A reclusive member of the wealthy Rothschild family was killed on Wednesday in a fire that devastated his Hollywood Hills home.
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the fire Wednesday afternoon, with 45 firefighters extinguishing the blaze in about 33 minutes, according to the Los Angeles Times. Officials found a dead body in the home, and it was later identified as Will Rothschild, according to KABC.
It was unclear what caused the fire, and the L.A. County Medical Examiner has not yet determined a cause of death. But the news of Rothschild’s death came as a shock to neighbors in the affluent community, as some told KABC he lived a rather reclusive life.
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“It is very sad,” neighbor Jim Moore told the station. “He was a good guy. A good neighbor.”
Another neighbor told the Times Rothschild was a friendly neighbor, one who was proud of his Yale degree and doted on his Afghan hound.
“The guy was attached to his dog,” Dana Gladstone told the Times. “I knew him as Will.”
Still, Rothschild flaunted some of his wealth, according to KABC. Neighbors said he owned various properties and dozens of high-priced vintage cars.
The Rothschild family made its fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through banking in Europe, and it was once considered to possess the greatest private fortune in the world. Its modern interests span across finance, politics, real estate, and energy.
