Cecil John Rhodes
"Mr. Rhodes was more than the founder of a dynasty. He aspired to be the creator of one of those vast semi-religious, quasi-political associations which, like the Society of Jesus, have played so large a part in the history of the world. To be more strictly accurate, he wished to found an Order as the instrument of the will of the Dynasty, and while he lived, he dreamed of being both its Caesar and its Loyola. It was this far-reaching, world-wide aspiration of the man which rendered, to those who knew him, so absurdly inane the speculations of his critics as to his real motives." [W.T. Stead, writing about Rhodes and cited in Quigley, C., The Anglo-American Establishment, p. 36]
William Thomas Stead was a journalist in late 19th century Great Britain. He was a close friend and confident of Cecil Rhodes, the man who funded the Rhodes Scholarships and gave his name, as they say, to Rhodesia. However, before founding the Rhodes Scholarships, Rhodes had drawn up four wills that mentioned a secret society called the Society of the Elect to be funded by his great fortune. Stead was a charter member and its chief representative in Britain.
Rhodes' fortune had come from his "business interests" in Africa that began in the diamond market. According to Wikipedia: "Financed by N.B. Rothschild & Sons, Rhodes achieved a virtual monopoly in the diamond mining industry. Rothschild also profiting on the yield from the future exploitation."
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