Oliver Rothschild, a 64-year-old British entrepreneur and self-declared "International Man of Excellence," with the accent, the swagger and above all, the famous name, to impress.
Beijing:
An upper-class English accent and a famous family name can get you a long way in China.
This is, after all, a country obsessed with power, status and wealth, with a distinct fascination with traditional British culture and a huge audience for TV shows such as "Downton Abbey" and "Sherlock."
Enter Oliver Rothschild, a 64-year-old British entrepreneur and self-declared "International Man of Excellence," with the accent, the swagger and above all, the famous name, to impress.
For the past few years, Rothschild has been enjoying the red-carpet treatment in China. Media reports show him meeting government officials, touring cities, visiting companies, and delivering speeches at business forums and at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University.
At Tsinghua, he was billed as a "core member" and "ninth generation" descendent of the fabulously wealthy Rothschild family.
He was, the university said, a global financial investor, an entrepreneurial strategist and a philanthropist who has been in charge of more than a dozen charitable organizations, including UNICEF and the British Red Cross.
Not true.
Oliver Rothschild is not a member of the famous family. In fact, as company documents show, his real first name is John (Oliver is his middle name), the Red Cross has no record of him, and he has never run UNICEF - although he might have held a voluntary position running a fundraising committee once upon a time and even donated a few pounds.
Last week, Tsinghua was forced into an embarrassing retraction after Chinese state-owned media characterized Rothschild as a "fake" and a "con artist."
"There was negligence in terms of screening," Tsinghua University Vice President Yang Bin told the China News Service.
Writing in the Global Times newspaper, commentator Liu Zhun said the episode exposed China's insecurities and a "longing for international endorsement, especially from the developed world, as an indicator of being something."
"An inferiority complex has taken roots in the mind of many Chinese, xenophilia mixed with a worship of everything foreign," Liu wrote. "The ethos is reflected in Chinese entrepreneurs recruiting white Europeans as 'advisers' who are nothing but ornaments and Chinese parents' obsession with studying overseas regardless of the universities' accreditation."
Yet China was not the only country to fall for Rothschild's charms, for it is not the only place with a fascination for the elite, where a bit of chutzpah and a padded resume can open doors and generate potentially lucrative speaking engagements.
As a speaker at an investment meeting in the United Arab Emirates in 2015, he was described as a previous chairman of UNICEF. At a forum on the future of cities in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana the same year, Rothschild was billed as a U.K. representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), a role that also appears on his LinkedIn profile.
(UNECE said he never represented the commission. "He attended one of our meetings last year, but he was not involved in any projects or activities of the UNECE," spokesman Jean Rodriguez wrote in an email.)
China, however, is where the Oliver Rothschild story and his purported association with the famous family grew wings.
Rothschild did not respond to phone or emailed requests for comment, but he told the Financial Times last week he was "shocked" to hear of the controversy and had never alleged he was in any way connected with the banking family.
Yet he acknowledged that it was "quite possible" that some of his friends who arranged his meetings in China may have misrepresented him.
But in a 2014 interview with the China Philanthropist magazine, Rothschild lyrically described the burden that came with his famous family name.
"It is much easier to say that I am not related to that family than to say that I am," he was quoted as saying. "But I have been carrying the expectation on the family name since I was born. My whole life has been to grow to become part of the value embodied by this family name."
At first, Rothschild flew just under the radar, with engagements around China that attracted little national media attention.
Attending a World Entrepreneurship Forum at Zhejiang University in eastern China in October, he was described as a "renowned British entrepreneur and the investment manager for the Rothschild family." On a visit to infrastructure company Jingsun Group, he was described as a "12th-generation descendent" of the Rothschild family and was reported as speaking about the family's ideals.
China is no stranger to the art of imitation, including fake designer bags and luxury watches and a life-size replica of London's Tower Bridge.
It also has its own phenomenon of "fake officials" - political swindlers who pose as government officials and are shown the red carpet on tours of small towns, or con men who pretend to have top-level Communist Party contacts and peddle imaginary influence.
Perhaps, then, it is fitting that is was here that Rothschild was exposed, first by China's Economic Observer newspaper, and then gleefully by other state media outlets.
"With a charming British accent, paired with a special last name, Oliver Rothschild was regarded as heir of the mysterious Jewish banking family for several years," the People's Daily reported, before noting that those claims had been debunked.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Rothschild family said, "Oliver Rothschild is not a descendant, through the male line, of Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812) of Frankfurt and is therefore not a member of the Rothschild banking family."
Rothschild's LinkedIn profile says he graduated from the University of Surrey with a degree in hotel management and lists specialties ranging from the hotel and leisure industries to fine art and antiques, from property and corporate finance to media, film and charitable causes.
It also lists 30 present or past positions - as chairman, director, patron or president of a series of small companies and charitable organizations, including as a senior fellow in entrepreneurship and commerce at the University of Essex. Spokeswoman Vicky Vickers said he had "no association" with the university.
Data from Britain's Companies House show Rothschild is sole owner and co-director of Oliver Rothschild Corporate Advisers Limited, which most recently reported assets of less than $12,000 (and liabilities of nearly $120,000).
As for UNICEF, media head Marixie Mercado said the organization has no current relationship with him.
He was a supporter of the U.K. national appeals committee in the mid-1990s, she said. In 1995, he donated 1,000 pounds, about $1,600 at the time.
On Twitter, a profile under his name and with his photograph describes him as an "International Man of Excellence."
The @ollyrothschild Twitter handle briefly flared into life in 2009. It notes a speech at Oxford University and an international entrepreneurs conference in Istanbul.
"Took 2 beautiful women around 9 West End art galleries drinking was the topic of conversation, ended up at the Ivy Club," reads one post from May 29, 2009.
"Off in a jiff, drinks with Kevin Spacey at a certain theatrical bar!" the next post reads.
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This is, after all, a country obsessed with power, status and wealth, with a distinct fascination with traditional British culture and a huge audience for TV shows such as "Downton Abbey" and "Sherlock."
Enter Oliver Rothschild, a 64-year-old British entrepreneur and self-declared "International Man of Excellence," with the accent, the swagger and above all, the famous name, to impress.
For the past few years, Rothschild has been enjoying the red-carpet treatment in China. Media reports show him meeting government officials, touring cities, visiting companies, and delivering speeches at business forums and at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University.
At Tsinghua, he was billed as a "core member" and "ninth generation" descendent of the fabulously wealthy Rothschild family.
He was, the university said, a global financial investor, an entrepreneurial strategist and a philanthropist who has been in charge of more than a dozen charitable organizations, including UNICEF and the British Red Cross.
Not true.
Oliver Rothschild is not a member of the famous family. In fact, as company documents show, his real first name is John (Oliver is his middle name), the Red Cross has no record of him, and he has never run UNICEF - although he might have held a voluntary position running a fundraising committee once upon a time and even donated a few pounds.
Last week, Tsinghua was forced into an embarrassing retraction after Chinese state-owned media characterized Rothschild as a "fake" and a "con artist."
"There was negligence in terms of screening," Tsinghua University Vice President Yang Bin told the China News Service.
Writing in the Global Times newspaper, commentator Liu Zhun said the episode exposed China's insecurities and a "longing for international endorsement, especially from the developed world, as an indicator of being something."
"An inferiority complex has taken roots in the mind of many Chinese, xenophilia mixed with a worship of everything foreign," Liu wrote. "The ethos is reflected in Chinese entrepreneurs recruiting white Europeans as 'advisers' who are nothing but ornaments and Chinese parents' obsession with studying overseas regardless of the universities' accreditation."
Yet China was not the only country to fall for Rothschild's charms, for it is not the only place with a fascination for the elite, where a bit of chutzpah and a padded resume can open doors and generate potentially lucrative speaking engagements.
As a speaker at an investment meeting in the United Arab Emirates in 2015, he was described as a previous chairman of UNICEF. At a forum on the future of cities in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana the same year, Rothschild was billed as a U.K. representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), a role that also appears on his LinkedIn profile.
(UNECE said he never represented the commission. "He attended one of our meetings last year, but he was not involved in any projects or activities of the UNECE," spokesman Jean Rodriguez wrote in an email.)
China, however, is where the Oliver Rothschild story and his purported association with the famous family grew wings.
Rothschild did not respond to phone or emailed requests for comment, but he told the Financial Times last week he was "shocked" to hear of the controversy and had never alleged he was in any way connected with the banking family.
Yet he acknowledged that it was "quite possible" that some of his friends who arranged his meetings in China may have misrepresented him.
But in a 2014 interview with the China Philanthropist magazine, Rothschild lyrically described the burden that came with his famous family name.
"It is much easier to say that I am not related to that family than to say that I am," he was quoted as saying. "But I have been carrying the expectation on the family name since I was born. My whole life has been to grow to become part of the value embodied by this family name."
At first, Rothschild flew just under the radar, with engagements around China that attracted little national media attention.
Attending a World Entrepreneurship Forum at Zhejiang University in eastern China in October, he was described as a "renowned British entrepreneur and the investment manager for the Rothschild family." On a visit to infrastructure company Jingsun Group, he was described as a "12th-generation descendent" of the Rothschild family and was reported as speaking about the family's ideals.
China is no stranger to the art of imitation, including fake designer bags and luxury watches and a life-size replica of London's Tower Bridge.
It also has its own phenomenon of "fake officials" - political swindlers who pose as government officials and are shown the red carpet on tours of small towns, or con men who pretend to have top-level Communist Party contacts and peddle imaginary influence.
Perhaps, then, it is fitting that is was here that Rothschild was exposed, first by China's Economic Observer newspaper, and then gleefully by other state media outlets.
"With a charming British accent, paired with a special last name, Oliver Rothschild was regarded as heir of the mysterious Jewish banking family for several years," the People's Daily reported, before noting that those claims had been debunked.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Rothschild family said, "Oliver Rothschild is not a descendant, through the male line, of Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812) of Frankfurt and is therefore not a member of the Rothschild banking family."
Rothschild's LinkedIn profile says he graduated from the University of Surrey with a degree in hotel management and lists specialties ranging from the hotel and leisure industries to fine art and antiques, from property and corporate finance to media, film and charitable causes.
It also lists 30 present or past positions - as chairman, director, patron or president of a series of small companies and charitable organizations, including as a senior fellow in entrepreneurship and commerce at the University of Essex. Spokeswoman Vicky Vickers said he had "no association" with the university.
Data from Britain's Companies House show Rothschild is sole owner and co-director of Oliver Rothschild Corporate Advisers Limited, which most recently reported assets of less than $12,000 (and liabilities of nearly $120,000).
As for UNICEF, media head Marixie Mercado said the organization has no current relationship with him.
He was a supporter of the U.K. national appeals committee in the mid-1990s, she said. In 1995, he donated 1,000 pounds, about $1,600 at the time.
On Twitter, a profile under his name and with his photograph describes him as an "International Man of Excellence."
The @ollyrothschild Twitter handle briefly flared into life in 2009. It notes a speech at Oxford University and an international entrepreneurs conference in Istanbul.
"Took 2 beautiful women around 9 West End art galleries drinking was the topic of conversation, ended up at the Ivy Club," reads one post from May 29, 2009.
"Off in a jiff, drinks with Kevin Spacey at a certain theatrical bar!" the next post reads.
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
