and
in the third year of his push into the Fields he was able to crown a
new ambition by the purchase of a block of four claims in one of the
best-paying sections of the Kimberley mine. His savings were then about
£ 3000, and he put nearly every pound he
was worth into his purchase. His seemingly risky investment was quickly
justified by the yield of his claims. With the help of this great
investment he came swiftly into prominence. Entering into partnership
with his brother, he
established
the firm of Bar-nato Brothers in 1880, as a London and Kimberley firm
of diamond dealers and brokers in mining properties, and crowned a
further ambition by combining his own claims with adjoining holdings in
his first mining stock organization, " The Barnato Diamond Mining
Company/'
He
was one of many quick-sighted and resourceful men who perceived that
the day for any profitable working of individual claims had passed,
while the body of miners was still struggling along blindly in the
great caving chasms. He brought about a highly desirable amalgamation
of the claims which he controlled with those of the Standard Company,
one of the strongest organizations in the Kimberley Mines, and later
these claims were amalgamated with the holdings of the Kimberley
Central Company, in which he became a large shareholder. It was at this
stage in his fortunes that he came into keen rivalry with the only
competitor that could make headway successfully against him, Cecil John
Rhodes.
There was a singular likeness in some respects in the careers,
