Jacques Menachem Elias

According to SephardicGen, He established the Romania General Bank.

https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_M._Elias (Romanian)
Jacques Menachem Elias was born in 1844, in Bucharest, in a Jewish family of Spanish rite (Sephard), his father being called Menachem H. Elias.
Jacques’ will shows that he had two brothers who died in Vienna, that he was never married and had no children.
He was an important businessman, owner of sugar factories (sugar factory in Sascut Targ, Bacău county), banker (being the president and shareholder of the Romanian General Bank) and industrialist. In the nearly 80 years of his life, he managed to raise a fortune, owning thousands of hectares, agricultural farms, buildings in the country and abroad (9 buildings in Vienna for example, as well as Berlin, Rome and Paris) , 2 hotels in Bucharest (Continental and Patria), 2 mercury mines in Dalmatia, factories and millions of lei in shares in New York, Brussels, London, Prague, Belgrade, Vienna, Berlin etc.Because until the First World War the Romanian Jews were granted the right to be Romanian citizens individually, with the approval of the Parliament, Jacques Elias received the Romanian citizenship only in 1880, through an emergency procedure, at the request of King Carol I. Although he had a great fortune, Elias lived all his modest life, living in an ordinary apartment and did not frequent clubs or casinos.He was advisor to King Carol I, who rewarded him with high honors for his contribution to the development of the Romanian economy.Jacques Menachem Elias died on May 14, 1923, in Bucharest. At the funeral took part the whole Romanian government.
By his will, written on December Feb 15, 1914, as he had no ascendants or descendants alive, he designated as the universal associate the Romanian Academy, to whom he left all his movable and immobile wealth "wherever this fortune was in the country and abroad "(then estimated at 1 billion lei). According to his wishes, the Romanian Academy set up a foundation for national culture and public assistance called the Family Foundation Menachem H. Elias, the entire wealth being dedicated to promoting culture in Romania, relieving poor people's illnesses, encouraging valuable elements, supporting noble causes. And this regardless of origin, for all who deserve to be helped. The foundation was named after his father.His will provided funding for the following objectives:
"In particular, he will have the obligation to build and maintain in Bucharest a hospital with at least 100 beds in the most modern conditions ... In this hospital will be sick of both sexes, Israelites and any other faith; will give consultations and free medicines. " This hospital is called the Elias Hospital.the development of cultural institutions;building schools for "Israeli students and any other faith" and school canteensawarding Jacques Elias awards and scholarships for poor children annually;Funding for Carol I University, for the Faculty of Medicine in Bucharest, many other hospitals and swings for children;granting donations to temples and Jewish schools of Spanish rite in Bucharest and Vienna.
His philanthropic gesture was congratulated by contemporaries, Nicolae Iorga speaking of "this great example of human generosity", and Grigore Antipa, the vice-president of the Romanian Academy, in the words spoken at the Great Temple of the Spanish Rite of Israel in Bucharest after the death of the great philanthropist, he recalled the example of Jacques Elias, who "intended all the fruits of his work to achieve a great ideal, raising the homeland through culture."
The Temple of the Spanish Jews in Bucharest rebuilt from the initiative and sponsorship of Jacques Menachem Elias, then devastated and burned by the Iron Guard on January 21, 1941.
Because of this, some relatives demanded the annulment of the will, but after convenient negotiations it would give up claims.
"The social significance of Jacques Elias's testament is not only in that he remembers the traditions of this country regarding the class's debts to the public, but also the fact that he leaves the whole fortune for culture. It will be made from its money schools, where pupils will receive irrespective of their nationality. He understood that what is lacking in our country is the culture spread in the deep masses of the people, and therefore did not hesitate to give up any thought and give this great example of human generosity in order to make more light in the souls of its brethren on the earth where he lived, "wrote Nicolae Iorga in an article published shortly after Elias's death.
The testament was written in 1914, and his desire was fulfilled in 1938, Elias Hospital being at that time the most modern in Europe, with 200 beds.
In 1993, Jacques Elias was elected post-mortem member of the Romanian Academy.
Mausoleum of Jacques Menachem Elias (1844-1923) is in Vienna, where he and most of his family retired.The Mausoleum of Jacques Menachem Elias is one of the most important examples of Moorish renaissance architecture in Vienna. Based on the architecture of Moorish Spain, especially the Alhambra, it was built between 1908 and 1911 by architect Stefan Fayans. Elias belonged to the Sephardic community that originated in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion from Spain and Portugal around 1500.

• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Mar 16 2022, 21:24:14 UTC