Eduard Arnhold

German Jewish industrialist. Born in Dessau, he began his rise to become one of Germany's "coal kings" as a 15-year-old apprentice in Caesar Wollheim's company in Berlin; became company secretary by age 21 and a partner at 26.

Upon Wollheim's death in 1882 he became sole owner and built the company into an international business with modern production and distribution methods. In 1912 his fortune was estimated at 35 million marks and in 1914 he was ranked third in Berlin's millionaires. Was a member of the central committee of the Reichsbank and also sat on various boards of directors, among them the Agfa board for 37 years.

Arnhold became a major authority on modern transportation and promoted the development of waterways as well as the extensive Berlin tram system. He also supported aviation and Graf Zeppelin received a generous donation from him foilowing the destruction of his air ship.

He was involved in the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Wissenschaften (Kaiser Wilhelm Association for the Promotion of the Sciences). He established, with the help of Wilhelm von Bode, an extensive private collection of modern art, which was considered to not yet be ready for museums during the conservative Wilhelmine Empire period. He supported artists with fellowships, purchases of art and financing of art competitions. Best remembered for the donation of the Villa Massimo to the Prussian government in 1914. This artistic colony, located in Rome, was to provide space and financing for twelve German artists each year to study Roman art and to develop their own style. Also participated in and contributed to more than sixty Jewish and non-Jewish charity organizations. Source

Langjähriges Mitglied der »Gesellschaft der Freunde«, einem 1792 in Berlin gegründeten Hilfsverein, der allerdings seit den 1880er Jahren vorwiegend als Club bzw. informelles Zentrum der Berliner Hochfinanz und Industrie fungierte.