Nadine and Ariane de Rothschild, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who star in Switzerland's most 'posh' legal battle

BarcelonaIf everything that happens in Switzerland already seems like a given to us by default preppyImagine how this feeling intensifies when you add the Rothschild name to the equation. Well, this is the league we're playing in today. The level of exclusivity of the topic we're discussing this Sunday is so high that even names like Empress Sissi and Napoleon appear. In fact, to fully understand the context of these events, imagine that in the most VIP country in the world, there's a VIP room, which inside has another VIP room, which in turn has an even smaller, and therefore even more VIP, room. It's there that everything that follows takes place. Perhaps that's why, despite their importance, we know practically nothing about the characters in this tragicomedy.

The protagonists of the story are Nadine de Rothschild and Ariane de Rothschild, two women who bear this world-famous surname, but neither of them was born with it, as they both became members of the legendary banking dynasty by marrying into its ranks. The first is a 93-year-old woman who has decided to make history by grabbing as many headlines as necessary to get her way. The second is her daughter-in-law, who, despite her desire to remain inconspicuous, has ended up as fodder for the media. jet set global because it is willing to defend its rights at any cost, as is logical.

14 'houses'

Nadine, born into a working-class family in northern France, entered the Rothschild family after leaving for Paris to try her luck as an actress, but ultimately finding greater success through marriage: to Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild, the only son of Baron Maurice de Rothschild. Born in 1932 and dubbed "the gold rush" during her Parisian years by fellow actor Darry Cowl, Nadine married Edmond de Rothschild at the age of 27 and began an absolutely lavish lifestyle that unfolded in the 1.3 million of the family. These residences served not only as homes but also as venues for networking, as the parties she hosted attracted major celebrities of the era such as Audrey Hepburn, Maria Callas, and members of other prominent dynasties like the Kennedys.

That daughter of a French communist ended up being the mistress of château Pregny, on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. It was there, decades ago, that the Rothschilds received Empress Sisi the day before her assassination, and where she wrote the etiquette and protocol books that have led to her being referred to as a writer in the media to this day. This juniper-covered mansion, with 1,120 square meters of built space and a 177,000-square-meter plot, also housed a large art collection that is allegedly still there.

Son or heir?

Nadine had only one son, Benjamin de Rothschild, who always maintained a very distant relationship with his mother. In fact, according to several media outlets, he had publicly stated on occasion that his mother had produced more of an heir than a son. Benjamin, an only child like his father, married financier Ariane Langner, now Ariane de Rothschild, in 1999, with whom he had four daughters. Four children for Nadine, who was once accused by her son of not even knowing their names.

The problems between these two women began with the death of their respective Rothschilds. Edmond, the father, died in 1997, leaving behind an enormous fortune—estimated by the least generous source at €1 billion—which included a large art collection, part of which he explicitly bequeathed to Nadine. Since he had only one son, who was the rightful heir, she didn't claim it, and this has been the root of all their troubles since she changed her mind with age.

Financial boycott

Upon becoming a widow, she left Pregny behind to move to an adjacent property, allowing her son and young husband to settle there. Despite this seemingly generous gesture, the relationship between mother and son steadily cooled once the father was gone. So much so that, despite being neighbors, they only visited each other upon formal invitation. This deteriorated to such an extent that Nadine, according to press reports, decided to transfer her personal fortune, valued at over 170 million euros, to a rival bank.

That event, which occurred when Nadine was 82, marked a turning point. A few years later, in 2021, Benjamin died of a heart attack at 57. His mother didn't attend the funeral, claiming she had only been notified two hours beforehand, a claim refuted by other funds, which assert that she actually didn't attend because she wasn't allowed to decide how the funeral should be conducted. After her son's death, Nadine claimed the artworks she had inherited but not registered, as reported by several media outlets. To do so, she requested an inventory, which had not been granted. She then sued her daughter, Ariane, even though her four granddaughters were the rightful owners of everything. Perhaps if she didn't know their names, she couldn't sue them...

Legal battle

In any case, the court ruled in his favor, and he subsequently created a foundation to shelter him These works and to exhibit them in a museum in the city of Geneva. After Ariane—by then director of her late husband's financial group—sued her to use the Rothschild name for the foundation but lost again, the irate mother-in-law filed a third lawsuit, this time against her granddaughters. This time she was unsuccessful, and the Swiss courts determined that these four young women were the owners of the works as well as the Pregny mansion where they were stored. As has been reported, the fact that Nadine's late husband's will was ambiguous prevented the courts from making a division of the estate, and since then, the works have remained together within that property, built with theold money that the Rothschilds had gained by financing the Napoleonic Wars.

Since things didn't turn sour, the nonagenarian donned her doting grandmother persona and invited her four granddaughters to a tea party—which was to be kept confidential—this summer. After a pleasant first meeting, she asked them to schedule a second one, to which, true to tradition, the Rolls Royce for hail damage was once again present. Nadine reportedly told them she wanted to open a museum—in the adjacent pavilion she had occupied after leaving Pregny—dedicated to Sisi, where she wanted to display her works. She explained this herself to the Swiss media. The illustriousShe added that if she didn't succeed, she would donate all these works to a museum in Israel. She concluded her media appearance by saying that she wants to have everything settled in her lifetime, but that, just in case she doesn't have time, everything is already in place to ensure her wishes are carried out, whether she is in this world or another. It cannot be ruled out that Nadine will be, in one way or another, the longest-lived Rothschild of all time.