Son of Anthony Gustav de Rothschild and Yvonne Lydia Louise Cahen d'Anvers, he was named after his uncle Evelyn Achille de Rothschild who was killed in action in World War I. Evelyn de Rothschild spent several of his boyhood years in the United States during World War II. He was a pupil at Harrow School and then studied history at Trinity College, University of Cambridge but dropped out before gaining a degree. Born into great wealth, Evelyn de Rothschild became one of England's most eligible bachelors, spending his youth travelling, socialising, driving exotic sports cars, enjoying thoroughbred horse racing and playing polo. It was not until age 26 that he decided to join N M Rothschild & Sons banking house to be trained in the family's business. In 1955, a couple years prior to Sir Evelyn's entry into the family's business, his father had to retire from the position of chairman due to illness and his cousin Victor Rothschild took over as chairman.
Career
Evelyn de Rothschild was appointed a director of Paris-based de Rothschild Frères in 1968 while Guy de Rothschild from the French branch of the family became a partner at N M Rothschild & Sons. In 1976 he took over as bank chairman from Victor Rothschild and in 1982 became chairman of Rothschilds Continuation Holdings AG, the co-ordinating company for the merchant banking group. He became co-chairman of Rothschild Bank A.G., Zurich in 1994, serving until 2003 when he oversaw the merger of the family's French and UK houses. David René de Rothschild of the French branch took over as executive chairman of Rothschild International after the different branches had been merged and Sir Evelyn continued as non-executive chairman of N M Rothschild & Sons. In 2003, he founded with his wife, Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a holding company, E.L. Rothschild, to manage their investments in The Economist and various enterprises in India. Throughout his career, Evelyn de Rothschild has been actively involved in a number of other organisations in both the private and public sectors and has held the following business positions:
Chairman - The Economist
Chairman - British Merchant Banking & Securities House Association
Evelyn de Rothschild also served as a Director of the newspaper group owned by Lord Beaverbrook. Years later, he served for a time as a Director of Lord Black'sDaily Telegraph newspaper. An owner of thoroughbred racehorses, he is a former chairman of United Racecourses.
In 1966, Evelyn de Rothschild married Jeannette Bishop, a niece of Sir Stanley Hooker, the jet-engine engineer. The marriage ended in divorce in 1971. Jeanette Bishop died in 1981 at the age of 41. He married a second time in 1973 to Victoria Lou Schott, the daughter of Florida property developer Lewis Schott and his wife Marcia W. Schott. The marriage, which ended in divorce in 2000, produced three children:
Jessica de Rothschild - British-based theatre director. Married British-American film director Sacha Gervasi in 2010
On 30 November 2000, Sir Evelyn married the American lawyer and entrepreneur Lynn Forester, who was the head of the Luxembourg-based wireless broadband venture FirstMark Communications Europe and the former wife of Andrew Stein, a New York City political figure who served as the last president of the New York City Council. By this marriage, he has two stepchildren, Benjamin Forester Stein and John Forester Stein. On the announcement of the marriage, the de Rothschild couple were invited to spend their honeymoon at the White House, where they agreed to stay one night. Sir Evelyn's family homes include Ascott House, a country estate owned by the National Trust in Buckinghamshire about 46 miles north of London. Sir Evelyn was appointed Knight Bachelor in the 1989 New Year Honours.
