Léon Lambert, 3rd Baron Lambert (July 2, 1928 – May 28, 1987) was a Belgian banker and art collector.
Single and without children, he devoted his whole life to his career which made him famous worldwide. When he died at the Erasmus hospital in Anderlecht on May 28, 1987, many press articles will recount the life of the man who, some would say, had "united high finance and the arts".
Early life and family
Léon Lambert, the eldest son of and Johanna von Reininghaus, came from a large family of Belgian bankers that spanned three generations. The family's banking history began with Samuel Lambert, Leon's great-grandfather, who, following the second marriage of his mother-in-law to Lazare Richtenberger, the Rothschild's representative in Brussels, had been introduced to the world of finance. Very quickly, he founded Banque Lambert, which would become the privileged representative of the Rothschilds in Belgium. His son Léon (1851-1919), who was nicknamed the "king's banker", continued his father's work and financed a large part of Leopold II of Belgium's colonial projects. Subsequently, Léon's son Henri (1887-1933) succeeded his father, and it was under his leadership that Banque Lambert became independent from the Rothschilds to no longer simply be its Belgian branch.
Shortly following the birth of Léon Lambert, the eldest of the banking family's fourth generation, Banque Lambert seemed to be recovering from the shock of the stock market crash of 1929 and the crisis that followed. Very quickly, however - when he had not even reached his sixth birthday - Léon Lambert lost his father. It was the mother of the young child who took over the family business, awaiting the coming of age of her eldest son.
During the Second World War, Léon Lambert continued his education in Bern first, then in America. Once the war was over, he continued his graduate studies at Yale University, University of Oxford, and finally at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, where he obtained his licence in 1950.
Banking career
In 1950, a year after reaching his civil majority, the young baron took over the management of Bank H. Lambert (de Lhoneux, De Bruyn et Cie), which he immediately set up as a limited partnership, giving it the more sober name of Banque Lambert.
Under his leadership, Banque Lambert experienced spectacular growth, which earned it, because of its young age, to be called the Minou Drouet of finance, Minou Drouet being then a poet who was very successful, although barely ten years old. It was also at this time that Camille Gutt, followed by Ernest de Selliers de Moranville joined Banque Lambert.
Soon enough, in the summer of 1953, Banque Lambert absorbed the Banque de Reports et de Dépôts, thus considerably increasing its capital. The same year, Léon Lambert founded the European Company for Industry and Finance, then turned to the Congolese colony for which he created the holding company Compagnie d’Afrique. This, after being absorbed by the European Company for Industry and Finance, will become the Compagnie d'Outremer pour l’Industrie et la Finance. In 1959, Banque Lambert became the main shareholder of the Compagnie d’Outremer pour l'Industrie et la Finance which, during the 1960s, eventually took the name Compagnie Lambert pour l'Industrie et la Finance.
In 1960, when the Congo gained independence, he continued his business in the former colony by creating the Société Financière pour les Pays d'Outremer. The purpose of this company was to pool the risks that arose following the independence of sub-Saharan countries, but also to avoid the potential nationalization or confiscation of property belonging to the former colonial powers. In the course of his business in the Congo, he will meet with Mobutu Sese Seko, whom he will describe as "a cordial but firm interlocutor".
During the sixties, the career of Lambert is in full expansion. Banque Lambert absorbed many banks, and the baron sat on the boards of several dozen companies, directly or indirectly controlled by Banque Lambert. In 1964, in the context of this considerable expansion and inspired by the financial practices of the Anglo-Saxon world, Lambert attempted what today is considered to be the first Belgian public takeover bid. The baron hired Compagnie Lambert pour l'Industrie et la Finance, of which his bank was the main shareholder, to make a public takeover bid against Sofina. However, against his expectations, Société Générale de Belgique declared a counter-takeover bid and succeeded in taking possession of Sofina.