Michel Ephrussi

Michel Ephrussi (May 10, 1844 – January 5, 1914) was a Russian-born French banker who also bred and raced Thoroughbreds.

Michel Ephrussi
Born(1844-05-10)May 10, 1844
Odessa, Russian Empire
DiedJanuary 5, 1914(1914-01-05) (aged 69)
Paris, France
OccupationBanker, investor, racehorse owner/breeder
Board member ofBanque Ephrussi
Spouse(s)Amélie Wilhelmine Liliane Beer (Baer) (1850-1914)
ChildrenLouise Nadine (1873-1888)
Louis Alexandre (1878-1880)
Marie Juliette (1880-1964)
Parent(s)Charles Joachim Ephrussi (1792-1864) & Henriette Halperson (1822-1888)
RelativesSiblings: Léon, Ignaz, Maurice, Thérèse, Marie

Early life

Michel Ephrussi was born on May 10, 1844 in Odessa, Ukraine. He was a member of the Ephrussi family. His father, Charles Joachim Ephrussi, was a trader in wheat who founded a bank, Ephrussi & Co.. His mother was Henriette Halperson. His elder half-brother, Ignace von Ephrussi, opened a branch of the Ephrussi & Co. bank in Vienna, Austria.

Career

With his younger brother Maurice Ephrussi, Ephrussi opened a branch of Ephrussi & Co., the family bank in Paris, France.

Beyond banking, Michel Ephrussi had other investments including the Hôtel Pompadour at Fontainebleau and was an investor in Guapo Trinidad Oil Co. Ltd. A supporter of the fledgling aviation industry, Michel Ephrussi provided funding for a prize in his name at the 1910 Rheims Aviation Meeting.

Thoroughbred racing

Michel Ephrussi and his brother Maurice were both involved in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Michel notably owned Finasseur, winner of the 1905 Grand Prix de Paris, at the time France's most prestigious race. Other wins by Michel Ephrussi's horses include:

Personal life

On December 23, 1872, in Paris, Michel Ephrussi married Belgian-born Amélie Wilhelmine Liliane Beer, a niece of composer Jacob Liebmann Beer. The couple had three children and made their home at 81 Rue de Monceau in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.

Michel Ephrussi was a close business associate of the Rothschilds in Paris, and his brother Maurice married Béatrice de Rothschild. In 1900, Michel Ephrussi became embroled in a conflict over possibly anti-semitic remarks made by the Count Guy de Lubersac towards Robert de Rothschild. On April 4, 1900 Ephrussi and the Count fought a duel with swords on Île de la Jatte in the Seine River at Neuilly in which Ephrussi was wounded in the chest but soon recovered.[1][2][3]

Death

Ephrussi died on January 5, 1914.

References
  1. "Four Duels in France. Count de Lubersac Ready to Meet Both Rothschilds" (PDF). The New York Times. April 3, 1900. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  2. "Lubersac Fights a Duel; Wounds M. Ephrussi in the Breast in First of Encounters Due to Quarrel with Rothschild". The New York Times. April 5, 1900. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  3. "A Rothschild in a Duel: Baron Robert Wounds Count of Lubersac Near Paris. Adversaries Fought Sixteen Fierce Bouts with Swords--Affair Grew Out of a Quarrel At College" (PDF). The New York Times. January 21, 1901. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
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