August Belmont II (1853–1924) banker and sportsman

Son of New York banker and socialite August Belmont and Catherine Slidell Perry, the daughter of Commodore Matthew Perry, August II was born in New York City. He attended Harvard, graduating in 1874, and entered the family banking business, run by his father until his death in 1890. He then assumed the reins of the firm. While at college, August was an avid track runner and helped import the first spiked running shoe into the United States, which helped revolutionize competitive running.

Known mostly as a socialite, August II nevertheless continued the family banking tradition. Much of the family business was built upon the relationship of his father with the Rothschilds, and August continued the tradition. The Anglo- German banking family was a major source of FOREIGN INVESTMENT for the United States until the outbreak of World War I. In 1900, he was instrumental in helping finance the New York subway system, which opened in 1904. In addition, Belmont contributed much time and energy to the continued development of the American Jockey Club, founded by his father, and also to racing his own horses, again following in his father’s tradition. He also helped finance the Cape Cod Canal, which opened in 1914. The U.S. government used the canal extensively during World War I to reduce shipping time between New England, New York, and points south. The family maintained a stake in the canal that was not sold until the 1920s.

During World War I, Belmont served as an officer in the U.S. Army, serving in Spain as a major, helping purchase livestock for the military. During his later years, he was preoccupied with horse breeding and racing. As a result, the family firm, August Belmont and Company, began to fade as a major Wall Street investment bank. The bank still made headlines in the early 1930s when it became the object of a retroactive lawsuit by the Soviet government, claiming that Belmont held a deposit from Russia that had never been returned.

Belmont died in 1924, and the family firm was closed. Its assets were liquidated to pay off debts, while his heirs chose to remain in the investment banking business at other firms rather than continue the family firm. His stables and horses were also liquidated, sold off to other prominent businessmen and socialites. His death marked the official end of Rothschild influence in American finance, although in reality it had ended some years before. Both he and his father made an indelible mark upon American finance, combining finance with extensive socializing and influencing Wall Street for years to come. They are best remembered for their contributions to American horse racing, especially the Belmont Stakes run in New York.

See also BELMONT, AUGUST; ROTHSCHILD, HOUSE OF.

Further reading

• Black, David. The King of Fifth Avenue: The Fortunes of August Belmont. New York: Dial Press, 1981. 
• Bowmar, Dan, III. Giants of the Turf: The Alexanders, the Belmonts, James R. Keene, the Whitneys. Lexington, Ky.: The Blood Horse, 1960. 
• Geisst, Charles R. The Last Partnerships: Inside the Great Wall Street Money Dynasties. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.