Death of Harry Oppenheimer

South Africa's most successful businessman, Harry Oppenheimer, died after a short illness at the age of 91. Oppenheimer was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Johannesburg Hospital with abdominal pains and a severe headache. During his career he had been chairman of both the Anglo-American Corporation and De Beers Consolidated Mines for more than 25 and 27 years respectively. Apart from business enterprises, Oppenheimer played a crucial role in politics and openly opposed apartheid. In 1998, commenting on apartheid he said: "Disagreeable though it may be, we must admit that the racial policy which has been pursued here over the last 40 years has made South Africa stink in the nostrils of decent, humane people around the world."