The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-06-15
END OF THE DIAMOND KING.
The Famous Barney Barnato Commits
Suicide.

London, June 14.-(Midnight).- A
special despatch from Funchal, of Madeira
off the west coast of Morocco, says that
on the arrival there today of the British
steamship Scot, which left Table Bay,
(Cape TOWN., on June for Southamp-
ton, it was announced that Barney Barna-
to, the South African diamond king, who
was among the passengers, had commit
ted suicide by leaping overheard. His
body was recovered.
| The late Barney Barnato was in many
respects the most remarkable speculator
| of the country. OF all the Englishmen
who have taken part in the development
of South Africa, two only have secured
worldwide regulations. These have been
| Cecil Rhodes and Barney Isaacs, more
often and less respectfully styled Barney
Barnato, was a assumed name, a sort Of
stage name, for he began his life in
South Africa by exhibiting trick don
key about 25 years ago. He was then
about 90 years of age.
| Barnato was an English Jew and illus
trated in an extraordinary way the
financial genius of his race. Up to the
time when his fortunes began to decline
he made money by heaps and bounds,
and in 1896, when his good fortune was
at it's zenith it was estimated that he
| controlled interests worth in the neigh
borhood of a hundred million pounds.
1t was the fashion to call him the richest
man in the world; at that time he was
virtually the king of the London money
market In the autumn of 1895, when
the boom in ''Kafdrs,'' the shares of the
comparatively new gold mines of The
Transvaal, was at its height, every man,
woman and child in London with money
to invest, invested it in ''Kaffirs. The
craze was the last of those financial fevers
which periodically attack conservative
the first. For months it was the con-
trolling passion in London, and it was
scarcely less rampant in Paris and Ber-
lin. The shares went to unheard Of
figures and fortunes were made in a day.
The centre of this tremendous financial
outburst was Barney Barnato and he was
conservatively estimated at that time as
worth between one hundred and one hun
dred and fifty millions of dollars. Among
his assets was bank, originally
capitalized at s12, 500, COO In very few
months it's capital stock rose in value
to $45, 600, 900.
Barnato was born in London. He was
younger son and at the age of 90 went
to South Africa, then a much more saw
age territory than it is now and but
scantily populated Englishmen or per.
sons of English descent, to seek his for
tune.
The Kimberly diamond mines were
just beginning to be productive. With
J his few pounds of capital he began deal
! ing in diamonds in small way. He
was clever and pushing. Everything
: be touched he made successful. In five
years he had earned enough in the retail
sale of diamonds to purchase shares in
the mines from which his merchandise
: had come. Before another five years had
elapsed his holdings at Kimberly had be.
come very large, and when The Transvaal
gold fields were discovered he had profits
to invest in them.
In 1856 Barney Barnato was definite
money power in South Africa and be
gan to be spoken of as the rival of Ceci
Rhodes. Unlike in temperament AND
even more unlike in personal ambition
the two men started in to be hot Oppon
ents. But in 1888 they reached the con-
clusion that their respective interests
could be better promoted by combining
!, forces; and the DeBers consolidated
mines were the result, one of the most
: valuable pieces of property of the kind in
the world.
Barnato persistently denied the story
that he began life in South Africa by
exhibiting a trick donkey, but there are
may Africanders who. have persistentlJ
asserted this to be the fact.
There is no truth in the story that he
: was ever a clown or a juggler in 6
wandering show. He had considerable
ability as an amateur actor and his favor
ite roles in later years were Othello and
Matthias in The Bells,''
Although Barnato represented Kimberley
twice in the Cape Legislature he had little
time to give to politics and little interest
in that field of activity. His record in the
Cape legislature was quite devoid of Incl
dent. When the tremendous increase in
his mining interests called for the
establishment of London branch, this
took the form of the Barnato bank. From
that date he spent most of his time il
: London, living at first in Earl Spencer S
5 town residence, but moving finally into 9
magnificent mansion overlooking Hyde
, park.
While in Africa he married and hac
J three children. He always professed te
, Transvaal, and his personal popularity
among all classes of Afrikanders was very
great. In London, where he was con-
, stantly beseiged by fiatterers, beggers ant
projectors of all sorts of enterprises he
finally became quite inaccessible to al
except intimate friends. But they 1iket
him thoroughly and believed in him ever
when English fnanciers began to lool
5 askance at his enterprises and openly tt
/ predict his ultimate collapse. His only
reception hour was the hour of breakfast
} which he always took with his wife ant
UnOrOuSnDreu DULL pup, hS dlIeCCeQ
rather loud style of costume and in
} variably wore white silk socks. He had ,
. keen sense of humor and could tell goo(
9 story with genuine comedy effect. His
t private generosity was frequently ex
{ pressed and in the autumn of 1895 he sen
/ $75 600 to the Lord Mayor of London TO
distribution among the London poor.
Barnato took a prominent part in the
complications Immediately following tn
Jameson raid and at the height of tn
crisis had an important interview witt
President Kruger in regard to the griev
ances of the out landers, which was believe,
at the time to have Modified the harsl
feeling of the Transvaal executive toward
!, the raiders. He subsequently subscribed
!, !, s2o,o 900 to the fund which paid off th
= fines.
About month ago it was rumored tina
his health was suffering from the sever
tension of speculation; and in the latte
part of May it was reported from Cap
Town that he was suffering from nervous
prostration and had been placed unde
e restraint. This was subsequently denie
q by his London representative, who sal