Rothschild is making waves again: former playboy is having a hard time in the takeover battle

The Rothschilds’ family history is littered with drama and feuds to rival Succession, the dark comedy television series about a fictional billionaire business dynasty.

The fifth baron, better known around town as Nat Rothschild, is to some an Aristo playboy with a spicy business past and an even more colorful love life.

His haunts included Mayfair clubs, the Mediterranean playgrounds of the mega-rich and Waddesdon, the glorious Berkshire mansion built by his ancestors in the Victorian era.

He upset his parents in the mid-1990s when he eloped with socialite Annabelle Neilson and began a short-lived marriage.

Nat also did not invite his late father Jacob, who passed away earlier this year, to his 2016 wedding to former glamor model Loretta Basey.

To his City fans, however, he is a smart and talented business leader who is bringing back the golden age of deal-making to Britain.

Its business activities center around electronic cable manufacturer Volex, which is listed on the junior Alternative Investment Market (AIM) with a value of £665 million.

Volex is locked in a battle for control of TT Electronics, a £206 million components manufacturer.

The question on everyone’s lips in town is whether Nat, his father’s only son, can live up to the legacy of the respected financier and philanthropist.

So far, TT Electronics has given Nat the cold shoulder. Despite having problems of its own – the company issued a profit warning in September – it has rejected two offers from Volex in recent weeks, the second of which was worth around £249m.

Rothschild, 53, remains undeterred. He now follows an offensive line straight out of the playbook and familiar to anyone who has seen HBO’s Succession.

The Rothschilds’ banking empire was founded in Frankfurt in the 18th century. During the Victorian era, they became the richest people in the world.

As daring as his forebears, Nat is now appealing directly to TT Electronics shareholders, declaring that the company’s bosses ’caused a share price erosion of more than 65 percent before Volex’s stake was made public’.

The battle has begun and it seems that Rothschild, who is said to have inherited his father’s iron determination, is more than ready for battle.

His robust attitude draws attention to the takeover battle. During Rothschild’s nine-year tenure, Volex’s stock price rose 500 percent.

But there is also a new fascination with his career, family and other relationships. He was once considered the figure who could unite the warring Rothschild clan.

But he became so deeply estranged from his father that he did not attend the patriarch’s memorial service in Waddesdon. The Rothschild Foundation manages this beautiful property on behalf of the National Trust.

After Jacob’s death in 2024, his daughter Hannah, Nat’s older sister, took on the role of chairman. She also sits on the board of RIT Capital Partners, the investment trust that manages some of the family’s wealth.

Both messages appear to have been Nat’s in nature, meaning there is a sense of ‘what if’ about his life.

There is no trace of such feeling in the face he presents to the world.

In his profile on Basey, an ex-girlfriend of actor Steve Coogan, is famous for appearing on page three of The Sun.

First wife Annabelle Neilson, the muse of designer Alexander McQueen, died in 2018.

Rothschild supports Chelsea and is good on the ski slopes, which is not surprising considering he lives in Switzerland, in the elite resort of Klosters.

His proclaimed marital bliss is a far cry from his glorious period in the 1990s, when his business dealings were as fast as his courtships with women.

He was often the center of controversy. His first venture into the Indonesian energy market backfired spectacularly. Rothschild founded the Bumi group in 2010 together with the powerful Indonesian Bakrie family.

A bitter outburst in the boardroom followed and Bumi collapsed in 2012 amid financial irregularities, scandals and recriminations. But the fuss surrounding this incident was far less than that of the other episode in which the Rothschild names appeared in the press.

At Colet Court, the preparatory school for St Paul’s, Rothschild befriended the former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

While in Oxford, the pair were pictured together in their dressing gowns and other trappings from the infamous Bullingdon Club. However, the friendship fell apart in October 2008 when Nat threw a party on the Greek island of Corfu.

Guests included Peter Mandelson, then foreign minister, and Russian magnate Oleg Deripaska, with whom Rothschild had ties based on plans for developments in Montenegro.

Also present at the party was Osborne, who was shadow chancellor at the time. Later, Rothschild would falsely claim that Osborne was trying to solicit a donation from Deripaska for the Conservative Party.

Until recently, Rothschild’s X-profile photo was that of a venerable old man, taken by 18th-century British painter Joseph Wright. The connection is unclear – Rothschild may like to keep people in the dark.

However, one thing is certain. After his return to the public stage, he is a mogul to watch.