The year 1855 was one of considerable change for the Rothschild family with the death of the head of both the Naples and German branches. Of the three sons of Carl von Rothschild, the eldest, Mayer, and the youngest surviving son, Wilhelm, succeeded their childless uncle Amschel Mayer von Rothschild in Frankfurt while the middle son reluctantly agreed to run the Naples branch. The succession negotiations were marked by considerable rancor as cousin Anselm von Rothschild, the then head of the Rothschild banking family of Austria, disagreed with the decision and Adolphe felt he had been unfairly treated.