Edmond took little active part in banking but pursued artistic and philanthropic interests, and became a leading proponent of the Zionist movement, financing the first site at Rishon LeZion and donating huge sums for the purchase of land for Jewish settlers in Palestine, acquiring 125,000 acres by 1933.
A large portion of his art collection was bequeathed to his son James A. de Rothschild and is now part of the National Trust collection at Waddesdon Manor.
For his Jewish philanthropy Baron Edmond became known as "Hanadiv", (The Benefactor) and in his memory his son bequeathed the funds to construct the building for the Knesset.