Elias David Sassoon

Elias David Sassoon (27 March 1820 – 21 March 1880), an Indian merchant and banker born in Baghdad, was the second son of David Sassoon, an Iraqi-Indian philanthropist Jewish businessman involved in trade in India and the Far East, with branches at Calcutta, Shanghai, Canton, and Hong Kong; and his business, which included a monopoly of the opium-trade, extended as far as Yokohama, Nagasaki, and other cities in Japan.

David Sassoon (seated) and sons, including Elias David Sassoon (left)

He was the first of his siblings to assist the family business' expansion into China when he opened a branch of the business there in 1844. He was also involved in his father's business in Bombay, India. In 1867, Elias established his own business called "E.D. Sassoon & Co.", starting to trade in dried fruits, nankeen, metals, tea, silk, spices and camphor from modest offices in Bombay and Shanghai.[1]

Elias died in Colombo in 1880. He had married Leah Gubbay and was father to Jacob Elias Sassoon and Edward Elias Sassoon, amongst others. His daughter Hannah married Sassoon David.