Cecil John Rhodes became one of the most influential people in the history of the British Empire. He made a fortune in South Africa by leading the world's most important diamond mining company, De Beers. While he was a busy entrepreneur, he was also a member of the Cape Colony's legislature and served as prime minister from 1890 to 1896, a key period for the development of racial discrimination. A complex figure, admired and detested in his own time, Rhodes dreamt to unite Southern Africa's colonies and republics into one state, dominated by white settlers, with labor provided by Black people who were constrained and pressured by discriminatory laws. He built his wealth on the backs of African migrant laborers, for whom he had little regard. In 1895 and 1896, he famously encouraged a failed plot to overthrow the independent Boer republic in the Transvaal. Rhodes's coup helped to precipitate the South African War.

This authoritative biography focuses on the relationship between Rhodes's well-known activities in business and politics and the development of Southern Africa's infrastructure. Rhodes envisioned a region where racism became embedded in the mining, farming, communication, and transportation industries. Understanding the extent of Rhodes's activities helps us to understand the challenges of modern Africa and the recent Rhodes Must Fall movement.