Holocaust Survivor And Famed Financier’s Briefcase Of Family Photos And Letters Goes Missing
Michel David-Weill in 2013, at a benefit dinner. Image by Getty
By Ari Feldman July 11, 2019
Michel David-Weill, a Holocaust survivor and a famous financier, had a small trove of irreplaceable family photographs and letters from before World War II go missing while on vacation in California, the Lost Coast Outpost first reported.
David-Weill is the former chairman of Lazard Frères — his French Jewish family ran the private investment firm Lazard Frères for almost a hundred years. (The firm currently manages over $210 billion.) David-Weill and his family survived the Holocaust by passing as Catholics, hidden in a small village in southwestern France. As a respected (and feared) investor on Wall Street in the 1980s and 1990s, and a businessman with influence across several global industries, David-Weill gained a reputation for secrecy and media shyness, as well as philanthropic largesse.
Earlier this month, David-Weill went to an inn in Eureka to visit the redwood forests. While he was there, a briefcase he was traveling with went missing. Inside the briefcase was a small trove of family pictures and letters from before the war, including photographs of David-Weill’s brother who died shortly before the end of the Nazi occupation of France.
According to a review of security footage from the hotel, the briefcase was not seen entering or exiting the hotel.
An employee for David-Weill told the Outpust that “these items cannot be replaced.” The employee also said that David-Weill will not press charges against the thief, and asked that “if anybody has a conscience” they should return the briefcase. David-Weill has also announced a $10,000 for the return of the briefcase.
Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chiefSupport our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
