A Swiss castle filled with priceless artworks is at the centre of a feud playing out between two women of what is perhaps the world’s famous banking dynasty – the Rothschild family. Baroness Ariane de Rothschild is currently embroiled in a legal battle with her mother-in-law, the 93-year-old senior baroness Nadine de Rothschild.
Who are the Rothschilds?
The Rothschild family, the most famous of all European banking dynasties, rose to prominence in the 16th century. Their global banking empire laid the foundations of the world’s current banking system.
Nadine de Rothschild, 93, is a member of the French-Swiss branch of the family. She is the widow of Edmond de Rothschild, who died in 1997.
Edmond and Nadine’s only child, Benjamin, was married to Ariane. Benjamin died in 2021. Since 2023, Ariane, 60, has served as CEO of Edmond de Rothschild Group.
What is the lawsuit about?
The lawsuits centre on the family’s vast collection of artworks, paintings, furniture and historic objects housed at Chateau de Pregny castle in Geneva.
The Rothschild family has not disclosed the exact contents of the castle, which overlooks Lake Geneva. According to a Guardian report, it houses treasures including Louis XVI furniture and works by Goya, Rembrandt, Fragonard, El Greco and Boucher.
Visitors and photographers are not allowed at Chateau de Pregny, also known as the Rothschild Castle. Therefore, few pictures exist of the treasures that the chateau houses — but the value of its artworks and furniture could easily run into billions of dollars. In fact, a visitor once described it as a “mini Louvre”.
What the two Rothschild baronesses claim
Nadine de Rothschild claims that her husband left her a substantial portion of the collection housed at Chateau de Pregny. She wants to put it on display in a new museum in Geneva.
Her daughter-in-law Ariane has accused Nadine of acting under the influence of advisors. In court documents, Ariane compared her mother-in-law with the late L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt — who gave over $1 billion in gifts to a young photographer friend. Her daughter tried to have her declared mentally unsound.
A public feud
The ugly feud between the two baronesses is being played out in court and in the media. This is a rare instance of a famously private family airing its laundry in public.
Nadine addressed the parallel between her and Liliane in a statement to the Guardian.
“I knew Liliane and I can tell you she was absolutely not a woman you could make do anything she didn’t want. And neither am I under anyone’s influence. You can tell from my voice and answers that it would be hard to influence me,” she said.
“I am the last Rothschild baroness of my generation. All the others have died. To end my life with a major legal battle like this of course upsets me.
“In the beginning I opened my arms to my daughter-in-law; there are photos of us together, I was generous in my personal gifts to her,” the senior baroness claimed, adding that their relationship broke down after the death of her son Benjamin.