Who is behind De Beers?
Shows documented founders, leaders, board members, funders and owners.
Not who made decisions, or why.
A connection is not evidence of wrongdoing.
- Board Barney Barnato 1888–1897
- Led by Cecil Rhodes, according to De Beers 12 Mar 1888 – 1902
On the record
Sourced links that no one presents as their own account, as recorded so far. Others may exist.
Founded by
- Barney Barnato founded 12 Mar 1888 one of four first shareholders Scholarship & press 1
- Cecil Rhodes founded 12 Mar 1888 first chair Scholarship & press 12
Led by
- Ernest Oppenheimer chair of 1929 Scholarship & press 3
Board
- Barney Barnato board member of 1888–1897 Scholarship & press 3
- Ernest Oppenheimer board member of 1926 Scholarship & press 23
Owners
-
Anglo American
acquired
2012
Scholarship & press
4
Bought out the Oppenheimer family's 40 percent stake.
-
Anglo American
owns a stake in
as of 2000
Scholarship & press
5
In 2000 each of the two companies held more than 30 percent of the other, the New York Times reported.
- Anglo American owns a stake in 85%, as of 2024 Scholarship & press 4
- Government of Botswana owns a stake in 15%, as of 2024 Scholarship & press 46
Each account
One account recorded. Others may exist.
According to De Beers
-
Cecil Rhodes
chair of
12 Mar 1888 – 1902
Self-published
2
Rhodes is named Chair and continues in this role until 1902.
Proof 6 sources
-
The Diamond Mines of South Africa: Some Account of Their Rise and Development, Gardner F. Williams, general manager of De Beers Consolidated Mines (scan on Internet Archive), 1902.
Scholarship & press
Four men held all but twenty-five shares of its stock.
On the 12th of March, 1888, a seemingly unpretentious joint stock company was formed and established at Kimberley
-
Our History & Heritage Since 1888, De Beers Group.
Self-published
Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato, who were running competing diamond operations, join forces. De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited is established on 12 March 1888.
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer is elected to the De Beers Board after Anglo American, the company he founded, becomes a major shareholder in De Beers.
Rhodes is named Chair and continues in this role until 1902.
-
Why a Diamond Means Forever: The Creation of the Diamond Engagement Ring Tradition in the United States, 1939-1996, Jennifer Lynn Pequignot, doctoral dissertation, Auburn University (drawing on the N. W. Ayer records at the Smithsonian), 2019.
Scholarship & press
In 1929 he became the chairman of the company.
Rhodes was named the company’s founding chairman and Barnato became a director of the company until his death in 1897.
He was also appointed to its board of directors.
-
Anglo American to sell De Beers, JCK.
Scholarship & press
Anglo American has owned 85% of De Beers since 2012, when De Beers’ longtime owners, the Oppenheimer family, sold their 40% share.
Anglo controls 85% of De Beers, while the government of Botswana owns 15%.
-
Controversy Over Diamonds Made (headline as saved from the reprint; the page title is cut off), Alan Cowell, The New York Times, 22 August 2000 (reprint by Global Policy Forum), 22 Aug 2000.
Scholarship & press
Each company still holds more than 30 percent of the other's stock.
-
Govt has 15 per cent in De Beers, Botswana Daily News (BOPA).
Scholarship & press
Minister Nonofo Molefhi said the government has 15 per cent shareholding in De Beers, with Anglo American having 85 per cent.
How this answer is built
Lines on the record come first: sourced links that no one presents as their own account, each with its strongest source. Then every account recorded here gets its own column, A to Z, none ranked above another. A column quotes only that account's own words and shows the strength of its own sources. Disputed lines are listed apart, with the reason, and lines still being verified come last. Neither is counted. Withdrawn lines are never shown.
When a list is longer than the page shows, the links the public methodology ranks strongest stay (methodology 0.3), and the rest open in the explorer.
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