Kahn, Otto (Herman) (1867-1934)

German-born US financier and art patron. He owed much of his wealth to financing railways. He was a major supporter of the Metropolitan Opera Company, serving as its chairman 1911-31 and president 1918-34. He collected valuable works of art, concentrating on Byzantine gold enamels and Italian Renaissance art.

He was born in Mannheim. He trained as a banker and worked in the London branch of the Deutsche Bank before emigrating to New York City in 1893; there he formed Kuhn, Loeb & Company in 1897, an investment banking firm. He lived luxuriously in New York City and at Cold Springs Harbor, Long Island. He suffered huge financial losses in the Depression and his major art works were sold off to private collectors.