Asteroid 10771, Ouro Prêto, was discovered November 15, 1990 by Eric W. Elst at La Silla observatory, near Pedernales, Coquimbo, Chile. It has a period of 5 years, 104 days and was named for the historic old city of Ouro Prêto, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Founded in 1698 as a mining settlement, it became the center of a great gold and silver rush. In 1933 the city was declared a national monument in order to preserve and restore its beautiful old churches and houses. Ouro prêto is Portuguese for "black gold," a reference to the color of the gold taken out of the ground in the area, which was heavily mixed with iron and silver compounds that gave it its distinctive color.
This phrase—"black gold"—seems to give rise to Ouro Prêto's astrological meaning, .
Former U.S. Education Secretary and right-wing pundit William Bennett, a self-appointed moral arbiter who was eventually revealed to be a frequent gambler (and a high-roller at that), has Ouro Prêto sextile 2002 VQ94 (to shatter), square 1996 TL66 (a revelation), trine Chariklo (to glamorize, need to keep perspective) and Thersander (what goes around comes around), and opposite Eureka (a discovery).
Richard Brooks, playing the title role in the film adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' novel Elmer Gantry.—
"Every hypocrite who ever walked the planet had pockets full of God's love."
Henry Ford was one of America's most successful and influential people and a notorious fat cat who hobnobbed with Nazis (like many other industrialists of the 1930s, before Hitler's increasingly depraved actions made him radioactive). Ford had Ouro Prêto sextile 2002 TC302 (the political climate of the times) and Hidalgo (to assert, defend or promote; ambition), square Uranus (inventions) and Sekhmet (zeal), trine Eureka, and quincunx 1999 XX143 (issues regarding roles within society, criminality).
Ronald Reagan has Ouro Prêto in the third house, sextile Stentor and Achilles.
Disgraced 1980s Wall Street figure Ivan Boesky has Ouro Prêto conjunct Stentor (loudly proclaimed), semisquare Pallas (politics), sextile Phaethon (out of control) and 2002 TX300 (the common viewpoint), and trine Vesta (dedication), Hidalgo (ambition) and Okyrhoe (loyalty to own needs).
Leona Helmsley, who operates luxury hotels, was once prosecuted for income-tax evasion, and once infamously declared "Only the little people pay taxes," has Ouro Prêto in the fourth house, square Jupiter (the law, prosperity), trine Varuna (to grow big, to inflate, judgment), 1999 CZ118 (to make a crucial choice) and the Ascendant (personal interests), quincunx Boucolion (crassness) and opposite Chariklo.
George W. Bush, whose administration famously favors the already wealthy and powerful, especially in the energy industry, has Ouro Prêto in the fourth house, on the IC, sextile Agamemnon (doing what one believes needs to be done), Don Quixote (taking on reality), amd Memnon (trying to start over), square Saturn (hard work, authority), Askalaphus (the media), trine Asbolus (listened to or not, awful experiences) and Okyrhoe, and opposite Varuna and 2000 EC98 (seeing the big picture clearly and/or ungrounded).
Bill Free is the ad executive who more than 30 years ago created the successful but sexist "I'm Cheryl—fly me!" ads for a now-defunct airline which featured a typical circa-1970 scantily clad female flight attendant. He had Ouro Prêto square Jupiter and Chiron (ingenuity) and opposite Cruithne (to be branded).
César Chavez, who made his name battling powerful and ruthless agricultural interests on behalf of their workers, had Ouro Prêto in the ninth house, on the cusp, conjunct Hektor (bravery, forcefulness, bullying), 1999 DE9 (power, tyranny) and 1994 TA (moral pollution), sextile Mars (aggression, assertion), square 1999 CZ118 and Memnon, trine Ceres (nurturance) and the Ascendant, sesquiquadrate Saturn, and quincunx Ixion (inventiveness).
The glyph for Ouro Prêto, meant to suggest the symbol for the British unit of currency, the pound, is mine. (Perhaps some would consider the dollar sign more appropriate, but that's already taken as an astrological glyph, by Midas. "To be sold by the pound" is a time-honored expression.)