Löb Elias Reiss was descended from the branch of the Reiss family which was also known as Ellissen and was one of the wealthiest families in the Judengasse during the 18th century. He himself was amongst the highest taxpayers in the Jewish community in 1752. He became famous through his bequest for the foundation of a Jewish school and synagogue. After his death, the Löb Elias Reiss Foundation was established at the house Weißer Schwan, for which he left the house and the considerable sum of 28,000 guilders. The objectives of the foundation were the furtherance of Talmudic studies, the maintenance of a school and a synagogue, and the financial support of the teachers and students there.The foundation also served to help his own impoverished relatives (philanthropy) and to provide poor brides with suitable dowries. The foundation carried on in the east end of Frankfurt until the Nazi era. On 23 October, 1939, it was requisitioned by the Nazi institution Reichsvereinigung der Juden.