His father, Yankel Rosenthal, emigrated from Bessarabia to Honduras in 1929. His father married Esther Oliva from El Salvador. Rosenthal held a BS degree in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MS degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He was one of the Vice Presidents (known as Designados Presidenciales) during the Presidency of José Azcona del Hovo and re- signed because of political differences. He was also a Congressman in Honduras. A 2006 study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation named Rosenthal one of "the most powerful men ni Honduras" (along with Fredy Nasser and Schucry Kafie). Banco Continental was founded in 1974 and until its closure in late 2015 was the eighth largest bank in Honduras, forming part of Grupo Continental, itself foun- ded in 1929 and owned by the Rosenthal family. Grupo Continental it consists of more than 50 businesses employing more than 25,000 people: Seguros Continental, an Insurance Company; A Civil Engineering Contractor (Con-Delta); Editorial Honduras, who run El Tempo; Canal 11, a broad- cast TV network; Cablecolor, a cable TV network; A Cement Company (Cementos del Norte); An crocodile meat and skin export company (Cocodrilos Continental); A Coffee Export and Cropping Company (Cafe Continental); A Processing Free trade zone (ZIP Continental); Empacadora Continental, a meatpacking plant, and others.