Editing Lazard (section)

===Early years===
On July 12, 1848, three French brothers, Alexandre Lazard, Lazare Lazard, and [[Simon Lazard]], founded Lazard Frères & Co. as a [[dry goods]] merchant store in [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]]. By 1851, Simon and two more brothers, Maurice and Elie, had all moved to [[San Francisco]], California, while Alexandre moved to New York. Lazard Frères began to serve miners engaged in the [[California Gold Rush]], and soon expanded into banking and [[Foreign exchange market|foreign exchange]].<ref name=Rougemont>Guy de Rougemont, Lazard Frères, Banquiers des Deux Mondes (1840–1939), Librairie Arthème Fayard, 2010</ref>

In 1854, Alexandre Lazard moved to [[Paris]], France, where he opened an office to complement the U.S. business. The firm began advising the French government on gold buying. In 1870, the firm continued to expand its international operations, opening an office in London as well.<ref name=Rougemont/>

The name "Lazard Frères" means "Lazard Brothers" or "the Brothers Lazard" in French. It refers to associations of the Lazard brothers to form various financial services institutions with world-wide offices and investments.