Jonathan Oppenheimer
Jonathan M. E. Oppenheimer | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 18, 1969 South Africa |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, environmental advocate |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Known for | Executive chairman of Oppenheimer Generations; former executive at De Beers; vice-president at Anglo American plc |
Jonathan M. E. Oppenheimer (born 18 November 1969) is a South African billionaire entrepreneur and environmental advocate. He holds the position of executive chairman at Oppenheimer Generations and previously served as an executive at De Beers as well as vice-president within his family's enterprise, Anglo American plc.
Early life
Jonathan is the son of former De Beers chairman Nicky Oppenheimer and the great-grandson of Ernest Oppenheimer, founder of Anglo American and De Beers chairman from 1929. The De Beers company was originally founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1888.
His education includes attendance at Harrow School followed by studies at Christ Church, part of the Oxford system. During his time at Oxford, he also participated in first-class cricket representing the Oxford University Cricket Club.
Career
Jonathan started his professional journey at N M Rothschild & Sons before moving to Anglo American, where he was promoted to senior vice-president in 1999. After departing Anglo American in 2000, he took on senior leadership roles at De Beers both in Southern Africa and London until 2012. As the third generation leading De Beers, he was instrumental in the company's 2001 privatization and facilitated the sale of the Oppenheimer family’s stake to Anglo American in 2012, concluding an 85-year family dominion over the diamond sector. He currently serves as director of E. Oppenheimer & Son Ltd.
In 2003, Jonathan collaborated with Nicky Oppenheimer to release The Brenthurst Initiative, a policy document addressing economic growth in South Africa. This initiative subsequently led to establishing The Brenthurst Foundation in 2004.
Together with his father, he co-founded Oppenheimer Generations, an investment group supporting a range of enterprises and charitable organizations including the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance. As Executive Chairman, Jonathan manages the family’s private investments, commercial interests, and intellectual leadership projects such as Oppenheimer Partners, Oppenheimer Generations Asia, Nianova, Shangani Holistic, the Brenthurst Foundation, along with various conservation programs.
Other activities
Oppenheimer has been deeply involved in his family’s business initiatives, notably founding the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation—a think tank dedicated to promoting sustainable development across Africa—and co-establishing Tana Africa Capital, a partnership with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings focused on consumer goods markets within Africa.
His governance experience includes participation on boards and advisory committees like Malawi’s Presidential Advisory Committee on the Economy (created by the Brenthurst Foundation) and a non-executive directorship at Umicore, a publicly traded specialty chemicals firm.
Following his acquisition of the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, he ceased hunting activities there and expanded efforts toward wildlife preservation, earning accolades from the World Wide Fund for Nature in 2007.
In January 2018, Jonathan joined the Board of Trustees for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP).
On 23 March 2020, both Nicky and Jonathan Oppenheimer pledged R1 billion to assist South African small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative targeted employees within small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs), resulting in the formation of the South African Future Trust (SAFT) on 31 March 2020 through the Oppenheimer Generations Foundation. Since its inception, SAFT has mobilized over R134 million from various contributors to deliver direct financial support to SMME workers impacted by lockdown measures and the pandemic.
Personal life
Jonathan Oppenheimer was married to Jennifer Ward until her passing in 2017. Together, they had three children. In 2022, he entered into a second marriage.
External links
- 1969 births
- Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
- South African mining businesspeople
- Living people
- Oppenheimer family
- People educated at Harrow School
- South African billionaires
- South African Anglicans
- South African people of German-Jewish descent
- Oxford University cricketers
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace