Kuhn, Loeb & Co. was an American multinational investment bank founded in 1867 by Abraham Kuhn and his brother-in-law Solomon Loeb. Headed from 1885 onwards by Jacob H. Schiff, Loeb's son-in-law, it grew to be one of the most influential investment banks in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, financing America's expanding railways and growth companies, including Western Union and Westinghouse, and thereby becoming the principal rival of J.P. Morgan & Co.
In the years following Schiff's death in 1920, the firm was led by Otto Kahn (died 1934) and Felix Warburg (died 1937), men who had already solidified their roles as Schiff's able successors. However, the firm's fortunes began to fade following the end of World War II in 1945.
The firm lost its independence from the Bulge Bracket in 1977 when it merged with Lehman Brothers, creating Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc. The combined firm was itself acquired in 1984 by American Express, forming Shearson Lehman/American Express and with that, the "Kuhn, Loeb" name was retired.
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History
Abraham Kuhn and Solomon Loeb founded Kuhn, Loeb & Co. as an investment bank in New York City in 1867. Kuhn and Loeb had developed a successful merchandising business in Cincinnati, Ohio, when they decided to move east, to New York, to take advantage of the burgeoning economic expansion of the United States. Company records indicate that by the time Kuhn and Loeb established their partnership, they were able to capitalize it at $500,000 (equivalent of about $11.5 million in 2025). On January 1, 1875, Jacob Schiff (1847–1920), Solomon Loeb's son-in-law, joined the firm. He eventually became its Senior Partner (in office: 1885 to 1920) and grew the firm into the second-most prestigious investment bank in the United States (behind J. Pierpont Morgan's J.P. Morgan & Co.).
The firm came to prominence during the railroad era in the United States. Americans saw great hope and promise in railroads and investors saw great opportunities to profit. Kuhn, Loeb, like all investment banks, brought capital together with commercial opportunity. Its first meaningful entries into railroad financing occurred in 1877 when it raised funds for the Chicago and North Western Railroad, and several years later, in 1881, for the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad.
Schiff was instrumental in the reorganization of the Union Pacific in 1897, helping to place the firm on a sound financial footing. In 1901, with Kuhn, Loeb's financial support, E. H. Harriman famously battled James Jerome Hill and J.P. Morgan to acquire control of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
The firm was long associated with many of America's emerging industrial giants, providing financial backing for Westinghouse and Western Union, as well as for innovative consumer giants like the Polaroid Corporation. The firm also enjoyed respect as a trusted adviser overseas, providing services to numerous foreign countries, including the governments of Austria, Finland, Mexico and Venezuela.
Kuhn, Loeb & Co. also acted as the leading investment house for John D. Rockefeller, through the guidance of his investment adviser, Frederick T. Gates. Rockefeller invested in many syndicates with the bank, taking major stakes in the prominent railroad companies, as well as contributing to its consolidation of the Chicago meatpackers, which resulted in the formation of a leading trust. Overseas ventures that Rockefeller also became involved with included the bank's loans to the Chinese and Imperial Japanese governments.
Successors
The following is an illustration of the company's mergers and its role in later successor firms, notably Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb, Shearson Lehman Brothers and later Lehman Brothers (this is not a comprehensive list):
Partners of the Firm
General Partners
** First non-family member to be admitted to the partnership.
^ Indicates status as former managing partner
Partnership Summary Data
67 General Partners
Longest Serving Partners: Jacob H. Schiff (45 years), Felix M. Warburg (40 years)
Operating Entities
Kuhn, Loeb & Co. Incorporated
Kuhn, Loeb Asia Limited
Kuhn, Loeb Government Securities Incorporated
Kuhn, Loeb International Limited
Office Locations
Kuhn, Loeb & Co., had a number of homes throughout its existence:
31 Nassau Street, New York, NY (1867)
30 Nassau Street, New York, NY (1884)
27 Pine Street, New York, NY (1894)
52 William Street, New York, NY (1903)
30 Wall Street, New York, NY, (May 31, 1955)
40 Wall Street, New York, NY
55 Water Street (as Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb)
Law Firms Representing Kuhn, Loeb & Co.
Guthrie, Cravath & Henderson L.L.P.
Dewey, Ballantine, Bushby, Palmer & Wood L.L.P.