Editing Anglo American plc (section)

===1917–1990===
[[Ernest Oppenheimer]], a Jewish German émigré, founded the Anglo American Corporation (AAC) in 1917 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with financial backing from the American bank [[J.P. Morgan & Co.]] and £1&nbsp;million raised from UK and US sources to start the gold mining company; this fact is reflected in the company's name.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/08/21/anglo-american-update-cx_cn_0821miner.html |title=New Mining Target: Anglo American |date=21 August 2006 |first=Chris |last=Noon |work=[[Forbes (magazine)|Forbes]] |access-date=27 May 2008 |archive-date=2 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202073717/http://www.forbes.com/2006/08/21/anglo-american-update-cx_cn_0821miner.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The AAC became the majority [[Stakeholder (corporate)|stakeholder]] in the [[De Beers]] company in 1926, a company formerly controlled by [[Alfred Beit]], also a Jewish German émigré.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chilvers |first=Henry |date=1939 |title=The Story of De Beers |publisher=Cassell |page=227}}</ref>

In the late 1940s and 1950s, the AAC focused on the development of the [[Free State goldfields]] (seven major mines simultaneously) and the [[Vaal Reefs]] mine.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cNxCDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA149|title=Unsettled History: Making South African Public Pasts|first1= Leslie |last1=Witz|first2=Gary |last2=Minkley|first3=Ciraj |last3=Rassool |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0472073344}}</ref> During 1945, the AAC moved into the coal industry by acquiring Coal Estates. Twelve years later, Oppenheimer died in Johannesburg and was succeeded as head of the company by his son [[Harry Oppenheimer|Harry]], who also became chairman of De Beers.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pallister|first=David|date=20 August 2000|title=Obituary: Harry Oppenheimer, diamond baron|work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/aug/21/guardianobituaries.davidpallister|access-date=10 October 2017|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In 1961, the AAC expanded outside of southern Africa for the first time and became a major investor in the [[Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co.|Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company]] in Canada. In 1967, the company moved into the steel industry by acquiring Scaw Metals. From 1967 to 1975, it continued to grow and established a number of ventures, including the [[Mondi Group]] (timber, pulp and paper), Amgold (later [[AngloGold Ashanti]]) and then Amcoal (through the consolidation of several of its mining operations in South Africa; later known as Anglo Coal and in 2010 changed to Anglo Thermal). In 1982, Harry Oppenheimer retired as chairman of the AAC and was succeeded by [[Gavin Relly]]. Two years later, Oppenheimer retired from De Beers and passed the chairmanship to [[Julian Ogilvie Thompson]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/03/business/at-e-beers-the-dynasty-continues-under-a-new-name.html?pagewanted=all|title=At De Beers, the dynasty continues under a new name|newspaper=The New York Times|date=3 March 1985|access-date=19 March 2016}}</ref> who in 1990 also became chairman and chief executive of the AAC.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/02/business/company-news-anglo-american-chairman-apartheid-critic-to-retire.html|title=Anglo American chairman apartheid critic to retire|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2 March 1990|access-date=19 March 2016}}</ref>