Rothschild conspiracy theory resurfaces, but family doesn’t control global financial system

[Michie]

• Jacob Rothschild, an heir to the Rothschild banking fortune, died Feb. 26, prompting old conspiracy theories about the family to recirculate.

• The Rothschild family neither controls global financial systems nor is "behind" the Federal Reserve. The antisemitic conspiracy theory has been repeatedly debunked over centuries.

The Rothschild family has been at the center of conspiracy theories about its wealth and influence for centuries. The latest example followed Jacob Rothschild’s Feb. 26 death at age 87.

"The Rothschilds were behind the fed, and they now control the global financial system," said the caption on a Feb. 26Instagram post that included a photo of Jacob Rothschild. The post was later edited to remove that language.

This Instagram post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The Federal Reserve, in Washington, D.C., is controlled by a Board of Governors that the U.S. president nominates and the U.S. Senate confirms.

Conspiracy theories about the Rothschild family date to 1846 in Paris and have deep antisemitic roots. The family was targeted that year in an anonymously written pamphlet that falsely claimed that Nathan Rothschild, the family patriarch, Mayer Rothschild’s son, knew the Battle of Waterloo’s outcome in advance. The pamphlet was published 30 years after the battle and 10 years after Nathan Rothschild’s death, but its message has circulated ever since.

"There is a massive industry of Rothschild conspiracy theories, some of which are just invented on the spot, and others utilize tropes like Jews being cheap, Jews being greedy, Jews being clannish, keeping their money to themselves," historian Mike Rothschild (no relation to the Rothschild banking family), who has written a book about the history of the theories, said in a 2023 interview with Time magazine.

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Rothschild family does not control global financial system

The Rothschild family has been at the center of conspiracy theories about its wealth and influence for centuries. The la

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