Alfred Loewenstein

Alfred Loewenstein

Alfred Léonard Loewenstein CB was a Belgian financier. At his peak in the 1920s he was worth around £12 million. He invested in electric power and artificial silk businesses. His horses won the 1926 and 1928 runnings of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.

About Alfred Loewenstein in brief

Summary Alfred LoewensteinAlfred Léonard Loewenstein CB was a Belgian financier. At his peak in the 1920s he was worth around £12 million in the currency of the time, making him the third richest person in the world at the time. He invested in electric power and artificial silk businesses when those industries were in their infancy. His horses won the 1926 and 1928 runnings of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris. It is said that shortly before his death, Lowenstein made a deal with the gangster Arnold Rothstein to increase the supply of heroin into the United States by an amazing amount and create an international drug ring in Europe and the U.S.

His body was discovered on 19 July 1928, and was taken by fishing boat to Boulogne, where his identity was confirmed by his brother-in-law. An autopsy revealed a partial fracture of his skull and several broken bones, but it was concluded that he had been alive when he struck the water. He was laid to rest in a tomb belonging to his wife, Mnesison, in a cemetery in Evere, Belgium, but his name was not mentioned in the tomb because the family did not want anyone to suspect foul play, but that they did not suspect anyone of foul play. He is buried with his wife Mnesnes, and his son, Jean-Claude, who was born in 1903.