Background
He was the second child and eldest son of Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), the founder of the dynasty, and Gutlé Rothschild née Schnapper (1753–1849).
He was the second child and eldest son of Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), the founder of the dynasty, and Gutlé Rothschild née Schnapper (1753–1849).
He was ennobled as Amschel Mayer von Rothschild in 1817 and became a baron in 1822. Amschel Mayer Rothschild was close to Orthodox Jewish circles, and was referred to by Eastern European Jews as "the pious Rothschild" (Yiddish: der frummer Rothschild).