The Rothschilds and their 200 years of political influence

Nat Rothschild, the financier at the centre of allegations that threaten to engulf the shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, is no stranger to laws which forbid politicians from accepting donations from abroad.

Political donations from overseas are also illegal in the US, where John McCain's campaign team is under investigation for allegedly accepting a benefit in kind from two mega-rich British citizens, namely Nat Rothschild and his father, Jacob, the Fourth Baron Rothschild.

In April, Mr McCain passed through London and spoke at a fund-raising dinner for expatriate Americans, where seats at the cheapest tables cost £500 a head. What caught the eye of Judicial Watch, a Washington-based foundation dedicated to combating corruption, was that the event was held "by kind permission of Lord Rothschild and Hon Nathaniel Rothschild" at the family home in Spencer House, St James's, the only privately owned 17th-century palace in central London.

The US Federal Election Committee is still investigating the allegation that Mr McCain's campaign team broke electoral law by accepting a benefit in kind from the Rothschilds. "We haven't heard from the FEC yet, and don't expect to until after the campaign," Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch said.

The Rothschild family and politics have been intertwined for generations, ever since Nathan Rothschild, who founded the English branch of the family business, financed Britain's war against Napoleon two centuries ago. Nathan was the son of Mayer Rothschild, who founded the family business in the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt during the 18th century.

Serena Rothschild, Nat Rothschild's mother, was one of the largest individual donors to the Conservative Party last year. She gave £190,000. She has also helped fund Mr Osborne's office.

When another member of the clan, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, married the New York businesswoman Lynn Forester, they spent the night of their wedding dinner in the White House as guests of Bill Clinton. Lady Rothschild was a fund-raiser for the Democrats, but defected to the McCain camp after her friend Hillary Clinton was beaten to the nomination by Barack Obama.

So it is nothing new for a Rothschild to be mixing with prominent politicians – but generally they do it in a way that does not invite unnecessary publicity. What is unusual about Nat Rothschild's sudden intervention in the affair of the oligarch and the Corfu yacht is the way he has placed himself centre stage. His presumed motive is anger at Mr Osborne's bad manners in passing on what Peter Mandelson had said about Gordon Brown, when Lord Mandelson, Mr Osborne, and Mr Rothschild were guests of the Russian aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska.

Despite the now famous photograph that shows Mr Rothschild and Mr Osborne as privileged 21-year-old Oxford undergraduates, they were not close friends and their paths soon diverged. Within two years of that photograph being taken, Mr Osborne had set himself on his chosen career path by taking up a senior post at Conservative headquarters. In the same year, Nat Rothschild, showing no interest in finding a steady job, teamed up with Annabelle Neilson, a model he had met on a beach in India, eloped to Las Vegas, and married her.

His horrified parents must have feared that he was heading off on the same self-destructive course as two of his cousins – Amschel, who hanged himself in a Paris hotel in 1996, and Rafael, who died of a heroin overdose in Manhattan at the age of 23.

But Nat Rothschild emerged from his marriage break-up three years later a changed man. In New York, he met Timothy Barakett, founder of Atticus Capital, a hedge fund that places large and often risky bets on behalf of wealthy clients. Mr Rothschild became co-chairman of the business, which at its peak was managing investments worth more than £20bn. That was before turmoil in the markets – last month, it was reported that £2.5bn had been knocked off the value of Atticus's assets.

Even so, Nat Rothschild is thought to have made much more than the money he stood to inherit as Jacob Rothschild's youngest child and only son. Father and son are now a team, who co-founded JNR, an investment vehicle with offices in London and New York and extensive interest in Russia. It was Jacob who introduced Nat to Peter Mandelson.

Source: Independent.co.uk

Oligarchs, Mandelson and Osborne

The Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska has rather weightier matters to worry about right now – such as, with credit markets still closed, where he's going to find the money to refinance the $4.5bn (£2.7bn) he borrowed to buy a 25 per cent stake in Norilsk Nickel – but that hasn't stopped him playing centre stage in Britain's latest political bunfight.

It was unwise, to put it mildly, for the shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, to use confidences learnt while holidaying in Corfu as a guest of his old college friend Nat Rothschild to attack a political bruiser as formidable as Peter Mandelson. Mr Rothschild saw the smear campaign as a betrayal of his hospitality and has given Mr Mandelson all the ammunition he needs to bite back.

This is one of those stories that has got it all – luxury yachts, billionaire oligarchs, luxury villas, lavish cocktail parties, old money, new money, political chicanery and so on. The only thing missing is sex. That may only be a matter of time. But is it of any long-term significance? Despite the denials, the suspicion that Mr Osborne illegally attempted to solicit a political donation from Mr Deripaska will linger and may further erode the fast-dwindling lead the Tories enjoy in the polls.

My only excuse as a business editor in writing about what is essentially political mudslinging is that the newly ennobled Mandelson is now Britain's Business Secretary. Wherever he goes, fireworks seem to follow, so his new charge can at least expect a lively couple of years, assuming he lasts that long. The trouble started almost immediately Mr Mandelson was summoned back from exile in Europe to be part of Gordon Brown's political fightback.

According to stories leaked by Mr Osborne to newspaper diaries, he had by "chance" bumped into Mr Mandelson in a Corfu taverna over the summer holidays, and in the ensuing chat, the prince of darkness had dripped pure poison on the Labour Party leader he now claims to be so supportive of. This latter part of the story is entirely believable, but the former was a bit of an exaggeration.

There was little chance in their meeting and the taverna in question was as much the Rothschild holiday home – a beautiful place of peace and tranquillity with its own private beach which I once chugged longingly past in a motor boat – as the kebab house down the road. But there was much worse to come. Mr Osborne then briefed The Sunday Times to the effect that Lord Mandelson had holidayed with Mr Deripaska on his yacht, moored nearby. This was at best inappropriate, as Mr Mandelson was still at the time EU Trade commissioner, and as such responsible for rule changes that might have benefited the Russian aluminium tycoon.

But it wasn't half as stupid as Mr Osborne, who it turns out also drank with Mr Deripaska on the yacht and at the villa, and even brought along Andrew Feldman, the Tory party's chief fundraiser, also by chance staying just down the road, to entertain and keep him company.

Mr Rothschild's motivation in accusing Mr Osborne of attempting to solicit a donation is a bit of mystery. Friends say that he was simply offended by Mr Osborne's clumsy use of private meetings and confidences while a guest at his house. Yet Mr Rothschild is also a long-standing adviser to Mr Deripaska, who would not have taken kindly to seeing his name splashed over the UK press in connection with Mr Mandelson. In any case, Mr Rothschild claims to have a witness to the alleged solicitation – one Jim Goodwin, an American business associate.

Nat Rothschild is an interesting character in his own right. A former playboy, he once showed worrying signs of following other doomed young members of the Rothschild dynasty into oblivion, but was rescued when family money enabled him to buy into Tim Barrakett's Atticus Capital, a hedge fund group which at the time was down on its uppers.

In the subsequent bull market, Mr Rothschild made hay and is now said to be worth $200m in his own right, assuming he didn't keep his share of the profits in the hedge fund, which, along with the rest of the industry, has bombed over the past year. If it was privacy he was trying to defend, stepping into the row between Osborne and Mandelson was hardly the way to go about keeping it. Dangerous place, that Corfu. But perhaps the biggest lesson is that it doesn't pay to mess with Mandy. Independent.co.uk

Comment – October 22, 2008

Interesting to note how one of the lesser members of the Rothschild clan can have such influence despite his relative youth.

If nothing else, the above report illustrates how he is courting senior members of both leading British political parties. This is an old trick whereby backing both parties in a political contest the family are assured of a winner – whoever wins.

Even more intriguing is Rothschild’s involvement with the Russian oligarch. The Rothschild family have a history of shifting their base of operations with an uncanny foresight. One branch of the family moved to England before Victoria ascended the throne and made rich profits while the British Empire was at its height.

Then the family backed Barney Barnato, who was born Barney Isaacs in a Victorian London slum and together with Rothschild lackeys the Oppenheimers went on to reap rich pickings in South Africa’s gold and diamond fields.

Now they appear to be moving into Russia, which leads us to suspect that Putin’s apparent enmity toward the Russian oligarchs is no more than an act. Whatever happens the Rothschild family appear to be preparing for a shift eastwards towards Moscow.

Source: Thetruthseeker.co.uk

Bilderberg Live day 4

The Bilderberg Group is meeting today for the final time in Chantilly, Virginia, USA.

Who has been in attendance this year? Tekgnosis.typepad.com

It has surprised me that one of the people in attendance at this year's event is a well-known man in British politics. George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer has been attending this year's Bilderberg meeting. Here is the website for George Osborne: http://www.georgeosborne.co.uk/. George is currently breaking the law by attending this event for British MP's are not allowed to attend any secret events or meetings whilst holding any office of an MP. Do his constituents know? I suspect not.

What's New at Bilderberg 2008?

The Bilderberg group is meeting again this weekend apparently to discuss cyber terrorism, the Middle East, a nuke-free world, Africa, and Russia among other things accoring to a press release issued by the group which you can find here:

[Bilderberg Press Release]

To my knowledge, this is the first time the Bilderbergers have issued a press release directly to the public. Apparently you can get a list of the attendees yourself by a calling their number at the bottom of the press release (how kind of them, sure beats people having to get someone from the inside to send it, and then the people on the list still deny they were there).

So what's new with Bilderberg?

Well besides the out-of-character press release, there have been rumors circulating that Obama and Hillary Clinton may have attended the conference Thursday night. News outlets say they were meeting somewhere in Virginia in that area under closed doors (including the private meeting announced by the mainstream). Chantilly is only a few miles from Dulles International Airport where Obama's press was duped. Obama's/Hillary's campaign office would not confirm/deny they visited Bilderberg. More information about the event can be found here:

[Obama/Hillary Secret Meeting - WorldNetDaily]

It also interesting that one of the attendees is none other than James A. Johnson who is in charge of selecting Obama's running mate. Maybe he's getting some advice from the major global interests of who he should pick. I'm going to guess it's someone with some big business ties.

Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina is attending the Bilderberg meeting for the first time. His name was on the attendee list received. I had someone call the Governor's office to ask of his whereabouts, and they were told he was attending a "private function in Virginia." This is a suprise to many since Sanford has been a stark opponent of the Real ID Act and has still not signed it into law in the state of South Carolina. Maybe he's an insider? If I was asked to attend the conference, I would happily attend. Where else are you going to obtain all the secrets of Bilderberg? I hope to have a follow-up story later in the year about Sanford's visit.

Condeleeza Rice (US) and Minister Babacan (TUR) are also attending. Apparently Babacan didn't get the memo to keep quiet. It is his fifth time attending the conference.

[Today's Zaman - Turkish Website]

Other notables this year include Keith Alexander, Director of the US National Security Agency, Ben Bernake, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Donald Graham, CEO of the Washington Post, Henry Paulson, US Secretary of the Treasury, and Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group. And of course the man who runs it all, David Rockefeller.

What is Bilderberg? Why should I care?

Bilderberg is a secretive group of powerful and well-known politicans, businessman, and people who are involved with international affairs. They have been meeting since 1954 in almost absolute secrecy until recent years. No one would admit they attended back in those days even if someone had pictures of them going in and their name on the attendee list. The conference is supposed to be an outlet for these big-namers to freely discuss their opinions on policy and world events. The meetings are extremely well guarded and kept under tight wraps. At this year's conference, private security, local/county police, Secret Service, FBI, foreign secret service were all spotted and identified. Even a couple of people dressed like US Marines were seen.

These actions from US officials are supposedly illegal since they violate the Logan Act which does not allow for US officials to meet secretly with persons from other governments to discuss/make policy. Though, charges are rarely filed against anyone. So the big question here is, why do these meetings have to be so secret? The attendees and press obviously pay no attention to the Logan Act. Is it so they can speak openly and freely as described in the press release? Or is there a more devious plot happening here? The thing that bothers people the most is not everything I've just listed, but the fact the media gives the Bilderbergers absoultely zero media coverage. But when a G8 or major UN conference is happening, the media is all over it. Everyone knows these high-ranking officals are meeting now especially with this press release. And the media still pays no attention?

In light of this year's meeting, it is obvious that the meeting's planners do not care anymore or are not worried about people finding out about their meeting. Even though reportedly this conference was moved from Greece to Chantilly, Virginia which is just outside Washington D.C. And it would seem Obama and Hillary felt it was safe enough to so obviously attend this major secret function during the first day of the Bilderberg meeting. If they did not meet, it would be a major coincidence since Chantilly is only a 15 min drive away from where Obama's press was left behind, and there just happened to be a powerhouse, global meeting going on where anybody whose was anybody was at.

Sources for day 4: Prisonplanet.com

Media blackout
Bernanke Leaving Bilderberg
Infowars.com