Simon Allison

The emphasis on gold and diamonds understates just how much the Oppenheimer's company Anglo American once controlled.

Alongside mines, it owned banks, breweries, newspapers, car makers, sugar estates, construction firms, maize farms and Europe's largest packaging manufacturer.

"Now 55, [Jonathan] is the eldest son in the fourth generation of the mining dynasty that began with Ernest Oppenheimer in the early 1900s. The family is worth $10.4-billion, according to Forbes. Almost all of that money was made from gold and diamonds dug from beneath southern African soil."

Even for the Oppenheimers, money can’t buy love – or power Jonathan Oppenheimer is heir-apparent to Africa’s third-largest fortune. The Brenthurst Foundation was his attempt to turn that money into political influence. It shut down last month.

‘The actual lesson from Jonathan Oppenheimer’s experiment … is that money can buy access, but it doesn’t necessarily buy real influence.

His mistake was to be so tone deaf that it took him more than two decades to figure this out for himself.’

@simonallison.bsky.social for @thecontinent.org

My bizarre interactions with the richest man I have ever met, featuring hot tubs, private planes and a sweary billionaire

On the failure of Jonathan Oppenheimer’s Brenthurst Foundation – by @simonallison.bsky.social for @thecontinent.org

Read it (for free) here: thecontinent.org/subscribe

Illustration of an empty display frame with 12 slots; the top left slot is filled with a colorful drawing of the Maqam Echahid monument in Algiers, Algeria.

After their great "Museum of Stolen History" series earlier that year, @thecontinent.org just started a new one with the #MuseumOfMemories - highlighting some of #Africa​'s most iconic monuments.

Starting with #MaqamEchahid, the Martyrs’ Memorial in #Algiers:

continent.substack.com/p/the-museum...

This is the cover of Issue 207 of The Continent (2 August 2025) It shows a bearded white man, wearing glasses, jeans, and a checkered shirt with a yellow apron, standing on a wobbly wooden ladder. He’s sculpting a massive boulder using a hammer and chisel. Taped to the wall in front of him is a map of Africa — his apparent guide. On the ground next to the boulder is an open black toolbox labeled “Brenthurst”, a reference to the Brenthurst Foundation, which is associated with white South African billionaire politician Jonathan Oppenheimer. The man appears to be trying to sculpt the giant rock into the shape of Africa but hasn’t made any visible progress — the rock remains untouched. The floor is scattered with chisels and stone chips, showing failed or misguided effort. The headline reads: “The tone-deaf billionaire”. It’s illustrated by Gado.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 207 of The Continent.

One of Africa’s richest men tried to shape politics on the continent through his Brenthurst Foundation — using extreme luxury to charm and influence. Last month, it suddenly shut down. What happened?

Get your copy here: bit.ly/TC_207

Replacing Federal Workers with Chatbots Would Be a Dystopian Nightmare The Trump administration sees an AI-driven federal workforce as more efficient. Instead, with chatbots unable to carry out critical tasks, it would be a diabolical mess

Resurfacing this op-ed since neither DODGE nor AI Hype seem to be on the decline.

@asmelashteka.bsky.social and I discuss one of the many reasons the idea of replacing US federal workers with so-called generative AI systems should terrify us. 🧵

www.scientificamerican.com/article/repl...

I'm so sorry. This is a recurring nightmare of mine.

Another good issue and I appreciate the writers' note to readers about a coming break: "We are taking a few weeks to be human, test our sexy shirts a bit more before you can get one, do some planning work – and watch Wafcon. Be good, play nicely, and we’ll see you soon."

This cover of The Continent (28 June 2025, Issue 205) is illustrated by Wynona Mutisi. The image is of several glass jars filled with gold coins, each labelled to represent different sources of money. A hand is reaching into the smallest jar. The largest jar is labelled “Rich Uncle” and is full of coins. A smaller, lacy jar in the foreground is labelled “Grandma’s pension”, with a red gingham ribbon tied around the lid. A hand is reaching into this jar, implying someone is taking from it. Other jars nearby are labelled: “National Piggy Bank” and “Cousin Dabashsili”. Another coin-stuffed tree-shaped jar is labelled “Money Trees” At the bottom of the image is a bold caption that reads: “Aid is dead. Grandma is not.”

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 205 of The Continent.

Even before USAID went “into the wood chipper,” rich countries were already retreating from aid. Now some want to tap pension funds to fill the gap. Bold idea — but a slippery slope. Guardrails first.

Get your copy here: bit.ly/205_TC

A Bloody Sunday, every day.

This isn’t a hard man to track. The authorities could stop him if they wanted to.

Unmasked: The man trafficking Zambian women to Pakistan Women are being lured to work in terrible conditions, then abandoned without their passports or hope of getting home. And the man responsible is still profiting, despite the authorities knowing about

Zambian women are being lured to work in terrible conditions in Pakistan, then abandoned without their passports or hope of getting home. And the man responsible is still profiting, despite the authorities knowing about. @thecontinent.org investigates continent.substack.com/p/unmasked-t...

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The cover of Issue 204 of The Continent is an illustration by Wynona Mutisi. It depicts a man in a dark shirt, shown in cool blue and purple tones. The background is filled with travel-related items: a boarding pass, a Zambian passport, and a Pakistani passport. The boarding pass a flight from Karachi to Lusaka, indicates international travel. Overlaying the man are text message bubbles, indicating a conversation. "Give me back my passport... I want to go home." The response is "$450 release fee."

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 204 of The Continent

Trafficking of African women into abusive domestic work remains rampant. This week we reveal a man moving women from Zambia to Pakistan — where they're exploited. Authorities know, but he's walking free.

Get your copy here: bit.ly/204_TC

This is the cover of The Continent, dated 14 June 2025, issue 203. It’s illustrated by satirical cartoonist Gado. The headline reads: “East Africa’s battle against its own people.” The illustration is a black-and-white cartoon with some red highlights. It shows three men lowering a coffin into a grave. The coffin and the men are covered in blood splatter and stains. The two men on the left are wearing military uniforms with skull insignias on their berets, suggesting they are high-ranking officers or commanders. The third man on the right, wearing a suit, likely represents a political leader. All three look worried or anxious as they carry out the burial. The graveyard is filled with many crosses and headstones, indicating mass deaths. Several of the headstones and the ground are also marked with blood.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 203 of The Continent

Across East Africa, state security forces have been very busy recently — doing crime but not time.

Get this week's edition here: bit.ly/203_TC

I HATE that this violence is happening in East Africa.

But I’m grateful for the independent, thorough, and fair reporting work being carried out by the folks over at The Continent (@thecontinent.org)

Getting back into the swing of things after many moons of mostly academic writing with this fun piece on African women in the #wnba for @thecontinent.org.

(Rather than overload alt text, get the screen readable version here. It’s a free magazine sent to your phone wa.me/27738056068?...)

Tribute to Kenyan writer Ngugi, in terms of what his writing meant to African writers.
via the @thecontinent.org

I second this most heartily. @thecontinent.org is where it's at.

I personally get my newsletter by email, so if you're an old in the northern hemisphere that is also possible.

Can’t find Madjid on platform to tag. This writing is the best combination of narrative, human interest and hard content of climate impacts.

Masterful writing. The #Continent is a fab innovation. Not just because it’s WhatsApp delivered. But because it’s African writers for African audiences. Sign up. @thecontinent.org @simonallison.bsky.social @siphok.bsky.social please tell author that this story is in-put-down able.

Right?!

@wynonamutisi.bsky.social is one of my fav fav illustrators!

My latest report for @thecontinent.org looks at how a broken healthcare system pushed doctors to the edge. I spoke with health workers across the country.

The cover of Issue 202 of The Continent is illustrated by Wynona Mutisi. The issue is dated 7 June 2025. The background is in the style of a greeting card. The cover is textured green with an ornate, traditional North African or Islamic-style border that uses floral and leafy motifs in orange, green, and pink. In the center is an illustration of three wooden boats, each filled with tightly packed white sheep. The sheep are stylised and repetitive, forming dense clusters within each boat. Overlaying the center of the image is the Arabic phrase “عيد مبارك” (Eid Mubarak) in elegant gold script, which means “Blessed Eid” — referring to the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha, when sheep are traditionally sacrificed. At the bottom of the cover, a bold white headline reads: The Great Algerian Sheep Shortage.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 202 of The Continent

It's Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, but droughts in Algeria have left lambs scarce. To keep tradition alive, the government is importing sheep and distributing them via lotteries.

Get this week's edition here: bit.ly/202_TC

Lilongwe, and how we hold the space we make We Built This City is a limited series of photo essays by The Continent on African cities. This week, we are in Lilongwe with James Jamu.

We Built This City is a limited series of photo essays by The Continent on African cities. This week, we are in Lilongwe with James Jamu.

The cover of Issue 201 of The Continent shows the members of Aurora Negra Collective performing at the Bissau Biennale. They're dressed in striped red and white clothing and backlit by a white light. The picture is by Jason Patinkin.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 201 of The Continent.

Travel with us to Bissau Biennale, West Africa’s most improbable art fair.

Get your copy of this week's edition here: bit.ly/201_TC

The Continent has done the improbable in five years. In the next five we are going to build on this, empower more people with quality journalism, and do our bit to save civilisation – by newspapering.

Help us continue to do that by subscribing: thecontinent.org/subscribe