Patrick Bet-David exposes what is potentially the biggest scam and most successful marketing campaign of all time: the De Beers diamond monopoly.
Diamonds are coveted by women the world over and are very expensive–as any man who has purchased them knows. Their price, we are told, is justified by their rarity.
But what if you found out they aren’t rare at all? What if diamonds were, in fact, the most common gems in the world?
According to estimates, there are roughly a quadrillion tons of diamonds in the earth. Diamonds rose to the preeminent place they occupy in the modern world market through the efforts of the De Beers Diamond Consortium, a mining corporation founded in South Africa in 1887 by business tycoon Cecil Rhodes and financed by the Rothschild family.
Learn the benefits of becoming a Valuetainment Member and subscribe today!
In 1902, De Beers had control of roughly 90 percent of the world’s diamond production and distribution.
Rumors of murder and kidnapping have long surrounded the De Beers corporation and their methods for securing control of the world’s diamond productions.
Under the leadership of Ernest Oppenheimer, the corporation was transformed into an empire. He was originally a rival who began buying up stock in De Beers until he became Chairman of the board in 1927. Oppenheimer directed De Beers’ Central Selling Organization to scoop up suppliers and buyers with exclusive contracts until he formed a virtual monopoly over diamonds.
As demand declined, De Beers pursued an advertising campaign for the gems by draping Hollywood actresses in elaborate diamond jewelry, turning them into the widely-recognizable product known as “A Girl’s Best Friend” (a song performed by Marilyn Monroe in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes). Diamond sales increased 50 percent within three years.
Ian Fleming’s 1956 James Bond novel Diamonds Are Forever and the 1971 film of the same name also helped popularize the already-popular product.
When a significant source of diamonds was discovered in Siberia in the 1950s, De Beers offered to buy all gems harvested in the region so they could retain control over market prices.
De Beers kept a stash of uncut diamonds in London. The stockpile was estimated to be worth $5 billion.
The company had to agree to a plea deal in 2004 to continue doing business in the United States. In 1994, an indictment was filed against De Beers for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by fixing the price of diamonds. The DOJ was unable to prosecute De Beers because they were based overseas and refused to meet in the US court system.
All signs point to the conclusion that the company knew diamonds weren’t rare, but controlled the release of the supply so the price would be artificially inflated.
Watch the rest of Patrick’s video to learn about the different prices and rarity levels of the various types of diamonds, including lab-grown ones. He also discusses the future of the diamond market.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
Add comment