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Harry Oppenheimer | |
|---|---|
 Oppenheimer in Amsterdam, 1945 | |
| Born | Harry Frederick Oppenheimer 28 October 1908 Kimberley, South Africa |
| Died | 19 August 2000(2000-08-19) (aged 91) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Education | Oxford University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Mary Slack Nicky Oppenheimer |
| Parent(s) | May Pollack Ernest Oppenheimer |
Harry Frederick OppenheimerOMSG (28 October 1908 – 19 August 2000) was a prominent South African businessman, industrialist and philanthropist. Oppenheimer was often ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world, and was considered South Africa's foremost industrialist for four decades.[1] In 2004 he was voted 60th in theSABC3's Great South Africans.[2]
He was born inKimberley, on 28 October 1908 toJewish parents, May (née Pollak; 1886–1934), andErnest Oppenheimer (1880 -1957).[1][3] His paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother wereGerman Jews, whereas his maternal grandfather wasCzech Jewish fromMikulov.[1]His parents married inLondon in a Jewish ceremony in theReform tradition.[4] HisBrit Milah was performed by Rabbi Harris Isaacs of the Griqualand West Jewish Congregation.[4] He spent his first seven years in Kimberley and attended the Kimberley Shul.[4] Successive generations of his family believe that he had aBar Mitzvah when he turned 13 in 1921.[4]
After completing his primary schooling inJohannesburg, he attendedCharterhouse School in England, before going on to study atChrist Church, Oxford, graduating in 1931 inPhilosophy, Politics and Economics.[5] In the same year he returned to Johannesburg, and settled inBrenthurst, the private estate built by his father, Ernest.[5]
Harry Oppenheimer was the chairman ofAnglo American Corporation for 25 years and chairman ofDe Beers Consolidated Mines[1] for 27 years until he retired from those positions in 1982 and 1984 respectively.[6]
In his 1983The New York Times interview with Oppenheimer,Joseph Lelyveld wrote that Oppenheimer "more than anyone else has managed to preserve and strengthen the economic ties binding Johannesburg to Western financial centers."[7]
He was also politically engaged, opposing racial discrimination and police-state methods during theapartheid era.[7] He was a reformist in that he supported fulltrade union rights for black workers: "I do not believe that blacks will ever be brought to accept that the organisation of labor which is regarded as right and necessary for white workers, not only in South Africa but throughout the Western world, is not suitable for them."[7] He served as Member of Parliament for Kimberley (1948 to 1957) with theUnited Party.[5][7] He also became the opposition spokesman on economics, finance and constitutional affairs.[1] In the 1970s and 1980s he subsequently financed the anti-apartheidProgressive Federal Party that later merged into theDemocratic Alliance.[7][8] In September 1985, he was one of 91 business leaders that signed a newspaper advertisement calling for an end to apartheid and negotiations with "acknowledged black leaders" on power sharing.[9]
Oppenheimer also maintained cordial relations with African statesmen, such asZambia'sKenneth Kaunda, dining at their official residences.[7] He had more distant relations with the leadership of the rulingNational Party in South Africa.[7] In 1982 his house guest wasHenry Kissinger and when the pair were invited byP.W. Botha to the Official residence,Libertas, it was the first time that he had dined there since 1948.[7]
Through De Beers, he maintained extensive business interests on the continent, with diamond mines operating inBotswana,Namibia,Tanzania andAngola.[7] Anglo American was also the premier company in neighbouringZimbabwe.[7] In a special agreement with theSoviet Union, De Beers sold Soviet diamonds through a London-based organisation.[7] In the 1970s and 1980s, Oppenheimer capital was also used to found or purchase many businesses inEurope, theUnited States andAustralia.[10]
Oppenheimer visitedIsrael for the first time in 1968, meeting statesmanDavid Ben Gurion.[4] He made several other visits, visitingYad Vashem and met with Prime MinisterMenachem Begin.[4] He became a generous benefactor of the country.[4] He personally directed that Israel receive the necessary diamond raw products from De Beers to establish itself as one of the world's diamond polishing and exporting countries. He remained a supporter of Jewish causes during his entire life.[11] He authorised the flow of diamonds to Israel's important diamond-sorting and diamond-cutting industry.
TheHarry Oppenheimer Agricultural High School in Limburg,Limpopo is named in his honour in recognition of the funds he provided for its establishment.
TheHarry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award, Africa's premier research prize, is awarded every year by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, in memory of Harry Oppenheimer's commitment to an ideal of "unambiguous excellence."
He married Bridget (née McCall) in 1943 and converted toAnglicanism.[1]
He was aSouth African Freemason.[12]
He died on 19 August 2001.[13] His funeral was held at St. George's Church, an Anglican church where he had been a parishioner. A number of cabinet ministers and business leaders were also in attendance.[14] Future presidentCyril Ramaphosa said: "He did well in advancing he causes of many people."[14]
His son,Nicky Oppenheimer, became Deputy Chairman of Anglo American Corporation in 1983 and Chairman of De Beers in 1998.[13] His daughter,Mary Slack, resides predominantly at Brenthurst, but has houses inMuizenberg[15][16] and London, England, and Wilgerbosdrift stud farm in theWestern Cape.[17]
His main residence was the Brenhurst Estate inParktown inJohannesburg.[7]
Oppenheimer also required a Cape Town residence during his time as an MP, and in 1948 he purchased a cottage on Buitencingel street in theCity Bowl.[18]
In 1968, he built Milkwood, a seaside villa inuMhlanga, north ofDurban.[19][7] His wife, Bridget, was robbed at knifepoint at the home in 2008.[18]
Oppenheimer later purchased an apartment in theCarlyle Hotel, anArt Deco luxury hotel on theUpper East Side ofManhattan.[18]
Kimberley conferredFreedom of the City on Oppenheimer on 4 September 1973 as a tribute to "an illustrious son of the city" who continued to promote Kimberley as "the diamond centre of the world."[20]
Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum inRamat Gan, Israel, was founded in 1986 to present his life and career.
| Business positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines circa 1960–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the University of Cape Town 1967–1999 | Succeeded by |
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