Nassau, northwest of Frankfurt am Main, the youngest son of the identically named Nassovian administrator Simon Moritz Bethmann (1687–1725).
In 1746 he and Johann Philipp purchased citizenship in Frankfurt for 800 guldens each. Their brother Johann Jakob carried on the family name in Bordeaux, where he became a merchant and shipowner. In 1755 Simon Moritz became deacon of the Niederländische Gemeinde Augsburgischer Confession (= Dutch Congregation of the Augsburg Confession), a charitable institution transferred to Frankfurt in 1585 by Martinist Lutherans who had fled Antwerp"s religious persecution.
Together with Johann Philipp he purchased the Basler Hof property from the Patrizier Johann Friedrich Maximilian von Stalburg, where the Bethmann bank maintains offices to this day.
Noted for his good works—including a bequest of 50,000 guldens to the Frankfurt Citizens" Hospital. He died without issue at Frankfurt am Main in 1782.