The old man told his neighbors that he was a member of the Rothschild family, a prominent European family whose combined assets were worth billions of dollars. He certainly seemed to have some of the trappings of a respected banker’s descendant, including a collection of classic cars featuring Ferraris and Jaguars.
But questions about his identity emerged last week, days after William de Rothschild, 87, was found dead in his fire-damaged Laurel Canyon home. He was not born with that name and does not appear in the official family tree kept in the Rothschild family archives.
Court filings may explain how he became a Rothschild.
It wouldn’t be the first time. The Jewish dynasty, which originated in Frankfurt, Germany, has long had a run-in with fraudsters seeking to exaggerate their status with its name.
In 1985, a man named William Alfred Kaufman petitioned Los Angeles County Superior Court to change his name to William Alexander de Rothschild.
“I would like to keep my last name. I prefer it to Kaufman. Taking my mother’s name would greatly simplify my life,” he wrote in his legal filing. said. Case files list his address on Lookout Mountain Avenue and indicate that “no one objected” to the petition, which the judge quickly granted.
The name change and de Rothschild’s death were news to his brother Richard Kaufman, who lives in Oregon. By phone, he told the Times that his brother “disappeared” in the 1960s or 1970s and was presumed dead long ago. He said he was unaware of his family’s ties to the Rothschilds and that neither he nor any of his relatives were Jewish.
“As far as I know, my brother is not a Rothschild,” said Kaufman, 78.
“It’s strange, I thought he died years ago, because he disappeared,” he continued. “[There had been] I have lost contact with my elderly parents. It’s a strange feeling. ”
Ms. de Rothschild’s body was discovered after the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a fire at her Lookout Mountain Avenue home on November 27th. The cause of the fire, which was extinguished in just over 30 minutes by 45 firefighters, remains under investigation. According to the Los Angeles Police Department and Fire Department.
The New York Times could not confirm other details revealed by neighbors in interviews last week about Mr. de Rothschild, who allegedly donated the car that was being stored at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. A representative for Petersen said there was no record of De Rothschild’s vehicle being loaned or gifted to the museum.
A neighbor who has known de Rothschild for many years told the Times he was surprised by the contradictory findings. The man, who asked not to be named due to privacy concerns, said Mr Rothschild “appeared to be genuinely educated” and was “very polite”.
A covered vehicle outside the fire-damaged home of William de Rothschild, aka William Alfred Kaufman, whose body was found on November 27. Neighbors said he had a large collection of cars.
(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“He carried himself the way I thought a Rothschild would,” the neighbor said, adding that over a period of about 10 years he owned about 50 cars, from European grand tourers to American muscle cars. He added that he had seen Rothschild’s classic cars. “Whether it’s Rothschild money or not, the money is there.”
Kaufman said she remembers her brother’s love of cars and could imagine him being free with the truth.
“I could see him calling himself Rothschild,” he said.
Famous name “Aura”
William Kaufman was born in Colorado in 1937, but his family soon moved to Salem, Oregon, where he attended North Salem High School and graduated in the mid-1950s, said his brother Richard.
Although they are nine years apart, he said they were not particularly close when they were children. Still, he remembered that his brother was a talented artist who painted and sculpted. He was also an enigmatic figure.
“When I knew my brother, he was kind of a strange person,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman said his brother attended the University of Oregon after high school and then moved out of state in the 1960s or ’70s. By 1972, the man who would become William de Rothschild was located in the artistic enclave, then famous for housing musicians such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and “Mama Cass” Elliott. I bought a house on Lookout Mountain.
Kaufman said she spoke to her brother only once after he left Oregon State. Kaufman said his brother called him sometime in the ’70s or ’80s to have a quick chat. It was a “very strange” call.
“He didn’t explain where he went. I was very surprised. … I told him that he should contact his parents now that they are a little older,” he said. I did.
Although de Rothschild’s neighbors believed him to be a wealthy man, his mansion gives little indication that it was once an ornate canyon mansion. The 825-square-foot, two-bedroom property was described by real estate listing services as being valued at about $1 million, but it is now burnt and abandoned. Accessed by a long tiled staircase, the house rises over the road from behind a high green gate.
Representatives from the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday that efforts to identify the deceased man’s body are underway. The police will also investigate the cause of death.
Mike Rothschild, author of “Jewish Space Lasers: 200 Years of the Rothschilds and Conspiracy Theories,” says that Rothschild scammers have in the past “given the aura that the name still has.” “He definitely did it for money and influence.”
The Rothschild family had long dominated European banking, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries, when their British and French branches played major roles in finance and politics. At one point, the Rothschild family was widely considered to have amassed the largest private fortune on the planet.
“There is an assumption that anyone named Rothschild has access to unlimited money and power, which attracts both fraudsters and people who seek to enter their circle.” said Rothschild, an unrelated author. In a post on his website, he was the first to point out that the William de Rothschild family does not appear in the family tree. “Why the fire victims used that name is still a mystery.”
In fact, there is no evidence that de Rothschild publicly used his identity to seek fame or fortune. However, there have been several prominent Rothschild impostors over the years, including Inna Yashishshin, who posed as Anna de Rothschild during a visit to Mar-a-Lago in 2021.
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said Yashchyshyn, a Ukrainian-born Russian speaker, met Donald Trump and his friends and family during his visit.
Famous car families
William de Rothschild’s interest in automobiles may have blossomed with his marriage.
According to public records, he married Margaux Mirkin in 1999 in Nevada. She is the daughter of the late Morris Mirkin, founder of Budget Rent a Car.
According to a 1985 Times article, the younger Markin operated Budget’s Drive-A-Dream facility in Beverly Hills, where luxury cars such as Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royces were available for rent. .
“People come here to express themselves and realize their dreams,” she said. “They park their Chevrolets and look at Hollywood like stars. …Here are the most beautiful cars in the world.”
Five years later, a Times report on the vintage clothing trade described Merkin as “an avid collector, designer, and restorer of vintage clothing.”
“I’m lucky to have found someone who respects what I buy,” she said in a 1990 article.
Oddly enough, several Lookout Mountain residents told the Times that they knew Merkin not as Rothschild’s wife but as his cousin or sister. Public records show her name is associated with land down the street from the Rothschild home.
Mirkin did not respond to requests for an interview. Kaufman said she did not know about Mirkin or the marriage.
The details of the discrepancy made the Rothschilds’ longtime neighbors curious to know more. “I think all the neighbors would like some closure,” he said.
The resident said Mr. Rothschild seemed happiest when discussing his car hobby. The only time he got excited was when the car came. ”
As far as Kaufman knows, de Rothschild was never reunited with his parents, who are now deceased. He said he was saddened to learn of his brother’s death, but heartened to learn some details of his presence in Los Angeles.
“He probably lived a long and interesting life,” Kaufman said.
Times researcher Scott Wilson contributed to this report.
Source link
