Gustav von Epstein

Gustav von Epstein
Born	(1828-04-10)10 April 1828 Prague, Bohemia, Austrian Empire
Died	(1879-09-23)23 September 1879 Vienna, Austria

Gustav Ritter von Epstein (10 April 1828 – 23 September 1879) was an Austrian industrialist and banker who commissioned the Palais Epstein.^[1]

Epstein was born on 10 April 1828 in Prague.^[2] He was the fourth child of Leopold Epstein, who was the director of the National Bank at the time,^[1] and his wife Caroline, who was from a prestigious textile industry family.^[2] After Gustav's father died in 1864, he took over his father's banking business.^[1] Due to his philanthropy, in 1866, Emperor Franz Joseph bestowed Epstein with the Iron Crown 3rd Class.^[1] The next year, Epstein commissioned the architect Otto Wagner to build him a villa in Baden.^[3] Most of Gustav's fortune was destroyed in the Panic of 1873, partially due to Adolf Taussig, who had speculated with Epstein's money before committing suicide later that year.^[4] In response, Epstein sold his villa to Archduke Rainer Ferdinand a few months later.^[3] Epstein died in 1879 in Vienna.^[1]

According to contemporary sources, Brigitte Haentjens described him as following:

Tall and slim, with a beard trimmed in the English fashion. He is serious and sensitive, of weak health and always has a very pale complexion. A well-travelled, multilingual man of education and great interest in art, but a man committed to the public. He does not derive his self-confidence from his money, but from the public respect that accrues to him from his offices and numerous honorary functions.