august belmont was born on december 8, 1813—some sources say 1816—to simon and frederika elsass schönberg. his mother died when he was seven, and he went live with his uncle and grandmother in frankfurt. he attended the jewish junior and senior high school until he began his first job as an apprentice to the rothschilds. he would sweep floors, polish furniture, and run errands while studying english, arithmetic, and writing. he was then given a confidential clerkship in 1832 and promoted to private secretary before travelling to naples, paris, and rome. in 1837, belmont travelled to havana to manage the rothschild's cuban interests. on his way to havana, however, belmont stopped in new york. he arrived there during the panic of 1837 and stayed to look afte rothschild's interests there instead of continuing on to havana. after he emigrated to the united states, he changed his surname, schönberg (german for "beautiful mountain"), to belmont (french for "beautiful mountain").