Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777?1836), son of Mayer Rothschild of Frankfurt, Germany, followed in the financial footsteps of his father, who was active in the British government as the subsidizer of the rulers of Europe during the Napoleonic wars, by founding the famous N. M. Rothschild bank. Rothschild made the bulk of his fortune in England as a textile merchant after emigrating there in 1799. He died ranking among the world's richest men in 1836. His son, Lionel, elected to the English Parliament, was denied admittance due to his Jewish heritage, although this injustice was corrected when his son, Sir Nathan Mayer Rothschild, the first Baron Rothschild, was admitted to the House of Lords. In 1917, his own son, the second Baron Rothschild, was honored with the Balfour Declaration.

The Rothschild Bank of London continues in the present day to be one of the most important banking establishments in the Western world. The Annuity Museum's collection includes two annuity documents signed by Rothschild. These bonds were issued by the Rothschild establishments of London, Paris, Vienna, and Frankfurt; this fact is important in that the bonds were redeemable in any of the above four cities, a safeguard against unstable political climates.