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Ernst Heinrich Schiff (1881–1931)

Ernst Schiff was born in Frankfurt in 1881. The Rothschilds and Schiffs each had a half of the same house in Judengasse. As a young man, he went to New York to work for his uncle, the banker Jacob Schiff, who was the senior partner of Kuhn Loeb, the main investment banking rival to JP Morgan.

In 1904-05 Jacob Schiff and Loeb led the international bond financing for the Japanese government to fund their war against Russia. In 1907, following the Japanese victory, Ernst went to Japan with his uncle where they were received and decorated by the Emperor Meiji.

Ernst then moved to London where he established the stockbroking firm, Bourke, Schiff & Co. He died in London in 1931.

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Citation details

'Schiff, Ernst Heinrich (1881–1931)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/schiff-ernst-heinrich-21486/text31831, accessed 10 July 2025.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1881
Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany

Death

24 December, 1931 (aged ~ 50)
London, Middlesex, England

Cause of Death

gastric dilatation

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.