Felix M. Warburg

Felix Moritz Warburg was born on January 14, 1871, in Hamburg, Germany, into the Warburg banking family of Hamburg. His family was of Jewish heritage; his grandfather was Moses Marcus Warburg, a founder of the bank M. M. Warburg established in 1798. Felix's parents were Moritz Warburg and Charlotte Esther Oppenheim Warburg.

At the age of 16, Warburg began his professional career in Hamburg, working with N. M. Oppenheim & Co. He later became a partner at Kuhn, Loeb & Co., an American investment bank.

In 1908, Warburg served as a presidential elector in the United States presidential election. Throughout his career, he was actively involved in philanthropic efforts, notably as a leader of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which was established to assist Jewish populations in Europe, especially during the period leading up to and during the Great Depression. Warburg played a significant role in fundraising efforts within the United States to aid European Jews facing hunger post-World War I.

He was quoted in The New York Times in 1919 discussing the plight of Jewish war sufferers. In 1925, Warburg founded and served as the first president of the American Friends of the Hebrew University, supporting the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Mandate Palestine. During the 1930s, after the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, Warburg and the Joint Distribution Committee engaged in efforts to aid Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, providing financial support and assistance. In particular, he contributed substantial funds toward Jewish causes, reportedly giving $10 million before his death.

Warburg was married to Frieda Schiff, daughter of Jacob Henry Schiff and Therese Loeb Schiff. The marriage took place on March 19, 1895, in New York City. They had five children: four sons—Frederick Marcus Warburg (1897–1973), Gerald Felix Warburg (1901–1971), Paul Felix Warburg, Edward Mortimer Morris Warburg (1908–1992)—and one daughter, Carola Warburg Rothschild (1896–1987). His children were involved in community service activities. His daughter Carola married Walter N. Rothschild, with her descendants including Peter A. Bradford and Arthur Bradford.

In 1927, Warburg purchased and donated four Stradivari instruments to the newly formed Musical Art Quartet, associated with the Institute of Musical Art, now Juilliard.

Felix Warburg died on October 20, 1937, in New York City. He was interred at Salem Fields Cemetery in Brooklyn.

His legacy includes the naming of Kfar Warburg, a Jewish village established in Mandate Palestine in 1939, in his honor. He served as a trustee of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and was president of The 92nd Street Y (then known as the Young Men’s Hebrew Association) from 1908 to 1916. During his presidency, he donated the Heinsheimer Memorial Annex, the first residence for The 92nd Street Y.

The Felix M. Warburg House, located on New York's Upper East Side and donated by his widow, now functions as the Jewish Museum. His philanthropic efforts, particularly in Jewish educational and cultural institutions, are a significant part of his legacy.