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Interview by Edward Jay Epstein

If one man can be said to control the world's diamonds it is Harry Frederick Oppenheimer.

Sitting across the desk from Oppenheimer, however, it is hard to imagine that this small, shy man dominated a

We are sorry to note the death of Harry Oppenheimer, De Beers chairman for 27 years, at the age of 91.

Oppenheimer is the middle link of one of the diamond industry’s most extraordinary dynasties. His father, Ernest, headed De Beers and built the Central Selling Organisation. His son Nicky now runs the company.

In 1938, he commissioned the first major promotional campaign for diamonds and diamond jewelry in America. This led to the first "democratization" of what had always been a luxury product believed to be for the very rich. Today, that advertising is considered some of the most powerful in the 20th century.

He also forged relationships with the governments of Botswana and Namibia. It would be difficult to think of any other South African doing this, but Oppenheimer was famed for his opposition to South Africa’s apartheid system, both as a member of Parliament and a business leader.

A spokesman for the South African government noted that he was one of the first businesspeople in South Africa to initiate contact with the African National Congress (ANC). This was at a time when the government refused to speak with them. "He remained a quintessential South African and decided to stay to the end of his days," the spokesman said.

Oppenheimer was known for his low-key, sometimes self-effacing demeanor, and many of his business colleagues knew him simply as "Harry." "Rarely has a tycoon been so informal," noted Anthony Hockins in his book "Oppenheimer and Son."

multi-billion-dollar empire. He spoke quietly, but with great precision. He had a distinct Oxford accent, and as he explained an issue he tended to punctuate his answers with a self-effacing, smile. He was far more candid in discussing his business than I would have expected someone in this position to be, and I assumed that this disarming openness proceeded from his confidence in his control over his immediate universe. His interlocking businesses did after all account for over half of the industrial exports of southern Africa. The heart of this complex is located at 44 Main Street in the heart of Johannesburg'. The block-long building, with its imposing neocolonial facade and marble entranceway, looked much more like a government institution than the headquarters of the mining company. As it turned out, it housed in its offices far more power than most government buildings. Indeed, Oppenheimer even had a private treaty with the Soviet Union, although the terms have never been publicly revealed.

I had come to South Africa to write a book on the diamond business. Oppenheimer's father, Ernest Oppenheimer, had developed the monopoly, De Beers, that runs it. Oppenheimer explained that it was no secret that De Beers acquired through subsidiaries all the uncut diamonds that the Soviet Union wanted to sell on the open market. "We have of course no reason for concealing this arrangement other than the Russians prefer not to receive any public attention for obvious reasons," he said almost apologetically. The "obvious reasons" for obscuring the arrangement with De Beers were that the Soviet Union had for some fifteen years called for a total boycott of South Africa and South African businesses, and its dealings with De Beers, if made public, might prove embarrassing.

But how long could such an unholy alliance last? The Soviet Union apparently had ambitions of its own in southern Africa, and at some point geopolitical considerations might take precedence over business considerations. I asked how he could be sure that the Soviets would renew the deal.

"We paid the Soviet Union more than half a billion dollars last year," he answered. "This is not a sum it can easily replace, and I can see no conceivable reason why it would want to abandon such a profitable arrangement." His logic was brutally direct: De Beers provided the Soviet Union with its single largest source of hard currency (only petroleum was a more important export for Soviet trade in 1977)If the Soviet Union withdrew its diamonds from De Beers, it would have to find other outlets to sell its uncut diamonds. And if it precariously dumped these diamonds on the market, the price would collapse, and the Soviet Union would lose an important source of foreign exchange. "What could the Russians possibly gain by competing with us?" he asked rhetorically.

He further pointed out that De Beers provided the Soviets with certain types of industrial diamonds that were important for drilling and producing electronic wiring. Its Siberian mines apparently did not produce these strategically important diamonds. By selling gem stones to De Beers, the Soviet Union received the credits for importing the industrial diamonds it needed.

The Soviet Union also had considerable influence in other diamond producing areas in Black Africa, such as Angola. I wondered if the logic of the arrangement between De Beers and the Soviets required the Soviets to use their power in those countries to help De Beers retain its control over diamond mines there. "You will have to address that question to the Africans concerned," he replied abruptly. The tone in his voice made ii clear that there were aspects to the Soviet arrangement that he decidedly did not want to discuss.

Oppenheimer was concerned with the possibility of the United Nations imposing economic sanctions against South Africa, since his empire exported billions of dollars worth of South African commodities. He did not believe, however, that they could affect the diamond trade. "I can think of no commodity less susceptible to dangers from UN sanctions than diamonds," he said. He was stating the obvious: diamonds were after all one of the most convenient commodities to transport across borders. For example, an entire month of production of diamonds from the Namibian mines, worth $40 million, could be smuggled out of Namibia in an attache case.

Oppenheimer also gave little credence to the fear that De Beers might be running out of quality diamonds. He pointed out that De Beers was developing vast new mines in the Botswana desert, which he planned to visit the next day. These Botswana mines would provide the world with an ample supply of diamonds well into the 1990s.

Oppenheimer insisted that the black-white confrontation in Africa would not present a problem for De Beers. He termed the arrangement between De Beers and Black African nations "Mutually advantageous."