August Belmont (8 December 1813-24 November 1890) was Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 23 June 1860 to 1872, succeeding David Allen Smalley and preceding Augustus Schell.
Biography[]
Aaron Schoenberg was born in Alzey, Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1813, and he came from a Spanish-Jewish family. He was raised in Frankfurt, and he worked for the Rothschild family before sailing to New York City to superintend their interests there. Belmont became a successful disbursing agent, dividend collector, and newsgatherer, and he founded August Belmont & Company and was nicknamed "King of the Money Changers." At the age of 26, Belmont was one of the richest men in New York with a net worth of $100,000 ($2,857,143 in 2022). Belmont became a lifelong Democrat in 1844, supporting James K. Polk and serving as consul general of the Austrian Empire in New York City in 1844; he resigned in 1850 due to his growing interest in American politics. Belmont backed James Buchanan's 1852 presidential bid, and he served as Minister to the Netherlands from 1853 to 1857, during which time he advocated for the annexation of Cuba in the Ostend Manifesto. Belmont later returned to New York and crusaded against "Black Republicans and Know Nothings" in 1858. He served as Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1860 to 1872, and he energetically supported the Union cause during the American Civil War as a "War Democrat". He promoted Salmon Chase's 1868 presidential bid and Horace Greeley's 1872 Liberal Republican bid. He died in 1890.