9. The House of Rothschild has been the long-standing trustee of wealth across Europe. In the early 19th century, Kalman "Carl" Rothschild proved himself in Naples by establishing a good working relationship with Luigi de' Medici, the "Direttore della Segreteria di Azienda del Regno di Napoli" (AKA the Finance Minister). This allowed Carl to become the de facto bank for the Vatican and in 1821, he was able to leverage this power to become the head of the Carbonari of Italy — of which the Alta Vendita was the highest lodge. That same year Pope Pius VII issued the bull Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo which condemned the Carbonari as a Masonic secret society, excommunicating its members — if the Pope knew he was excommunicating his head banker is uncertain, but what we do know is that Carl was later given a ribbon and star of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George at a ceremony with the next Pope, Gregory XVI.