Background
He was the fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836). Known to his family as "Muffy", he was born in New Court, London.
He was the fourth and youngest son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836). Known to his family as "Muffy", he was born in New Court, London.
Although apprenticed in the family"s various banking houses in Europe, he never became a major part of the banking empire.
He became High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1847, and was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Hythe in 1859. In 1847 he served on the committee of the British Relief Association. Mayer"s mother, Hannah (née Cohen), began the Rothschild acquisitions in Buckinghamshire.
There he built Mentmore Towers, the most sumptuous of the English Rothschild houses at the time.
Other cousins were to follow: Ferdinand James von Rothschild at Waddesdon and Alfred de Rothschild at Halton. Mayer Rothschild was a keen horseback rider and hunter, in spite of his weight of 101 kilograms (223 lb) (just over 15 stones), and was a fan of thoroughbred horse racing.
In 1873 Baron Mayer bought 90 acres (36 hectares) of land at Ascott, two miles from Mentmore. She was his sole heiress, and through her, Mentmore Towers passed to the Earl of Rosebery, who served as Prime Minister from 1894–1895.
Mayer Amschel de Rothschild died in 1874 and was buried in the Willesden Jewish Cemetery in Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, London.
18th United Kingdom Parliament. 19th United Kingdom Parliament. 20th United Kingdom Parliament]
After studying at the University of Leipzig and Heidelberg University he became the first member of his family to receive an education at an English university, spending time at both Magdalene and Trinity College, Cambridge.
He established a stud farm at Crafton, Buckinghamshire, and was a member of the Jockey Club.