The herald., 1897-06-15

Mr.. B.BARNATO
Found Little Comfort in
His Millions
HIS LIFE ENDED IN SUICIDE
BIZ JUMPING FROM AN, OCEAN
STEAMER
HIS LIFE ENDED IN SUICIDE
Sketch Of the Life Of the, Man Who
Climbed From Donkey-D Driver
to Multi-Millionaire
Associated Press Special Wire.


from Buchal, Island of Madeira, Off the
west coast Of Morocco, says that on the
arrival there today Of the British steam
ship Scot, which left Table bay (Cape
TOWN. on June 2nd for Southampton, 1t
was announced that Barney Barnato,
the South African diamond king. who
was among the passengers, had COM
mitted suicide by leaping overheard.
His body was recovered.
!, The late Barney Barnato was in many
respects the most remarkable speculator
Of the century. OF all the Englishmen
who have taken part in the development
OF South Africa two only have secured
a worldwide reputation. These have
been Cecil Rhodes and Barnett Isaacs,
more often and less respectfully styled
Barney. Barnato was an assumed name,
a sort Of stage name, for he began his
life in South Africa by exhibiting trick
donkey some twenty-five years ago. He
was then about 20 years old.
Barney Barnato was an English Jew.
Up to the point where his fortunes be-
gan to decline he made money by leaps
and bounds, and in 1895, when his good
fortune was at its zenith,ft was estimated
that he controlled interests worth in the
neighborhood of f100, 10000 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 Kaffirs, the shares of the compare
lively new gold mines of the Transvaal,
South Africa, was at its height, every
man, woman and child in London, with
money to invest, invested 1t in Kaffirs
The craze was the last of those financial
fevers which periodically attack conser-
vative England, the South sea bubble
being the first. For months 1t was the
controlling passion In London and II
was rampant In Paris and Berlin. The
shares went to unheard of figures and
fortunes were made in day.
The center Of this tremendous hnan-
cial outburst was Barney Barnato. and
he was conservatively estimated at tnat
time as worth between 500, 100000 and
$50, ,000, 900. Among his assets was bank
originally capitalized at $12,500,000. Ir
q very few months its capital stock rose
in value to $45,000.000.
Barnato was born in London. Ldttl'
- known as to his early life. except tha
vate tutor instead OF attending public
school. He was younger son, and a
the age of 20 went to South Africa, ther
a much more unknown territory than +
is now, thinly populated by Englishmer
or persons of English descent. The Kim
berly diamond mines were just begin.
ming to be productive. With his few
pounds of capital he began dealing ir
diamonds In a small way. He was clever
and pushing. Everything he touched
he made successful. In five years h.
had earned enough in the retail sale OF
diamonds to purchase a share in the
mines from which his merchandise had
come. Before another five years had
elapsed his holdings at Kimberly had
become very large, and when the Trans
vaal gold fields were discovered he had
profits to invest in them.
In 1886 Barnato was a definite money
power in South Africa, and began to be
spoken Of as the rival Of Cecil Rhodes
Unlike in temperament, the two men
started out to be opponents, but in 1888
they reached the conclusion simultane-
ously that their respective interests
could be best promoted by combining
forces, and the De Beers consolidated
mines were the result. one of the most
valuable pieces of property of land in
the world.
Although Barnato represented Kim
berley twice in the Cape legislature, he
had little time to give to politics, and lit.
tie interest in their field of activity.
Cecil Rhodes used wealth only as a
means Of political control; Barnato
aepired only to such control of men as
comes from being fabulously rich. His
record in the Cape legislature was quite
devoid Of incident. When the tremen-
dous increase in his mining interests
called for the establishment of London
branch this took the form of Barnato
bank. From that date he spent most
of his time In London, living at first in
Earl Spencer's town residence, but NOV
Ing finally into more magnificent man
sion overlooking Hyde park.
While in Africa he married and had
three children, two sons and daughter
He always had. or professed to have,
boundlees faith in the future of the
TransVaal country, and his per-
sonal popularity among all classes of
Afrikanders was remarkable. In Lon
don, where he was constantly besieged
by fiatterers beggare and projectors of
enterprises. he finally became quite in
accessible to all except his most intimate
friends.
NOT SUICIDE
LONDON, June 15-The Daily Telo-
graph, which announces the death Of
Barney Barnato, while passenger on
the Scot from Cape Town, saye, on the
authority of a news agency, that he fell
overheard.
BARNEY is DEAD
NEW YORK, June 14-The World
says: Barney is dead" These three
words were flashed under the ocean and
over the wires from johannesburg to
Miss Alice Holbrook in the Hotel Ven
dome.
Miss Holbrook is a sister-in-law of
Barney Barnato, the Kaffir King. Her
eldest sister married the great specula-
tor when he first started in hio money
making career.
The news of his death came from a
sister who ranks in age between Miss
Holbrook and Mrs. Barnato. She lives
In Cape Colony.
From Madeira, where the ship touched
the death message was cabled to South
Africa, where Barnato was best known.
Mrs. Barnato Is in London" I" said Miss
Holbrook to 9 World reporter last night.