million francs worth of shares) which was listed in the Paris stock exchange in 1966. He acquired a major stake in the Bank of California in 1973, for $22 million, establishing it as a holding company for his investments in the United States. He kept his share of the company until 1984, year he sold it at three times its original value to Mitsubishi Bank. In 1976, he was approached by the French businessmen Vincent Bolloré to back him in rebooting his family business. Edmond de Rothschild joined in and left the Bolloré saga in 1981. In 1985, he bought 45% of the French flower retailer Monceau Fleurs. His group held this share until 2001. Edmond de Rothschild invested heavily in the Tel-Aviv-based Israel General Bank, contributing to the newly-created State of Israel. He later became president of this institution. After the Six-Day War, the Baron contributed to the creation of the Israel Corporation Investment fund when, in 1968, he was invited alongside other wealthy individuals by Israeli Finance Minister Pinchas Sapir to the so-called Millionaire's Conference. Each guest was asked to invest $100,000 in the creation of the Corporation. He also promoted major projects in the country via the Clali Bank, another of his ventures in Israel, which he sold in 1996. The Baron was President of the Caesarea Development Corporation and of the Israel European Company Isrop (in Luxembourg). He contributed to the creation of the Supreme Court building in Jerusalem. and was the founder of multiple cultural and educational institutions in Israel. In 1982, he acquired a 10% share of his cousin David's new venture, Rothschild & Co. This investment lasted until 2018, after the cousin companies settled a legal dispute over the use of the Rothschild family name. Edmond de Rothschild was also a major shareholder of the Italian bank Banca Tiburtina, and minority shareholder of Banca Privata Solari & Blum in Lugano, Banque de Gestion Edmond de Rothschild in Luxembourg, and the Israel General Bank in Tel-Aviv, as well as investments in De Beers Consolidated Mines. Edmond de Rothschild died of emphysema on 2 November 1997 in Geneva at the age of 71. He was buried at the Château Clarke. His son Benjamin succeeded him at the head of the Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild. Sailing At the tail end of the 1960s, Baron Edmond de Rothschild revitalized the family tradition for yacht racing, shifting