Sir Evelyn de Rothschild first introduced to the audience a brief history of the Rothschild family. The family's ascent to international prominence began in 1744, when Mayer Amschel Rothschild was born in Frankfurt, Germany. In the early 19th century, Mayer established a finance house and spread his business by appointing each of his five sons to the five major European cities-Frankfurt, London, Paris, Vienna and Naples-to expand the family banking business. Through the Napoleon wars, gold rush, construction of the Suez Canal, and exploration of oil resources, the Rothschild family business kept booming to an enormous scale. During the 1800s, the Rothschilds were believed to possess by far the largest private fortune in the modern world history. Today, the Rothschild family business still covers a diverse range of fields, including farming, winery, banking, private asset management, and charities.