Life History and Career
Beit was born in Hamburg, Germany, the younger brother of Alfred Beit, into the Jewish family of an affluent Hamburg trader. He went to England in 1888, where he joined the stockbroking firm of Wernher, Beit & Co., in which his brother Alfred Beit, was a partner. He became a naturalised British citizen in 1896. In 1890 he left for South Africa to gain experience in the diamond industry. He remained for six years and played an active role in the development of Rand Gold Mines and became a member of Hermann Eckstein's firm, H. Eckstein & Co.
Despite playing a prominent part in the Witwatersrand gold industry, he returned to London, partly because he did not want to confine his interests solely to financial activities, but also to cultivate his scientific and cultural tastes.
He fell under the spell of Cecil Rhodes's imperialist vision and was his house-guest at the time of the Jameson Raid. On his return to London, he followed for a few years the career of stockbroker and continued with his interest in the mining industry until the death of his brother Alfred, after which he retired and devoted himself for the remainder of his life to philanthropy.
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