People/magnate, financier

Claude de Bernales

Claude de Bernales (1876–1963), magnate, financier, from United Kingdom. Linked to gold.

The lucky break

Bought leases that became the Wiluna Gold Mines, which grew to over 9000 people in the mid-1930s as the Depression raised gold prices.1

The downfall

In 1939 he was accused of mismanagement. Seven companies were suspended from the London Stock Exchange and liquidated. He spent later years under litigation and tax investigation.1

Legacy

Called the man with the Midas touch. Built London Court in Perth and Overton Lodge in Cottesloe.1

Story cards

Drag to turn the globe

Where next

Mines

OwnedGreat Boulder mineIn 1936 he won control of one of the Golden Mile's richest mines.1

Sources

  1. Claude de Bernales State Library of Western Australia

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

Keep exploring

Stories with these minerals

The Super Pit gold mine at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, at sunsetMining historyGold rushes, then and nowGold and lithium · WorldwideGold drill-hole columns rising over the Yilgarn goldfields on a satellite map of Western AustraliaData storyUnder Western AustraliaDrill holes · Western AustraliaGold drill-hole columns over the Northern Territory on a satellite mapData storyUnder the Northern TerritoryDrill holes · Northern TerritoryGold drill-hole columns over central Victoria on a satellite mapData storyUnder VictoriaDrill holes · Victoria

All mining storiesThe world runs on rockAll mineralsMining by country

Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0.