Paul Bonwit

Bonwit was born near Hanover, Kingdom of Hanover, the son of Bernard Bonwit. At the age of 16, he moved to Paris, where he found work with a local export house as a clerk and continued his studies at night. In 1883, at age 21, he emigrated to the United States, locating at first in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he worked in a department store. He moved to New York City for a job with Rothschild & Company, which was renamed Bonwit, Rothschild & Company when he later became a partner. He eventually settled in New York. He married Rebecca Woolf Bonwit (1869–1934) in 1893 and they had two sons, Harold Woolf Bonwit (1896–1950) and Walter B. Bonwit (1901–1984).