The ENTIRE History of De Beers in 20 Minutes

In 1870, a sickly seventeen-year-old boy arrived in South Africa to grow cotton on his brother’s farm. Less than twenty years later, he controlled almost every diamond coming out of the ground on the entire planet. His name was Cecil Rhodes, and the company he built was De Beers. This documentary explores the complete history of De Beers, from a shiny pebble found by a farm boy near the Orange River to the Kimberley diamond rush and the Big Hole, one of the largest holes ever dug by hand. You’ll see how Rhodes battled Barney Barnato for control of the mines, paid for Kimberley Central with one of the biggest cheques ever written, and built a machine to control the world’s diamond supply. We follow Ernest Oppenheimer’s cartel, the London “sights,” and the legendary 1947 campaign “A Diamond Is Forever” that turned diamond engagement rings into a global tradition. Then come secret Cold War deals with the Soviet Union, the partnership that transformed Botswana, the blood diamond crisis, the Kimberley Process, and the biggest threat De Beers has ever faced: lab-grown diamonds. Diamonds aren’t as rare as most people think. So how did one company convince the whole world that they were? And why is it now struggling to find a buyer? This is the entire history of De Beers. Based on historical records, company reports, and publicly available sources. Illustrations are artistic recreations. 🔔 Subscribe to Giants in Minutes for the full stories of the companies and machines that move the world, one giant at a time. #GiantsInMinutes #DeBeers #Diamonds #CecilRhodes #ADiamondIsForever #Documentary #BusinessHistory #CompanyHistory #Kimberley #BloodDiamonds #LabGrownDiamonds #EngagementRing #Mining #HistoryDocumentary #Monopoly