Georg Fugger

Georg Fugger von der Lilie (1453–1506) was a German merchant of the Fugger dynasty. Life A son of Jakob Fugger the Elder and his wife Barbara Bäsinger (whose sons also included Ulrich and Jakob the Younger), Georg was born and died in Augsburg; it became clear early in life that he would become a merchant. The "Ulrich Fugger und seine Gesellschaft" (Ulrich Fugger and his company) firm was the first general partnership in Europe and soon changed its name to the "Ulrich Fugger und Gebrüder von Augsburg" (Ulrich Fugger and Brothers of Augsburg) when Georg joined it. Ulrich headed its headquarters in Augsburg, with Georg heading its Nuremberg branch and Jakob handling international affairs. The firm was so successful that Georg was able to commission his portrait from the Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini in 1474. In 1494, the firm made over 54,000 Guilders and the three brothers were also co-founders of the Fuggerei, the oldest social housing project in the world. The House of "Fugger vom Reh" also ran a different Fugger firm at this time, though this was soon to go bankrupt.