Mendelssohn’s family had plenty of money. They were also very interested in music, literature, painting etc. His grandfather Moses Mendelssohn was famous in German national literature. His father was a banker and his mother came from a family who owned a lot of factories in Berlin. The young Felix was educated at home by his parents. Although the family was Jewish his parents had Felix baptized and his father became a Christian a few years later. The Mendelssohn family added the name of Bartholdy to their name at this time.