Georg Fugger


Georg Fugger von der Lilie was a German merchant of the Fugger dynasty.

Life

A son of Jakob Fugger the Elder and his wife Barbara Bäsinger, 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" firm was the first general partnership in Europe and soon changed its name to the "Ulrich Fugger und Gebrüder von 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.

Marriage and issue

In 1486, he married Regina Imhoff, daughter of a patrician of Nuremberg. Their son Markus was born in 1488, followed by Raymund in 1489. These sons made Georg the founder of the "von Kirchberg" and "von Weißenhorn" lines of the Fugger family. Another son, Anton, was born in 1493 – he later became head of Jakob Fugger the Younger's family business and founder of the "von Glött" and "von Babenhausen" princely lines of the Fugger family. This makes Georg Fugger the founder of all the extant lines of the house of "Fugger von der Lilie".

Family tree