Oppenheimer Family

Ernest Oppenheimer

Sir Ernest Oppenheimer (22 May 1880 – 25 November 1957) was a diamond and gold mining entrepreneur financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers and founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa.

He was born in Friedberg, Germany, the son of Edward Oppenheimer, a cigar merchant. Oppenheimer began his working life at 17, when he entered Dunkelsbuhler & Company, a diamond brokerage in London. His efforts impressed his employer and in 1902, at the age of 22, he was sent to South Africa to represent the company as a buyer in Kimberley.

He died in Johannesburg in 1957. He was born Jewish but as an adult converted to Christianity and was buried at St George's Church, Parktown. He was succeeded in the business by his son Harry Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer's brother, Sir Bernard Oppenheimer, was also heavily involved in the diamond industry.


Bernard Oppenheimer

Sir Bernard Oppenheimer, 1st Baronet (13 February 1866–13 June 1921) was a South African-British diamond merchant and philanthropist.

Oppenheimer was chairman of Pniel's Ltd, the New Vaal River Diamond & Exploration Company, and Blaauwbosch Diamonds Ltd, and managing director of Lewis & Marks Ltd of Holborn. His brother, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, was also heavily involved in the diamond industry.

In July 1917, Oppenheimer established a scheme for training disabled soldiers in diamond cutting at Brighton, England. The Bernard Oppenheimer Diamond Works (National Diamond Factories Ltd) opened on Lewes Road on 1 April 1918. It was mainly paid for by Oppenheimer himself and by Lewis & Marks. In 1920 it also opened branches in Cambridge, Wrexham and Fort William. By 1921 the works employed about 2,000 men who were referred to it by the Ministry of Labour. New men received six months training, during which they were paid a maintenance allowance by the government, and were then virtually guaranteed employment at a good wage. The factory had a well-equipped clinic to provide ongoing care for the employees, many of whom were amputees or otherwise severely disabled. The business did not do well and closed in 1923, but reopened later the same year. It finally went into receivership in 1924.

For his work with the disabled, Oppenheimer was created a baronet in the 1921 New Year Honours. He died suddenly six months later at the age of 55.


Harry Frederick Oppenheimer

Harry Frederick Oppenheimer (28 October 1908 – 19 August 2000) was a prominent South African businessman and one of the world's richest men. In 2004 he was voted 60th in the SABC3's Great South Africans.

The son of Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, Harry was born to an assimilated Jewish family of German origins in Kimberley, the original centre for diamond mining in South Africa, and lived most of his life in Johannesburg. He had a formal Bar mitzvah ("coming of age") ceremony in the Kimberley synagogue when he turned thirteen.

After completing his primary schooling in Johannesburg, he attended Charterhouse School in England, before going on to study at Christ Church, Oxford University, graduating in 1931 in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. When he married his wife Bridget, he chose to enter the Anglican Church, but remained a supporter of Jewish causes during his entire life. He authorized the flow of diamonds to Israel's important diamond-sorting and diamond-cutting industry.

Harry Oppenheimer was the chairman of Anglo American Corporation for a quarter of a century and chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines for 27 years until he retired from those positions in 1982 and 1984 respectively. His son Nicky Oppenheimer became Deputy Chairman of Anglo in 1983 and Chairman of De Beers in 1998.

He also spent some time as the Member of Parliament for Kimberley (1948 to 1957) and became the opposition spokesman on economics, finance and constitutional affairs. His opposition to apartheid was well known as were his philanthropy and business acumen.

He was also extremely generous to the official philanthropies of the State of Israel. He personally directed that Israel receive the necessary diamond raw products from De Beers in order to establish itself as one of the world's diamond polishing and exporting countries.

In the 1970s and 1980s, he financed the anti-apartheid Progressive Federal Party, that later merged the Democratic Alliance.


Nicky Oppenheimer

Nicholas "Nicky" F. Oppenheimer (born 8 June 1945) is a billionaire South African businessman, the chairman of the De Beers diamond mining company and its subsidiary, the Diamond Trading Company. He also has a large financial interest in the gold mining company Anglo American.

He is the son of Harry Oppenheimer and grandson of Ernest Oppenheimer, the first generation of the family to chair (from 1929) the De Beers diamond mining company in South Africa, founded by Cecil John Rhodes in 1888.

He was educated in England at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford where he graduated with a MA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

Forbes "World's Richest People" List of billionaires (2005) estimated his net worth at US$6.0 billion in 2005.

In 1968 he married Orcillia "Strilli" Lasch, daughter of industrial tycoon Helli Lasch.

He lives mainly in Johannesburg on the Brenthurst Gardens estate and has a country estate in England, Waltham Place (with gardens open to the public and an associated organic Farm), at White Waltham in Berkshire.

He, and his wife, Strilli, are members of the St George's Anglican Church, Parktown, Johannesburg. The Brenthurst Garden is affiliated to The Quiet Garden Trust, a Christian organisation providing places for prayer, silence and reflection.