评论
打印
Business The Oppenheimers Swapping gems for cash
商业 宝石 交易
What next for South Africa's foremost mining family?
南非最有影响力的矿业家族，下一步会如何？
MOST people would be overjoyed to pocket $5.1 billion.
在大多数人眼里，获得51亿美元是一件高兴的事。
But Nicky Oppenheimer, the chairman of De Beers, said that it was with a heavy heart that his family had decided to sell its remaining 40% stake in the world's biggest diamond miner to Anglo American, a mining behemoth.
然而对于尼克 奥本海默而言，这位德比尔斯（全球最大，历史最悠久的钻石矿业公司）主席却不那么轻松。其家族海默家族已经决定向矿业巨头英美资源集团出售剩余的40%德比尔斯的股份。
The deal marks the end of an era for South Africa's foremost mining dynasty.
而这次交易也标志这个南非矿业巨头辉煌时代的结束。
The Oppenheimers have been in the diamond business for more than a century, including over 80 years with De Beers.
海默家族涉足钻石业已超过一个世纪，其中80年在德比尔斯工作。
Nicky's grandfather Ernest settled in South Africa in 1902, having been posted to the diamond-boom town of Kimberley at the age of 22 as an agent for a London-based firm of gem traders.
尼克的祖父欧内斯特在1902年定居在南非。在他22岁那年，作为一家总部在伦敦的钻石交易公司的代理，他外派到钻石业繁荣的小城金伯利。
By 1917 he had set up his own mining company, Anglo American.
1917年，他已有了自己的矿业公司，英美资源集团。
A few years later he won control of De Beers, a diamond miner that had been founded in 1880 by Cecil Rhodes, a British-born colonialist.
几年之后，他又掌控了德比尔斯，一家由英国殖民者塞西尔?罗兹于1880年创立的企业。
By the time Rhodes died in 1902, De Beers controlled 90% of the world's diamond production.
1902年，也就是罗兹去世时间，德比尔斯钻石产量占据世界份额的90%。
Rhodes's immense fortune still pays for people like Bill Clinton to study at Oxford.
至今，罗兹的巨额财富仍在支付美国前总统克林顿在牛津大学学习的费用。
Since 1929, when Sir Ernest (knighted for war services in 1921) took over as chairman, the Oppenheimers have led De Beers almost without interruption, massaging the price of diamonds by hoarding them and occasionally selling part of the firm's stockpile.
1929年，欧内斯特爵士成为德比尔斯主席。自此之后，海默家族一直经营着德比尔斯，并通过控制库存量来调控钻石价格。
The family has wielded political influence, too, mostly bankrolling liberal causes.
与此同时，海默家族为一些南非的自由事业提供资助，在政界也有一定的影响。
Both Ernest and his son Harry served in South Africa's parliament: Ernest for 14 years in the run-up to the second world war, and Harry for nine years as a member of the anti-apartheid opposition.
另外，欧内斯特和儿子哈利也曾为南非议会服务：欧内斯特在14年里为二战提供支持，哈利也是种族主义的支持者。
Of late, however, the family's influence has waned.
近来，海默家族的影响力却日渐衰弱。
Some wonder whether Nicky and his son Jonathan have the same drive and acumen as their swashbuckling forebears.
一些人就质疑尼克和他的儿子是否拥有先驱的进取心和洞察力。
And Anglo American, the firm their family founded (and in which it now has a stake of 2%), moved its headquarters to London in 1999.
而且英美资源集团，这个曾经海默家族一手打造的企业也在1999年把总部迁到了伦敦。
Nicky Oppenheimer insists that the family will stay connected with South Africa: they are still based in Johannesburg.
而尼克 奥本海默却坚持家族应该要立足于南非：其总部仍在约翰内斯堡。
What will the Oppenheimers do with their new pile of cash?
奥本海默家族又如何运用这笔钱？
The deal will take months to complete, so they have time to ponder.
这次交易历经数月才能完成，因而海默家族有着足够的时间来考量。
Under its terms, they are barred from dabbling in diamonds for two years. But other possibilities abound.
条款规定，他们在2年内禁止从事钻石行业。但不排除有其他可能他们将再次干起老本行。
The family has two investment arms. One, called Stockdale Street Capital, invests largely in medium-sized firms in South Africa.
海默家族有2个投资分部：斯托克代尔街资本，主要投资南非的中型企业。
The other, Tana Africa Capital, is a joint venture with Singapore's sovereign-wealth fund, Temasek, and invests in the rest of Africa.
非洲塔纳资本，这家与新加坡淡马锡（主权财富基金公司）成立的合资公司则负责其余非洲的业务。
Among other things, it holds a stake in a Nigerian firm that sells powdered milk, and it plans to build up five to ten substantial firms over the next decade.
除了这些之外，家族还拥有一家尼日利亚的奶粉厂，并计划在近十年中投资在新建5到10个新工厂。
At the moment, Tana is focused on fast-moving consumer goods and agriculture, and to a lesser extent on building materials, health and education.
与此同时，塔纳资本愈发重视投资日益繁荣的消费品和农产品行业。同时，也在慢慢涉足建筑材料领域、健康领域和教育界。
The new money could go into any or all of these areas, says James Teeger, a family spokesman.
娜塔丽珍，这位家族的发言人声称，家族获得的资金会投资到这些行业中。
And the Oppenheimers may also look at infrastructure and energy, two of the hottest businesses south of the Sahara.
除此之外，基础设施和能源领域是作为撒哈拉沙漠南部最热门的行业，海默家族也在考量着对这两个领域进行投资。
Nicky Oppenheimer is said to be furiously jetting around looking for shrewd places to inject his cash.
据说，尼克四处打探消息，寻找可以投钱的最佳场所。
