Ludwig von Stieglitz (Любим Иванович Штиглиц; December 24, 1779 in Arolsen, Waldeck, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation; March 18 [O.S. 6 March] 1843, Saint Petersburg) was a German Jewish businessman in Russia and founder of the banking house Stieglitz & Company.
He was the youngest of three sons of the Waldeck court banker Hirsch Bernhard Stieglitz and his wife Edel Elisabeth (née Marcus). As a young man, Stieglitz moved to Russia as a representative of his merchant house, and eventually, after converting to Christianity, was appointed court banker to Alexander I of Russia, gaining influence and receiving various Russian decorations. After adopting Christianity, he was raised to the dignity of a Russian hereditary baron on August 22, 1826.
Stieglitz continued as court banker to Nicholas I and took an active part in many financial affairs of his adopted country, investing in a range of enterprises including steam navigation between Lübeck and St. Petersburg. He purchased the Estate of Gross-Essern in Courland, and on May 3, 1840 his name was inscribed in the register of the nobility of Courland.
A contemporary has noted: "He was the German Rothschild of St. Petersburg, but in reality more; for he was not only rich in money, he was still richer in heart, and a noble benefactor in the best sense of the word."[1]
- ^ Memoirs of Karoline Bauer – Translation from German, Published 1885 by Remington&Co, page 114