Warburg family

The Warburg family is a German-Jewish family of bankers.

The Warburgs moved from Bologna to Warburg in Germany in the 16th century before moving to Altona, near Hamburg in the 17th century. Their first known ancestor was Simon von Cassel, who died in 1566. They took their surname from the city of Warburg. The brothers Moses Marcus Warburg (1763 - 1830) and Gerson Warburg (1765 - 1826) founded the M.M.Warburg & CO banking company in 1798 that is still in existence. Moses Warburg's great-great grandson, Siegmund George Warburg, founded investment bank S. G. Warburg & Co in London in 1946. Siegmund's second cousin, Eric Warburg, founded Warburg Pincus in New York in 1938. Eric Warburg's son Max Warburg (not to be confused with Eric's father Max Warburg) is currently one of the three partners of M.M.Warburg & CO.


Family organization

Alsterufer and Mittelweg lines

The family is traditionally divided into two prominent lines, the Alsterufer Warburgs and the Mittelweg Warburgs. The Alsterufer Warburgs descended from Siegmund Warburg (1835–1889) and the Mittelweg Warburgs descended from his brother Moritz M. Warburg (1838–1910). They took their nicknames from the brothers' respective addresses in Hamburg. The brothers were grandsons of Moses Marcus Warburg.

Siegmund George Warburg was of the Alsterufer line; the four brothers Aby, Max, Paul and Felix were of the Mittelweg line.


American and German Warburgs

One of the members of the family in the United States was Felix Warburg. He was a banker and philanthropist, and his house in New York City became the Jewish Museum. Another American Warburg was Paul Warburg, the father of the U.S. Federal Reserve System.

The German branch of the family included Max Warburg, one of the founders of the IG Farben industrial conglomerate which later played such an ominous role in helping the Third Reich. At the outbreak of WWII, however, all Jewish members had been expelled from the board of IG Farben (and all other companies in Germany). Virtually all members of the Warburg family had fled to the United States or Great Britain by 1938. However, two cousins, mother and daughter Gerta and Betty Warburg, lingered in Altona until 1940, were captured and murdered by the Nazis in the concentration camp at Sobibor. Eric Warburg, son of Max Warburg, retired to Germany and was influential in restoring Germany's reputation after the Second World War. Eric's son, also called Max, is currently a partner in M.M. Warburg & CO. in Hamburg.