A reclusive member of the famous Rothschild family died in a fire in Laurel Canyon, in the Hollywood Hills, on November 27.
The Rothschild family is a European banking dynasty that became one of the most powerful and wealthy families in modern history.
According to reports, neighbors identified the body found at the Lookout Mountain Avenue property as belonging to William Rothschild.
A magazine found at the property was addressed to “WM DE ROTHSCHILD,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office is currently investigating the cause of death.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a fire on the 8500 block of Lookout Mountain Avenue at 4:40 p.m. PT. A team of 45 firefighters contained the blaze within 33 minutes.
Some firefighters returned the following day to extinguish a small section of the home that continued to smolder.
The fire, contained on the first floor of the two-story hillside property, did not spread to nearby vegetation or neighboring homes.
According to a statement by the fire department, “The 87-year-old home was not equipped with optional residential fire sprinklers.”
“The cause of the fire remains the focus of an active joint investigation by Los Angeles Police and fire department investigators,” the statement read.
The property, a modest two-bedroom, one-bathroom home valued at approximately $1,076,000, according to Zillow, was reportedly vacant much of the time, with many neighbors unaware of the owner’s presence.
“It is very sad. He was a good guy. A good neighbor,” said neighbor Jim Moore.
Another neighbor, Dana Gladstone, told the LA Times that he was at home during the incident but didn’t witness the fire.
He said he heard a woman say, “Oh my God, that’s awful!”
“She was probably given the news that he passed,” said Gladstone.
Neighbors said Rothschild kept a collection of vintage cars, with some stored at his house and others at a nearby property adorned with busts of notable figures like Raphael and Michelangelo, along with multiple security cameras. Two individuals noted that his collection included a red Porsche previously owned by Michael Jordan, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Newsweek has contacted the Los Angeles Fire Department for further comment.
The Rothschilds, a prominent Jewish family from Frankfurt, Germany, rose to dominate European banking, with their English and French branches exerting significant influence in finance and politics, particularly during the 18th and 19th centuries. The family built a financial empire that spanned multiple countries and significantly influenced global banking, finance, and politics.
The family’s fortune was established by Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a Jewish banker and money changer in Frankfurt. He laid the groundwork for the family’s financial empire by working with European royalty and aristocracy.
The family has long been the subject of antisemitic conspiracy theories, many of which are based on unfounded and exaggerated claims about their wealth, power, and influence. These conspiracy theories often draw on the family’s influence in banking and finance.
