Jacques Schnee

I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, the business has been operated in a... moral gray area.

Weiss' Father (unofficial) is the President of the Schnee Dust Company (SDC), one of the largest producers of Dust in Remnant. He is the father of Weiss and Winter Schnee.

In RWBY, he is first mentioned in the episode "The Stray" and makes a brief non-speaking appearance in "End of the Beginning". He also appears briefly in the Manga. Although he has yet to make an extended appearance, he has had a heavy influence on Weiss' motivations and development.

Appearance
Weiss' father has gray-white hair and a pale complexion. He has a large gray mustache, and his eyes are a cold blue color.

He is seen wearing a pure white double-breasted jacket with a red handkerchief in the breast pocket, underneath which he wears blue shirt and vest and a gray-white tie. He has a silver-colored ring on his right hand.

Personality
His personality has yet to be fully seen, but Weiss's father is known to be cold and controlling. It is stated by Weiss that it was her father's leadership of the company that saw its reputation become sullied by unethical practices, which may indicate a lack of morals. He does not have a good relationship with either of his daughters. When Weiss refuses to answer his calls, he cuts her off from the family fortune in order to force her to talk to him. A similar situation is said to have occurred between him and Winter upon her enlistment to the military.

Despite his poor relationship with his daughters, his personal collection of Weiss after the Battle of Beacon may show some sense of care.

Powers and Abilities
In addition to his considerable personal wealth, as the President of the SDC, he is a highly influential individual in Remnant. The Schnee Semblance, Glyphs, is known to be hereditary, but it is not known if he is proficient in its use.

Background
He inherited the Presidency of the Schnee Dust Company from his father (Weiss and Winter's grandfather), who founded the company. He also fathered two daughters, Winter and Weiss Schnee. His first daughter, Winter, would become an officer in the Atlesian military, while Weiss would leave to study and become a Huntress at Beacon Academy.

According to Weiss, under his leadership, the Company began to operate in a "moral gray area", and soon became infamous for "controversial labor forces and questionable business partners". This exploitation made them a target for the Faunus militant group known as the White Fang, which began a campaign of terror against the Company, kidnapping and executing board members, interfering with their infrastructure and preying on Schnee family members and friends. This caused the President to become foul-tempered, resulting in a rather difficult childhood for Weiss.

Manga
In Chapter 3 of the manga, it is said that as a child, Weiss' father always placed extremely high expectations upon her, and in spite of her efforts, she was never able to earn his approval. Weiss attempts to move away from her home in Atlas to study at Beacon Academy in Vale. When her father learns of this, he administers a "test" of her worth, forcing her to fight an enormous Grimm-possessed suit of armor in a dangerous battle.

RWBY
In "The Stray", Weiss attributes her difficult childhood to her father's tumultuous emotional state, which was caused by the White Fang's attacks on the Company. She explains to her teammates that this is the reason she despises the White Fang and mistrusts Faunus.

In "Mountain Glenn", Weiss states that her father is the reason the Schnee Dust Company descended into controversial activities and that she refuses to let her father be the end of her family legacy.



During the Vytal Festival, Weiss' father attempts to call her on her Scroll in "Round One", but Weiss refuses to answer him. In response, he cancels her credit card, cutting her off from the family fortune.

Later, in "Lessons Learned", Weiss' sister Winter Schnee visits Vale and deduces what happened between Weiss and their father, since she experienced a similar situation when she joined the Atlas military. The two sisters commiserate on their shared difficult relationship with their father. Winter says that Weiss has a choice, either get back into her father's favor, or forge her own path independent of his control. That night, Weiss again rejects a call from her father, making her choice to live on her own.

In "End of the Beginning", following the mass Grimm invasion of Vale and the destruction of Beacon, Weiss' father personally comes to Vale to collect her and bring her back home where he believes it is safe. Weiss is seen sitting with him morosely on an aircraft on the way back to Atlas.

Trivia



 * Weiss' father was originally intended to appear in the Volume 1 Opening. He can be seen as a mysterious figure in the original storyboards (featured as extras on the DVD release of Volume 1).
 * A picture of Weiss and her father (from "End of the Beginning") was used to promote the Father's Day sales at the Rooster Teeth Store on June 19th, 2016.