Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim
Louis-Raphaël Bischoffsheim (; 22 June 1800 – 14 November 1873) was a German-born international banker and a member of the prominent Bischoffsheim family. Early life Louis-Raphaël was born on 22 June 1800 and was the eldest son of Nathan-Raphaël Bischoffsheim (1773–1814), who was considered the founder of the banking dynasty. The father settled in Mainz in 1790, quickly becoming the French army supplier and an important member of the Jewish community there. When he died in 1814, his four children were orphans. Louis-Raphaël, the oldest, was forced to abandon his studies at age 14 and began working for Hayum Salomon Goldschmidt (1772–1843), who owned a bank in Frankfurt. He became friends with his son, Benedict-Hayum Goldschmidt, who was his own age. Career In 1820, Louis-Raphaël left Frankfurt and moved to Amsterdam, at the time a major financial center, to create a bank in his name. The following year, he got his brother Jonathan-Raphaël Bischoffsheim to form a financial management company. In 1827, Louis-Raphaël opened a new branch in Antwerp under the management of his brother Jonathan-Raphaël, who left the family bank in 1832, after he married Henriette Goldschmidt, sister of Amélie, to move permanently to Brussels. After his marriage to