The Rothschild family is rich, but claims that they have a net worth of $500 trillion and own 80% of the world's wealth are grossly exaggerated.

The Rothschild Family is one of the wealthiest families on the planet, and is a name that frequently pops up in a multitude of conspiracy theories. The Rothschild Family as

we know it is descended from Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who was born in what is now Frankfurt, Germany. The son of Jewish moneychanger and trader Amschel Moses Rothschild, Mayer Amschel Rothschild was the fourth of 8 children, and went on to establish a huge international banking empire.

Through his 5 sons, Mayer Amschel Rothschild expanded his banking business, which was founded in the 1760s, to international areas and, as such, managed to bequeath his huge wealth, unlike many rich members of the Jewish community at the time. Mayer Amschel’s 5 sons were each stationed at one of the major European financial centres, one in Frankfurt, London, Naples, Vienna, and Paris.

This passing on of Mayer Amschel’s wealth and business meant that his sons could continue to build on the foundations of their father’s success. In the 19th century the Rothschild Family were at the height of their powers, and were known all around the financial world. Their great fortune and ingenious business minds meant that they carried great power during this time. They utilised this power by affecting some very significant events in human history in order to profit greatly from it. This included backing the British forces with huge sums of money during the Napoleonic Wars (more on that later) and funding Brazil’s claim for independence from Portugal.

Nowadays, the Rothschild Family keep a very low public profile, which has led to many conspiracy theorists to believe that they basically control the world from behind the scenes. Indeed, despite being less prevalent than they were 200 years ago, the Rothschild Family still have business operations in a number of sectors, including finance, energy, charity, mining, winemaking, and farming. Here are some interesting and lesser known facts about the great Rothschild Family.