Financier
Encyclopedia
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money
, usually involving money lending
, financing project
s, large-scale investing
, or large-scale money management. The term is French
, and derives from finance
or payment. The term financier has upscale and haughty connotations, and the stereotype
portrayed by the term is typically of a wealthy and powerful person.
A financier today can be someone who makes their living from investments, particularly in investing in up and coming companies and businesses. A financier makes money through this process when his or her investment is paid back with interest or from a certain percentage of the company awarded to them as specified by the business deal.
, trust fund managers
, and accountant
s. Investing, on the other hand, has no requirements and is open to all by means of the stock market
or by word of mouth requests for money.
The term financier can also refer to a member of the Italian Guardia di Finanza
.
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
, usually involving money lending
Loan
A loan is a type of debt. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower....
, financing project
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
s, large-scale investing
Investment
Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...
, or large-scale money management. The term is French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and derives from finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
or payment. The term financier has upscale and haughty connotations, and the stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
portrayed by the term is typically of a wealthy and powerful person.
A financier today can be someone who makes their living from investments, particularly in investing in up and coming companies and businesses. A financier makes money through this process when his or her investment is paid back with interest or from a certain percentage of the company awarded to them as specified by the business deal.
Job prerequisites
Officially, there are no degrees or schooling needed to be called a financier as it is a term to describe someone who handles money. Certain financier avenues do require degrees and licenses including venture capitalists, stockbrokers, public treasurersTreasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
, trust fund managers
Trust Fund Manager
A trust fund manager is a supervisor for a pool of investment capital such as that held by a mutual fund, pension fund, or closed-end investment company. The fund manager trades investments on behalf of the fund owners that adhere to the stated investment objectives....
, and accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
s. Investing, on the other hand, has no requirements and is open to all by means of the stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
or by word of mouth requests for money.
The term financier can also refer to a member of the Italian Guardia di Finanza
Guardia di Finanza
The Guardia di Finanza is a Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. Like the Carabinieri, it is part of the Italian Armed Forces. The Guard is essentially responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling; it has also evolved into Italy's...
.
Types of financiers
- InvestorInvestorAn investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
/High net worth individualHigh net worth individualA high-net-worth individual is a person with a high net worth. In the private banking business, these individuals typically are defined as having investable assets in excess of US$1 million. As explained below, the U.S... - Trust Fund ManagerTrust Fund ManagerA trust fund manager is a supervisor for a pool of investment capital such as that held by a mutual fund, pension fund, or closed-end investment company. The fund manager trades investments on behalf of the fund owners that adhere to the stated investment objectives....
- Venture Capitalist
Notable financiers
- Warren BuffettWarren BuffettWarren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
- Anthony J. Drexel
- Calouste GulbenkianCalouste GulbenkianCalouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was an Armenian businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development...
- Carl IcahnCarl IcahnCarl Celian Icahn is an American business magnate and investor.-Biography:Icahn was raised in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York City, where he attended Far Rockaway High School. His father was a cantor, his mother was a schoolteacher...
- Kirk KerkorianKirk KerkorianKerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian is an American businessman who is the president/CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian is known as one of the important figures in shaping Las Vegas and, with architect Martin Stern, Jr...
- Edward LampertEdward LampertEdward S. "Eddie" Lampert is an American businessman and investor. He is the chairman of Sears Holdings Corporation and founder, chairman, and CEO of ESL Investments. Until May, 2007 he was a director of AutoNation, Inc. He previously served as a director of AutoZone, Inc...
- Michael MilkenMichael MilkenMichael Robert Milken is an American business magnate, financier, and philanthropist noted for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds during the 1970s and 1980s, for his 1990 guilty plea to felony charges for violating US securities laws, and for his funding of medical...
- J. P. MorganJ. P. MorganJohn Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
- T. Boone Pickens
- Nathan Mayer RothschildNathan Mayer RothschildNathan Mayer, Freiherr von Rothschild , known as Nathan Mayer Rothschild, was a London financier and one of the founders of the international Rothschild family banking dynasty...
- Rothschild banking family of FranceRothschild banking family of FranceThe Rothschild banking family of France was founded in 1812 in Paris by James Mayer Rothschild . James was sent there from his home in Frankfurt, Germany by his father, Mayer Amschel Rothschild...
- Jacob SchiffJacob SchiffJacob Henry Schiff, born Jakob Heinrich Schiff was a German-born Jewish American banker and philanthropist, who helped finance, among many other things, the Japanese military efforts against Tsarist Russia in the Russo-Japanese War.From his base on Wall Street, he was the foremost Jewish leader...
- Haym SolomonHaym SolomonHaym Solomon was a Spanish and Portuguese Jew who immigrated to New York from Poland during the period of the American Revolution, and who became a prime financier of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War against Great Britain.-Early years:Descended from Jewish refugees from...
- George SorosGeorge SorosGeorge Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...
- Ruben VardanianRuben VardanianRuben Vardanian is Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the Troika Dialog Group. He has worked at Troika Dialog since it was founded and has been head of the company since 1992...
- Rodrigo Aguirre Menezes
Further reading
- Josephson, MatthewMatthew JosephsonMatthew Josephson was an American journalist and author of works on nineteenth-century French literature and twentieth-century American economic history.-Biography:...
, The Money Lords; the great finance capitalists, 1925-1950, New York, Weybright and Talley, 1972.