August Belmont

Common card · No. 416438

August Belmont Sr. (born Aron Belmont; December 8, 1813 – November 24, 1890) was a German-American financier, diplomat, and Democratic Party politician. As chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1860 to 1872, during a period of turmoil and reconciliation for the party following the American Civil War, Belmont was one of the longest serving party leaders in American history. During his life, he was one of the wealthiest men in the United States. He was also a thoroughbred racehorse owner and the founder and namesake of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown of American Thoroughbred horse racing. Belmont was born in the Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1813 to a leading Jewish family. After attending the Philanthropin, he joined the Rothschild banking house as an apprentice and clerk. In 1837, en route to Cuba to stabilize Rothschild holdings following the First Carlist War, Belmont stopped in New York City during a catastrophic financial panic and learned that the Rothschilds...

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