Oppenheimer family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Oppenheimer family is an Anglo–South African family best known for its longtime control of Anglo American and De Beers.[1] Ernest Oppenheimer, a German immigrant to Britain and later to South Africa, founded the Anglo American Corporation in 1917 to mine the Witwatersrand for gold.[2] He took control of De Beers in 1929 and became its chairman the same year, followed by his son Harry Oppenheimer in 1957 and his grandson Nicky Oppenheimer in 1998.[3][4]
In 2011, the family sold its remaining 40 per cent stake in De Beers to Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash.[5] By that time the family's equity in Anglo American had fallen below 2 per cent.[6]
The Oppenheimer family residence is the Brenthurst Estate in Parktown, Johannesburg.