Felix Moritz Warburg (January 14, 1871 – October 20, 1937) was a German-born American banker. He was a member of the
Warburg banking family of
Hamburg,
Germany.[1]
Early life
Warburg was born in
Hamburg, in a Jewish Family in Germany, on January 14, 1871.[2] He was a grandson of Moses Marcus Warburg, one of the founders of the bank, M. M. Warburg (in 1798) and son of Moritz and Charlotte Esther Oppenheim Warburg. Felix's first job at age 16 was in Hamburg, Germany, with N.M. Oppenheim & Co. Felix Warburg was a partner in
Kuhn, Loeb & Co.[3]
Warburg was an important leader of the
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, established to help the
Jews in Europe in the period leading up to, and especially during, the
Great Depression. Warburg actively raised funds in the United States on behalf of European Jews who faced hunger following
World War I. As early as 1919, he was quoted in The New York Times discussing the dire situation of Jewish war sufferers.[5]
Warburg and the Joint Distribution Committee were also instrumental in the 1930s after the global Great Depression following the crash of the New York stock exchange in 1929.[9][10] More interested in his charitable work than banking, after Hitler seized power, Felix gave money to help aid Jews flee Germany. Before he died, Warburg gave $10,000,000 to Jewish causes around the world.[11]
He married
Frieda Schiff (1876–1958), daughter of
Jacob Henry Schiff (1847–1920) and Therese Loeb Schiff, on March 19, 1895, in New York.[14] They had four sons and one daughter:
All of their children were active in community service.[19] In 1927 Warburg purchased and donated four Stradivari instruments for the members of the newly formed Musical Art Quartet (from the Institute of Musical Art, now
Juilliard):
Sascha Jacobsen, Bernard Ocko,
Louis Kaufman, and Marie Roemaet-Rosanov.[20]
^Pfeffer, Jacob (September 12, 1932).
"Felix M. Warburg". Distinguished Jews of America: A Collection of Biographical Sketchs of Jew Who Have Made Their Mark in Business, the Professions, Politics, Science, Etc.Volume 1: 469.
Yehuda Bauer (1974) My Brother's Keeper. A History of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 1929-1939 Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia,
ISBN0-8276-0048-8