Chapter 1502: The eternal King of Diamonds

'Mr. Harry, I have two pieces of data to tell you, I think you will be very interested.'

'Please go ahead!'

Harry Oppenheimer said expressionlessly.

'Our Bright Fund now holds 34.78% and 37.47% of De Beers' shares respectively,'

George Berkeley said this lightly.

The two figures were very simple.

But when they fell into the ears of Harry Oppenheimer and Garvin Reilly, they were like thunderclaps.

Harry Oppenheimer's face twitched, his expression instantly became grave, and his cloudy gaze became clear and sharp, staring directly at George Berkeley as if he wanted to see through his heart.

George Berkeley smiled and calmly looked him in the eye.

After a long while,

Harry Oppenheimer slowly asked, 'Mr. George, you have bought the shares held by the Rhodes and Morgan families?'

'That's right!' George Berkeley gave him a positive answer.

Harry Oppenheimer's breathing stopped for a moment, and then he let out a long breath. Only the hand holding the cane continued to exert pressure, showing that he was extremely unsettled inside.

'Mr. Harry, what can we do with our current shareholding ratio?'

Before Harry Oppenheimer could reply,

George Berkeley continued, 'Of course, if we think about it differently, when our shareholding is combined with yours, how much difference can it make?'

'For example, completely kicking the Rothschild family out!'

Garvin Reilly, who was sitting next to Harry Oppenheimer, was extremely unsettled. He wanted to say something, but was afraid of saying the wrong thing, so he could only look at his father-in-law frequently.

Harry Oppenheimer said slowly, 'Mr. George, although you have a high stake in De Beers and Anglo American, you should know that you cannot take control of these two companies.'

'I have confidence in that.'

The Oppenheimer family holds a 31.06% stake in Anglo American, while the second largest shareholder is De Beers, with a 10.54% stake. Since De Beers is also controlled by the Oppenheimer family, the Oppenheimer family's voting rights in Anglo American reach 41.6%.

The Rothschild family also holds 7.49%, and will definitely not side with the Bright Fund, but will only stand together with the Oppenheimer family, so together they reach 48.09%.

Although it is still a little short of 50%, Anglo American is a listed company, so it is destined that the Bright Fund will not be the first to reach more than 50% of the shares.

Without reaching 50%, they cannot control the shareholders' meeting, and therefore cannot re-elect the board of directors, nor can they force Garvin Reilly, the chairman of Anglo American South Africa, to step down.

This is especially true for De Beers.

Anglo American South Africa holds 35.27% of the shares, and the Rothschild family holds 16.12%, which directly adds up to 51.39%, more than half.

This is the advantage of cross-shareholding, controlling more companies with less capital.

Of course, George Berkeley was aware of all this.

He came here today, intending to bully the Oppenheimer family, using the power of the consortium to force Harry Oppenheimer to give in.

George Berkeley smiled, looking unconcerned.

He glanced at his watch, and his smile became even wider.

Then, without further concealment, he raised his left hand to check the time in front of Harry Oppenheimer and Garvin Reilly.

He then said leisurely, 'Mr. Harry, I cannot take it away, but you should understand that even if you succeed in preventing something, you have actually lost.'

Harry Oppenheimer frowned, savouring the profound meaning of George Berkeley's words, while also quickly thinking about the meaning of his earlier action of checking the time.

Just as the two were locked in a stand-off inside the house,

outside the house,

George Berkeley, who had not been followed by his assistant, kept his eyes on his watch. When he saw the second hand reach the 12 o'clock mark, he looked up sharply in the direction of the house.

One second, two seconds... five seconds.

He was sure George Berkeley had not called him in.

He immediately dialed the number he had dialed half an hour ago on the brick phone.

As soon as he dialed, he was connected immediately.

Without any preamble, he said, 'I need help!'

'OK!'

was the only word that came back over the line, and then it was hung up.

The assistant, who had been on tenterhooks for half an hour, let out a long sigh of relief and looked back in the direction of the room.

...

'Mr Harry, the situation in Europe has been going on for a while now, and you can see that the Rothschilds are no match for us,'

'Why do you keep standing by their side on this sinking ship?'

'In this era, we, the Illuminati, are the trendsetters!'

George Berkeley said, his face beaming with pride.

As soon as he finished speaking,

'Dong, dong, dong...'

a very clear series of rings sounded.

The three men looked in the direction of the sound.

It was Garvin Reilly's mobile phone ringing.

He picked it up, glanced at the screen, thought about it for two seconds, and then hung up.

But before two seconds had passed, it rang again.

This time, Garvin Reilly's brow furrowed.

George Berkeley smiled and made a gesture of invitation: 'Mr Garvin, it seems you have urgent business. We have plenty of time, so you might as well answer it.'

Harry Oppenheimer sensed something was wrong, gave George Berkeley a deep look, and then nodded slightly, indicating that Garvin Reilly should answer it.

Without saying anything more, Garvin Reilly took the phone, got up and walked over to the side, while pressing the answer button.

'What?'

After listening for a few words, Garvin Riley's footsteps stopped, and he couldn't help but let out a low cry, before quickly turning around to look at George Berkeley.

At this time, George Berkeley was looking at him with a smile on his face.

It's confirmed!

It's the Bright Foundation that did it!

Garvin Riley was extremely angry, and his fists clenched unconsciously. He listened quietly to the end of the phone call, and then didn't ask any more questions, but simply said, 'Everyone evacuate first, be careful.'

and hung up.

Then he came back over.

George Berkeley said with a smile, 'Mr Garvin, it seems you're in trouble. Do you need any help?'

Garvin Riley suppressed the urge to punch George Berkeley in the face and said coldly, 'No.'

'I want to say something to my father.'

After that, he helped Harry Oppenheimer up and the two of them walked over to whisper to each other.

George Berkeley didn't say anything, took a sip of coffee, frowned slightly, and waved at the waiter in the waiting area: 'This coffee is cold, make me a new one.'

...

'Father, I just got a call from Africa. There was a sudden attack by armed men at the Richard Bay coal mine, which caused a large-scale gas explosion. The situation is very serious. I have arranged to temporarily organise personnel to evacuate.'

Garwin Reilly's face was unusually angry, and his voice was low.

The Richard Bay Coal Mine is a giant coal mine in South Africa and the largest coal mine developed by Anglo American in South Africa.

There is also the Richard Bay Coal Terminal there, and it is precisely because of its good location and the rich resources nearby that it has become one of the world's largest coal terminals.

'It must be them again, they've already made the arrangements.'

'I know!' Harry Oppenheimer's face was grim.

It was obvious that just now, when George Berkeley looked at the time, it meant that the time had come.

Before they had even started talking, George Berkeley had already made all the arrangements, intending to force them to give in.

This approach was familiar, because not only had he used it, but also the great powers in Europe.

The outcome of negotiations was never decided at the negotiating table, but was decided on the battlefield.

It was just that he had always done it before, and he had never expected to experience the role of the weaker party.

'Father, what should we do?'

Garwin Reilly asked in a low voice.

After a long silence, Harry Oppenheimer said slowly, 'Let's go back and talk.'

Although he didn't say anything else, Garvin Reilly's mood instantly fell. He knew that his father-in-law had compromised.

Even though he was unwilling in his heart, he had to admit that bowing his head was indeed a better choice.

The two men returned to their seats.

Harry Oppenheimer looked at George Berkeley and said, 'Mr. George, you win.'

'We can cooperate, but there must be a limit.'

'I want to hear your conditions.'

George Berkeley smiled and said, 'The conditions for cooperation are very simple. After all, we are friends.'

'We can give up Anglo American Resources of South Africa, but we must join forces to get the Rothschild family out.'

'As for De Beers, we need it!'

'No way on the second one!' Harry Oppenheimer said without hesitation.

But George Berkeley said in an unmistakable tone, "No, the second one must work!'

Harry Oppenheimer and George Berkeley looked at each other for a long time, and finally compromised. He sighed and said, "Okay.'

'But the shares of Anglo American in South Africa held by De Beers need to be taken over by us.'

'No, De Beers will only transfer half of its shareholding to you!'

George Berkeley refused without hesitation, and when Harry Oppenheimer tried to argue, he said in advance, 'But if the Rothschild family withdraws, the 7.49% of shares they hold can be transferred to you.'

This was a tough nut to crack!

But considering that the Bright Fund held 37.47% of Anglo American's shares, and De Beers held 10.54%, which was half of the Bright Fund's shareholding,

So in order to regain the position of the largest shareholder, he must obtain the Rothschild family's stake, otherwise he will not feel at ease.

Even if this will be difficult, it will make the conflict between the Oppenheimer family and the Rothschild family even greater.

And this is exactly what the Bright Foundation needs.

Therefore,

Harry Oppenheimer once again compromised and said with difficulty, 'OK.'

George Berkeley's lips curled up slightly as he continued, 'Then we can talk about the 35.27% stake in De Beers held by Anglo American in South Africa.'

...

Another round of negotiations ensued.

In the end, the stake was sold to the Bright Fund for £127 million.

Since the stake was held by Anglo American in South Africa, the £127 million went to Anglo American.

Considering that Bright Food is currently the largest shareholder of Anglo American, Bright Food actually did not spend £100 million.

However, the Oppenheimer family later had to take over the 5.27% stake in Anglo American held by De Beers, which cost them a fortune.

It was a busy morning.

The contract was finally signed, and when Harry Oppenheimer put it away, he felt very bad.

De Beers had not belonged to him before, and even though he had controlled it for decades, in the end he had lost it.

'Mr Harry, it has been a pleasure working together!'

'I believe that with the participation of Anglo American South Africa, we will have a stronger influence on the world mineral market,'

George Berkeley said with a smile before shaking Harry Oppenheimer's hand again before leaving.

Hearing this, Harry Oppenheimer froze for a moment, then forced a smile: 'That's for sure.'

Thinking about the current global mineral prices, Harry Oppenheimer felt a little better.

The manipulation of the prices and futures of various minerals had caused Anglo American in South Africa to suffer greatly, but that suffering would finally come to an end.

He had also gained a deep insight into the power of the Illuminati and its allies in the global mining sector.

On second thought, although De Beers had been lost, Anglo American in South Africa had joined the oligarchy and would gain more benefits in the future.

It is entirely possible to make up for the losses and even make more money.

However, Anglo American must be firmly in our hands and not be snatched away again...

After returning to the company with the fruits of victory,

George Berkeley immediately called Xia Yu to report the good news.

Xia Yu happened to be in the office dealing with business and couldn't help but smile after receiving the good news.

'George, well done. Next, immediately spread the news and at the same time step up the attack on the London gold market to put more pressure on the Rothschild family...'

'And De Beers is also in our hands now. The Rothschilds still have a 16.12% stake, so we'll dilute their holdings.'

'Yes, boss, I'll follow your instructions...'

After ending the call with George Berkeley, Xia Yu got up, stretched, and chuckled to himself, 'With De Beers in our hands, I now control more than 90% of the world's diamond industry.'

'In the future, I will also have Canada's diamond mines in my hands. As long as I can also get hold of the diamond mines in Russia, then there will never be any competitors in this market. Haha...'

Thinking that in his previous life he had been a victim of a diamond scam, but in this life he would make the men of the world live in his shadow, Xia Yu could not help but feel dumbfounded.

He shook his head slightly, put this big toy behind him, and then thought about the Oppenheimer family and Anglo American.

Anglo American was a top-level resource company.

But for Xia Yu, it was not indispensable. Although he had once wanted to hold it in his hands, he gave up when he thought about it carefully, and chose to split the Oppenheimer family from the Rothschild family.

With Bright Fund's current shareholding in Anglo American, as long as the Oppenheimer family turns over, it doesn't matter whether they control it or not.

It is not comparable at all to weakening the Rothschild family.