2025-12-30 02:42:AM <br/> Tags: #AmericanJewry #people #KeyPeople #Finance #Donor ![[image-208.png|326x451]] # Felix M. Warburg (1871-1937) - Felix Warburg was a highly influential American-immigrant Jewish leader and banker in the early 20th century. - Warburg was born into the prestigious Jewish Warburg banking family of Germany - Warburg moved to the United States in 1894, soon marrying Freida Schiff, the daughter of [[Jacob Schiff]], a legendary banker and one of the greatest Jewish benefactors of the era. - Warburg's philosophy: "I consider myself a servant of the Jewish people, and my duty is to help carry out those measures which are wanted by them."[^4] *Not a servant to his birth nation, Germany. Not a servant to his assumed nation, the United States. Warburg was a servant of the Jewish nation, a nation with no borders.* #### Banking - In 1896, Warburg joined the investment firm of his father-in-law [[Jacob Schiff]], Kuhn, Loeb & Co. - Warburg's older brother Paul M. Warburg had already been working for Kuhn, Loeb & Co. - Paul Warburg was later a founder of the Federal reserve. - Kuhn, Loeb & Co. was later merged with [[Lehman Brothers]] in 1977, creating Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc., the fourth largest investment bank in the united states. [^6] #### Warburg and Organized Jewry[^4] [^2] - Warburg was highly involved in funding and leading Jewish communal initiatives. - Warburg was an executive committee member of the [[American Jewish Committee (AJC)]]. - In its early years, the AJC operated as a highly exclusive organization led by elite German-Jews. *German-Jews (like Warburg) were considered to be the most elite.* - Warburg was the founding leader of the [[American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)]] in 1914. - Warburg served as JDC chairman from 1914-1932, remaining an honorary chairman until his death in 1937. - The JDC raised massive amount of money to support Jews globally. - The JDC, also called the 'Joint' was a merger of the Jewish factions, Zionists, Reform, and Orthodox. - In 1917, Warburg founded the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York. - Warburg was the first president of the Federation from 1917-1921. - The Federation was later reformed as the [[UJA-Federation of New York]]. - In 1929 at the behest of [[Chaim Weizmann]], Warburg and [[Louis Marshall]] were brought onto the [[Jewish Agency]] as non-Zionist representatives. - From 1929-1931, Warburg served as the chairman of the [[Jewish Agency]]'s administrative committee.[^5] - Warburg remained a member of the broader [[Jewish Agency]] council after his resignation from the administrative committee. - Warburg was a longtime board member of the [[Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS)]] - When Hitler ascended to power in 1933, Warburg was at the front lines organizing Jewish opposition and emigration from Germany. - Warburg did this primarily through the [[American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)]]. - Warburg, unlike many Jewish leaders of the era, preferred quiet opposition and diplomatic solutions. - Many Jewish leaders opted for public boycotts, protests, and loud declarations of opposition; Warburg was not one of them. - Warburg was a non-Zionist, yet he contributed huge sums to colonization and infrastructure building efforts in the [[Yishuv]]. - Warburg was instrumental in funding settlements, education, and industry in Jewish Palestine, a place he visited many times. - Warburg helped to found the American Friends of the Hebrew University in 1925, becoming its first president. - Warburg donated $500,000 to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem over many years. - In 1930, Warburg was awarded the Gottheil Medal for "the greatest service to American Jewry."[^4] - The Gottheil Medal is awarded by the Jewish Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. - In the mid 1930s, Warburg was the chairman of the [[United Jewish Appeal (UJA)]].[^8] - Warburg's lavish home at 1109 5th Avenue in Manhattan is today the Jewish Museum.[^2] - The mansion was donated to the [[Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS)]] in 1944 by Warburg's wife Frieda. - In 1939, an Israeli Moshav called Kfar Warburg was founded in Felix Warburg's honor. *A Moshav is an Israeli co-op farming village.* #### Family Connections - Warburg's father-in-law was [[Jacob Schiff]]. - Warburg's brother Paul was a founder of the Federal Reserve, serving as its second vice chairman from 1916-1918.[^3] - Felix's nephew, and Paul's son James Warburg was a financial advisor to President Roosevelt in the 1930s. [^7] - Warburg's daughter Carola married Walter N. Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild banking dynasty. - Warburg's son Gerald's second marriage was to Natica Nast, daughter of Condé Montrose Nast, the founder of the media empire by the same name - Condé Nast. *Condé Nast owns Vogue, The New Yorker, Pitchfork, Vanity Fair, Wired, etc.* - Warburg's son [[Edward M.M Warburg]] was a notable Jewish leader. #### Recommended Reading - Our Crowd - Stephen Birmingham #### References - “Felix M. Warburg Dead at 66,” _Jewish Telegraphic Agency_, October 21, 1937, [https://www.jta.org/archive/felix-m-warburg-dead-at-66](https://www.jta.org/archive/felix-m-warburg-dead-at-66). - “Felix M. Warburg.” _Wikipedia_. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FelixM.Warburg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_M._Warburg). ---- [^2]: “Felix M. Warburg.” _Wikipedia_. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FelixM.Warburg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_M._Warburg). [^3]: “Paul Warburg,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Warburg#:~:text=who%20served%20as%20the%20second%20vice%20chairman%20of%20the%20Federal%20Reserve%20from%201916%20to%201918](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Warburg#:~:text=who%20served%20as%20the%20second%20vice%20chairman%20of%20the%20Federal%20Reserve%20from%201916%20to%201918). [^4]: “Felix M. Warburg Dead at 66,” _Jewish Telegraphic Agency_, October 21, 1937, [https://www.jta.org/archive/felix-m-warburg-dead-at-66](https://www.jta.org/archive/felix-m-warburg-dead-at-66). [^5]: “Business & Finance: Death of Warburg,” _Time_, November 1, 1937, [https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,882922,00.html#:~:text=chairman%20of%20the%20Jewish%20Agency%27s%20administrative%20committee](https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,882922,00.html#:~:text=chairman%20of%20the%20Jewish%20Agency%27s%20administrative%20committee). [^6]: “Lehman Brothers,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehman_Brothers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehman_Brothers). [^7]: “James Warburg,” _Wikipedia_, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Warburg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Warburg). [^8]: “$750,000 Raised in Drive; Felix Warburg Announces Pledges for United Jewish Appeal,” _The New York Times_, May 24, 1935, [https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/24/archives/750000-raised-in-drive-felix-warburg-announces-pledges-for-united.html](https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/24/archives/750000-raised-in-drive-felix-warburg-announces-pledges-for-united.html).