Public | |
Traded as | : LAZ Russell 1000 Component |
Industry | Financial services |
Founded | 1848 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
Founder | Alexandre Lazard Lazare Lazard Simon Lazard |
Headquarters |
Hamilton, Bermuda (incorporation) 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York City, New York, United States (operational) |
Key people
|
Kenneth M. Jacobs (Chairman & CEO) |
Products |
Financial services Investment banking Investment management |
Revenue | US$ 2.41 billion (2015) |
US$ 993 million (2015) | |
AUM | US$ 186 billion (2015) |
Number of employees
|
2,610 (2015) |
Website | www |
Lazard is a leading financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients. Its principal executive offices are in New York City, Paris and London.
Lazard was founded in 1848 and operates from 42 cities across 27 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Central and South America. The firm provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, strategic matters, restructuring and capital structure, capital raising and corporate finance, as well as asset management services to corporations, partnerships, institutions, governments and individuals.
On July 12, 1848, three Jewish French brothers, Alexandre, Lazare, and Simon Lazard, founded Lazard Frères & Co. as a dry goods merchant store in New Orleans, Louisiana. By 1851, Simon and two more brothers, Maurice and Elie, had all moved to San Francisco, California, while Alexandre moved to New York. Lazard Frères began to serve miners engaged in the California Gold Rush, and soon expanded into banking and foreign exchange.
In 1854, Alexandre Lazard moved to Paris, France, where he opened an office to complement the U.S. business. The firm began advising the French government on gold buying. In 1870, the firm continued to expand its international operations, opening an office in London.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the firm evolved into three “Houses of Lazard” in the United States, France, and England, separately managed but allied. The Lazard partners advised clients on financial matters and built a cross-border network of high-level relationships in business and government. Noted financial advisor George Blumenthal rose to prominence as the head of the U.S. branch of Lazard Frères and was a partner of Lazard Frères in France.