Julius Baer (né Isaac Baer; born 2 January 1857 – 9 March 1922) was a Kingdom of Württemberg-born Swiss banker, businessman and philanthropist. Baer was the founder and namesake of Julius Baer Group, and the patriarch of the Baer family.[1]
Julius Baer | |
|---|---|
.png) Swiss passport photo of Julius Baer issued in 1920 | |
| Founder and president of Julius Baer Group | |
| In office 1890 – 1922 (his death) | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Isaac Baer 2 January 1857 Heidelsheim, Kingdom of Württemberg |
| Died | 9 March 1922 (aged 65) Riehen, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland |
| Citizenship | German (1857–1907) Swiss (1907–1922) |
| Spouse |
Marie Ulrich (m. 1891) |
| Children | 3 |
| Occupation | Banker and businessman |
Early life and education
editBaer was born in Heidelsheim (today part of Bruchsal), Kingdom of Württemberg to Joseph (1816–1891) and Rosina (née Dreyfuss; 1819–1907) Baer, into a Jewish family. His father worked as private money lender and merchant of animal skins, while his mother was a homemaker. He was the second youngest of five siblings. Baer was educated at the Jewish School of Heidelsheim and completed a banking apprenticeship at Bankhaus August Gerstle in Augsburg from 1883 to 1885.[2]
Career
editIn 1886, he became a partner in the private bank Samuel Dukas & Co. in Basel, Switzerland. A position he continued to hold until 1896, when he was deployed by his brother-in-law Ludwig Hirschhorn, to Zürich. He became a partner in Bank Hirschhorn, Uhl & Bär, which existed since 1890, and is the ultimate predecessor of today's Julius Baer Group. Since 1901, the bank bore only his name, and was known as Julius Bär & Co., which became one of the leading Swiss private banks.[2][3]
He was on several board of directors including Lake Thun railway line, Südostbahn and Oerlikon-Bührle (1908–1922).
Family
editIn 1891, he married Marie Ulrich (1869–1917),[4][page needed] with whom he had three sons;
- Richard Josef Baer (1892–1940),[5] mathematician and physicist
- Walter Jakob Baer (1895–1970),[2] director at Julius Baer
- Werner Baer (1899–1960),[citation needed] director at Julius Baer and art collector (namely exhibited at Kunsthaus Zürich)[6]
His grandson, Hans J. Baer (1927–2011),[7][8] was a long-term executive director and president of Julius Baer, who became known through his involvement as a mediator in retrieving Jewish funds in the Volcker Commission in the 1990s.[9]
Literature
edit- Publications about Julius Baer in the Swiss National Library
- Baer, Julius by Ueli Müller in Historical Dictionary of Switzerland (HLS)
References
edit- ^ History of Julius Baer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv2ceV9N_hc
- ^ a b c Müller, Ueli (31 January 2018). "Bär, Julius". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS) (in German). Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ "History". Julius Baer International. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ "Neue Zürcher Zeitung 25. Mai 1917 Ausgabe 09 — e-newspaperarchives.ch". www.e-newspaperarchives.ch (in German). Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ "Richard Bär", Wikipedia (in German), 19 July 2021, retrieved 15 February 2023
- ^ Death Notice of Werner Baer (NZZ, 1960) https://www.e-newspaperarchives.ch/?a=d&d=DBB19600204-02.2.21.15.5&srpos=1&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN-Werner+Baer-------0-----
- ^ "In memoriam: Hans J. Baer '47 '97H". Lehigh University. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ "April 2008". www.leadersmag.com. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ Tagliabue, John (1 January 1998). "A Human Face for Swiss Banks; Unlikely Mediator for Dispute Over Jewish Assets". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 February 2023.