The Sassoon family, known as "Rothschilds of the East" due to the immense wealth they accumulated in finance and opium trade, are a Baghdadi Jewish family. Although most biographical data about the Sassons lists Baghdad, Iraq, as their place of origins, the Sassons have their origins in Aleppo, Syria. They later moved to Mumbai, India, and then emigrated to China, England, and other nations.
The family's businesses in China, India and Hong Kong especially, were built to capitalise on the opium trade. As more family members gravitated toward London, they became prominent in England and were ennobled by Queen Victoria. From the 18th century, the Sassoons were one of the wealthiest families in the world, with a corporate empire spanning the entire continent of Asia.
