Barnato Barney

Financier and mining magnate
Bernato Barney was a South African financier and mining magnate. He was born in London, educated at the Jews’ Free School and went to Kimberley, South Africa, in 1873, during the diamond rush. Together with his Brother, Henry, Bernato began buying diamonds as well as claims which were becoming unworkable as separate units. Soon, the mines were bringing in an income of $9,000 a week.

The Barnato brothers formed the Barnato Diamond Mining Company in 1881, with capital of over$500,000. The company was a rival to the De Beers Mining Company of Cecil J. Rhodes, who was aiming at control of the diamond fields. The struggle ended in 1888 with the amalgamation of the two companies into the De Beers Consolidated Mining Company, in which Barnato became a life governor. When the Witwatersrand gold fields near Johannesburg were discovered, Barnato acquired large holdings and the Barnato group eventually became one of the big mining units. His life ended in 1879 on a voyage to England, when, apparently, he jumped overboard and was drowned.