Recent from talks
August Belmont
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
August Belmont
August Belmont Sr. (born Aron Belmont; December 8, 1813 – November 24, 1890) was a German-American financier, diplomat, and Democratic Party politician. As chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1860 to 1872, during a period of turmoil and reconciliation for the party following the American Civil War, Belmont was one of the longest serving party leaders in American history. During his life, he was one of the wealthiest men in the United States. He was also a thoroughbred racehorse owner and the founder and namesake of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown of American Thoroughbred horse racing.
Belmont was born in the Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1813 to a leading Jewish family. After attending the Philanthropin, he joined the Rothschild banking house as an apprentice and clerk. In 1837, en route to Cuba to stabilize Rothschild holdings following the First Carlist War, Belmont stopped in New York City during a catastrophic financial panic and learned that the Rothschilds' American agent had collapsed. Acting on his own judgment, he established himself as the house's American agent, a position which rapidly elevated him to the top of New York society.
Through his wife Caroline Slidell Perry and her uncle, John Slidell, Belmont became involved in the Democratic Party as a major donor and organizer in 1844, the same year he was naturalized as a United States citizen. In 1853, Belmont was appointed as United States minister to the Netherlands by Franklin Pierce. His diplomatic career was controversial for his roles in the Ostend Manifesto, calling for the American acquisition of Cuba, and the Walter M. Gibson affair. Although Belmont was a leading supporter of James Buchanan in his presidential campaigns in both 1852 and 1856, Buchanan did not appoint Belmont to any position in his administration, and Belmont supported Stephen A. Douglas for the party's nomination in 1860.
When the Democratic Party split between its northern and southern wings in 1860, Belmont became chair of the northern (or national) wing, leading its campaign against Abraham Lincoln. His plan to create anti-Lincoln fusion tickets in key swing states failed, and Lincoln was elected, leading to the American Civil War.
He was born as Aron Belmont on December 8, 1813, to a Jewish family in the village of Alzey, which was shortly annexed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse after the Napoleonic Wars. His father, Simon Belmont was the owner of a freehold estate and leading citizen of Alzey, serving as president of the local synagogue for many years. His paternal ancestors were Spanish Jews who fled the Iberian peninsula during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. At a young age, his parents began calling him August, the name he used throughout his life. His mother, Frederika Elsass Belmont, died when August was seven.
After his mother's death, he lived with his uncle and grandmother in Frankfurt, where he attended the Philanthropin, a school founded by Mayer Amschel Rothschild, designed to integrate the city's Jewish and Christian communities. When he was fifteen, he was forced to withdraw from the Philanthropin after his father failed to pay tuition. His relatives prevailed upon the Rothschild family, who were relatives by marriage of his grandmother and already leading European financiers, to train him for business. While training as an apprentice and running errands, he was tutored in French, English, composition, and arithmetic. In 1832, his training was rewarded with an appointment as confidential clerk; two years later, he became secretary and traveling companion to one of the firm's partners, which led to his first trip outside Germany to Paris, Naples, and the Vatican City.
In 1837, the Rothschild branches in Paris and London became concerned with their holdings in the Spanish Empire, which had been destabilized by the Carlist War. They sent Belmont to sail for Cuba via New York City. Reaching New York amid the Panic of 1837, he learned that the Rothschilds' American agent, J.L. and S.I. Joseph & Co., had collapsed under liabilities of $7 million. As the situation called for a response from Europe more rapid than communications technology permitted, Belmont acted on his own judgment to postpone his trip to Cuba and superintend the Rothschild interests in New York, establishing August Belmont & Co. at 78 Wall Street. The Rothschilds eventually approved his decision, making him their permanent agent in the United States.
From 1837 to 1842, Belmont experienced instantaneous success, serving as disbursing agent, dividend collector, and newsgatherer for the Rothschilds and their customers. The new financial house also invested in foreign exchange markets, commercial and private loans, commercial paper, and handled deposits. Belmont's European connections attracted private investment from corporations, railroads, and state and local governments. In the wake of the Panic of 1837, Belmont was able to use Rothschild credit to buy up wildcat bank notes, securities, commodities, and property at severely depressed rates, sometimes as low as ten cents to the dollar. Using early modern securitization techniques, he was a pioneer on Wall Street, rapidly shifting money and commodities in complex international spirals of credit New York City had not seen before. He was also considered a skilled arbitrageur, earning him the nickname "King of the Money Changers." Within three years of his arrival in the city, he had amassed a personal fortune of $100,000 ($3,038,257 in 2024), making him one of the richest men in New York and one of the three most important private bankers in the United States. He was still only twenty-six.
Hub AI
August Belmont AI simulator
(@August Belmont_simulator)
August Belmont
August Belmont Sr. (born Aron Belmont; December 8, 1813 – November 24, 1890) was a German-American financier, diplomat, and Democratic Party politician. As chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1860 to 1872, during a period of turmoil and reconciliation for the party following the American Civil War, Belmont was one of the longest serving party leaders in American history. During his life, he was one of the wealthiest men in the United States. He was also a thoroughbred racehorse owner and the founder and namesake of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown of American Thoroughbred horse racing.
Belmont was born in the Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1813 to a leading Jewish family. After attending the Philanthropin, he joined the Rothschild banking house as an apprentice and clerk. In 1837, en route to Cuba to stabilize Rothschild holdings following the First Carlist War, Belmont stopped in New York City during a catastrophic financial panic and learned that the Rothschilds' American agent had collapsed. Acting on his own judgment, he established himself as the house's American agent, a position which rapidly elevated him to the top of New York society.
Through his wife Caroline Slidell Perry and her uncle, John Slidell, Belmont became involved in the Democratic Party as a major donor and organizer in 1844, the same year he was naturalized as a United States citizen. In 1853, Belmont was appointed as United States minister to the Netherlands by Franklin Pierce. His diplomatic career was controversial for his roles in the Ostend Manifesto, calling for the American acquisition of Cuba, and the Walter M. Gibson affair. Although Belmont was a leading supporter of James Buchanan in his presidential campaigns in both 1852 and 1856, Buchanan did not appoint Belmont to any position in his administration, and Belmont supported Stephen A. Douglas for the party's nomination in 1860.
When the Democratic Party split between its northern and southern wings in 1860, Belmont became chair of the northern (or national) wing, leading its campaign against Abraham Lincoln. His plan to create anti-Lincoln fusion tickets in key swing states failed, and Lincoln was elected, leading to the American Civil War.
He was born as Aron Belmont on December 8, 1813, to a Jewish family in the village of Alzey, which was shortly annexed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse after the Napoleonic Wars. His father, Simon Belmont was the owner of a freehold estate and leading citizen of Alzey, serving as president of the local synagogue for many years. His paternal ancestors were Spanish Jews who fled the Iberian peninsula during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. At a young age, his parents began calling him August, the name he used throughout his life. His mother, Frederika Elsass Belmont, died when August was seven.
After his mother's death, he lived with his uncle and grandmother in Frankfurt, where he attended the Philanthropin, a school founded by Mayer Amschel Rothschild, designed to integrate the city's Jewish and Christian communities. When he was fifteen, he was forced to withdraw from the Philanthropin after his father failed to pay tuition. His relatives prevailed upon the Rothschild family, who were relatives by marriage of his grandmother and already leading European financiers, to train him for business. While training as an apprentice and running errands, he was tutored in French, English, composition, and arithmetic. In 1832, his training was rewarded with an appointment as confidential clerk; two years later, he became secretary and traveling companion to one of the firm's partners, which led to his first trip outside Germany to Paris, Naples, and the Vatican City.
In 1837, the Rothschild branches in Paris and London became concerned with their holdings in the Spanish Empire, which had been destabilized by the Carlist War. They sent Belmont to sail for Cuba via New York City. Reaching New York amid the Panic of 1837, he learned that the Rothschilds' American agent, J.L. and S.I. Joseph & Co., had collapsed under liabilities of $7 million. As the situation called for a response from Europe more rapid than communications technology permitted, Belmont acted on his own judgment to postpone his trip to Cuba and superintend the Rothschild interests in New York, establishing August Belmont & Co. at 78 Wall Street. The Rothschilds eventually approved his decision, making him their permanent agent in the United States.
From 1837 to 1842, Belmont experienced instantaneous success, serving as disbursing agent, dividend collector, and newsgatherer for the Rothschilds and their customers. The new financial house also invested in foreign exchange markets, commercial and private loans, commercial paper, and handled deposits. Belmont's European connections attracted private investment from corporations, railroads, and state and local governments. In the wake of the Panic of 1837, Belmont was able to use Rothschild credit to buy up wildcat bank notes, securities, commodities, and property at severely depressed rates, sometimes as low as ten cents to the dollar. Using early modern securitization techniques, he was a pioneer on Wall Street, rapidly shifting money and commodities in complex international spirals of credit New York City had not seen before. He was also considered a skilled arbitrageur, earning him the nickname "King of the Money Changers." Within three years of his arrival in the city, he had amassed a personal fortune of $100,000 ($3,038,257 in 2024), making him one of the richest men in New York and one of the three most important private bankers in the United States. He was still only twenty-six.
Recent media