But De Beers , founded by British-born colonial expansionist Cecil John Rhodes in 1880, never let that happen.

FORBES: Fracture Lines

Cecil John Rhodes, a British imperialist who made a fortune in diamond mines and launched the de Beers diamond cartel, was one of those.

CNN: Seeds of Zimbabwe's land conflict were planted more than a century ago

Comparisons to the British colonial tycoon, Cecil John Rhodes, who established the Rhodes Scholars program in 1902 to bring scholars to Oxford University to study, were quickly and easily made.

FORBES: The New Colossus of Rhodes