Nat Rothschild: the richest runt of all

The Rothschilds' youngest son has transformed himself from the 'worst sort of drunken boor' to a hedge fund manager with an abiding interest in Russia.

Nat Rothschild's transformation from "wanton wild child" to international financier shocked many of his contemporaries, says The Sunday Times. For much of his early life it was feared that, like several of the dynasty before him, he would self-destruct. Yet by 2007, The New York Times was able to describe Rothschild, 37, as "a king maker in his own right", tipped by many to become "the richest Rothschild of them all".

But his apotheosis was no surprise to some. "Coursing through his veins are centuries of financial acumen," noted Eric Gleacher, the New York moneyman who gave Rothschild his first break in the 1990s. "It's in his DNA." And that, says The Independent, was the real reason Rothschild decided to "do the dirty" on George Osborne and the Tory party he had long helped to finance. Sure, he was furious that Osborne had broken the rules of discretion that surround private parties, but more importantly he was anxious to protect his close business associate, Oleg Deripaska, says The Observer. Rothschild had long staked his all on making it in Russia. "To harm Deripaska was to harm Rothschild."

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