Rothschild is the banking dynasty that has survived. "Our success has resisted nationalization, world wars, Nazi persecution—and we're still around," says Baron David de Rothschild.

He intends that the bank he now chairs, NM Rothschilds & Sons Ltd., will be around for a great deal longer and, unlike so many other banking dynasties, will retain a Rothschild at the helm. The family involvement, he feels, is one of the things that distinguishes the organization and has enabled it to build its franchise in Europe and, increasingly, around the globe.