3 replies to this topic

[nimblebear]

And at 74. I have to ask why ? At any age, but being that old ? So you lose a little money, you swallow your pride, you apologize to the people you gilted, and you move on. Sad stuff. German billionaire kills self, family says Adolf Merckle was No. 94 on Forbes list of world's richest people Merckle's net worth estimated to be $9.2 billion Billionaire was killed by a train in German town of Ulm Family says financial woes "broke the passionate family business man" (CNN) -- German billionaire Adolf Merckle, one of the richest men in the world, committed suicide Monday after his business empire got into trouble in the wake of the international financial crisis, Merckle's family said Tuesday in a statement. Merckle, 74, was hit by a train in the southwestern town of Ulm, police said. His family said the economic crisis had "broken" Merckle. He was number 94 on the Forbes list of the world's richest people. He had fallen from number 44 on the Forbes 2007 rich list as his fortune declined from $12.8 billion to $9.2 billion in 2008. Merckle's business empire included interests as diverse as cement-maker HeidelbergCement and generic drug-maker Ratiopharm. But he lost hundreds of millions of dollars, including company capital, betting against Volkswagen stock last year. The state government of Baden-Wuerttemberg rejected his petition for financial assistance, and he entered bailout talks with several German banks. "The financial troubles of his companies, induced by the international financial crisis and the uncertainty and powerlessness to act independently which the financial problems brought about, broke the passionate family business man, and he took his own life," his family wrote in the news release. An employee of Germany's railroad company found the body on the tracks at about 7 p.m. Monday and notified authorities. Merckle's family had already reported him missing earlier in the day after he walked out of the house and did not return. Authorities are currently conducting DNA tests to confirm his identity.

[atlasshrugged]

thats dispicable he still has a net worth in the billions ...jesus christ give it away and find joy in that for christs sake

[nimblebear]

And here's another one today as reported in the Journal. He's here in my neck of the woods... COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE JANUARY 7, 2009 Real-Estate Executive Found Dead in Apparent Suicide By TIMOTHY MARTIN and KEVIN HELLIKER CHICAGO -- Real-estate executive Steven L. Good was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday in his Jaguar in a forest preserve outside Chicago, said the Kane County Sheriff's Department. Steven L. Good Mr. Good, 52 years old, was chief executive of Sheldon Good & Co., one of the nation's largest real-estate auction firms. His father founded the company in 1965. In a prepared statement Monday, Sheldon Good President Alan Kravets called it "a testimony to Steve's leadership that Sheldon Good & Co. remains well positioned for the future [and] poised for significant growth." As chairman of the Realtors Commercial Alliance Committee, Mr. Good said last month in an industry outlook news release that market conditions were "very challenging." According to the company's Web site, Sheldon Good "has sold more than 45,000 U.S. and international properties in more than 100 different classes and produced more than $10 billion in sales." Mr. Good wrote a book called "Churches, Jails and Gold Mines...Mega-Deals from a Real Estate Maverick." In it, Mr. Good tells how he purportedly turned his auction firm into the real-estate equivalent of Sotheby's or Christie's. "That book is a must-read for anyone in real-estate auctions," said Chris Longly, spokesman for the National Auctioneers Association. Write to Timothy Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com and Kevin Helliker at kevin.helliker@wsj.com

[cgnx]

Maybe he was looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.