Banking patriarch Rothschild dies at 98

PARIS, June 14 (UPI) -- Guy de Rothschild, the banking dynasty's French patriarch who saw his Paris bank seized not once but twice, has died in Paris at age 98.

Rothschild, who died Tuesday, was an heir to the House of Rothschild, which included financiers to European royalty when royal families ruled Europe, the New York Times reported Thursday.

Besides his financial prowess, Rothschild was known for the family wine, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, and his thoroughbred racehorses.

After the fall of France during World War II, the pro-Nazi Vichy regime seized the family bank. The baron reclaimed it and rebuilt it after the war.

History repeated itself in 1981, when the Socialist-Communist coalition of President Francois Mitterrand nationalized the bank. Angered at what happened to his family for a second time, Rothschild left France for New York, where he ran a smaller family business, the Times said.

In 1984, his oldest son and a cousin received permission from the French government to found a new bank, but were barred from using the family name. In 1986, after Jacques Chirac became prime minister, the family name was restored to the bank.

Survivors include Rothschild's sons, David and Edouard.