Gustav Christian Schwabe

Gustav Christian Schwabe (10 May 1813 – 10 January 1897) was a German-born British merchant and financier who funded companies such as John Bibby & Sons, Harland and Wolff and the White Star Line. Born in Hamburg, Germany, Schwabe moved to Liverpool in 1838 and spent his working life there. Later, Schwabe would spend more time at his house in London, and retired in 1893.

Early life Gustav Schwabe was born in Hamburg, Germany, to Philipp Benjamin Schwabe, a Jewish merchant, and his second wife, Rosalie Levi. Gustav had three brothers and a half-brother named Ludwig Philipp from his father's previous marriage. the firm was renamed Boustead, Schwabe and Company, and Schwabe remained involved at the company for 14 years.

Schwabe moved to Liverpool in 1838 and started a partnership with Edward Little in a company of commission agents; Little died the following year, apparently leaving Schwabe his house and assets.

Career In May 1842, Schwabe married Helen Dugdale, who was from the Wirral.

In the 1840s, Schwabe became a junior partner in John Bibby & Sons, a shipping company based in Liverpool.

Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, Schwabe's nephew, who would later go into partnership with Harland, left Hamburg in 1849 to live with Schwabe in Liverpool. In 1858, Schwabe financially assisted Edward Harland's purchase of Robert Hickson's shipyard at Queen's Island, Belfast.

Schwabe, with Thomas Henry Ismay, purchased the bankrupt White Star Line in 1867. In 1869, during a game of billiards, Schwabe made a deal with Thomas Henry Ismay to finance the White Star Line, provided that the White Star Line would buy its ships from Harland and Wolff. Two years later, the city of Hamburg unveiled a bust of Schwabe.

In later life Schwabe began to spend less time with his business interests in textiles and shipping and stayed at his home in London more often; in 1893, Schwabe began his retirement. Schwabe left no children, and his legacy was distributed among his nieces and nephews.