De Beers

De Beers Group is a British multinational diamond company that specialises in the mining, trading and marketing of diamonds. It operates in 35 countries, with mining taking place in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Canada. It also has an artisanal mining business, Gemfair, which operates in Sierra Leone. From its inception in 1888 until the start of the 21st century, De Beers controlled 80% to 85% of rough diamond distribution and was considered a monopoly. By 2000, the company's control of the world diamond supply decreased to 63%. By 2021, its share of the diamond supply had fallen to 25%, equal to Alrosa's share. The company was founded in 1888 by British businessman Cecil Rhodes, who was financed by the South African diamond magnate Alfred Beit and the London-based N M Rothschild & Sons bank. In 1926, Ernest Oppenheimer, a German immigrant to Britain and later South Africa who had earlier founded mining company Anglo American with financial backing from J.P. Morgan & Co, was elected to the board of De Beers. He built and consolidated the company's global monopoly over the diamond industry until his death in 1957. During this time, he was involved in several controversies, including price fixing and trust behaviour, and was accused of not releasing industrial diamonds for the US war effort during World War II. In 2011, Anglo American took control of De Beers after buying the Oppenheimers' family stake of 40% for US$5.1 billion (£3.2 billion) and increasing its stake to 85%, ending the 80-year Oppenheimer control of the company. The company is currently owned 85% by Anglo American and 15% by the Government of Botswana. In May 2024, Anglo American announced its intention to spin off or sell De Beers.