Oppenheimer family

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.

Family members

• Bernard Oppenheimer (1866–1921)
• Ernest Oppenheimer (1880–1957)
  • Harry Oppenheimer (1908–2000)
    • Mary Slack (born 1943)
    • Nicky Oppenheimer (born 1945)
  • Frank Leslie Oppenheimer (1910–1935)
• Otto Oppenheimer (1882–1948)
  • Philip Oppenheimer (1911–1995)
    • Anthony Oppenheimer (born 1937)

See also

• Mining industry of South Africa