The Guggenheim family of New York: the passage of a comet
17
JULY
2012
The origins of the Guggenheim family in New York, the constitution of their empire, their wealth, their foundations.
The great-grandson of a teacher called upon from Prague in 1530 by the Jewish community of Frankfurt chose the surname of Guggenheim.In 1847 one of his descendants, Simon Guggenheim, emigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia with a dozen of children. The eldest, Meyer, a prosperous grocer, unexpectedly became the owner of a rich silver mine in 1881 and started then mining activities.
At the beginning of WW1 the family company became the world leading producer of copper and other non-ferrous metals. Ten years later the Guggenheim brothers represented the first of the Jewish fortunes in the United States. When they retired each of them created foundations that have achieved success. Among their offspring the last of the Guggenheims lives in seclusion.
| Speaker | Location |
|---|---|
|
Jacques-Henri GOUGENHEIM |
Seine A |