Adolf Merckle, German Billionaire, Kills Himself As Empire Crumbles

BERLIN — German billionaire Adolf Merckle threw himself in front of a train after his business empire, which included interests ranging from VW cars to pharmaceuticals to cement, ran into trouble in the global financial crisis, his family said Tuesday.

The 74-year-old's body was found Monday night on railway tracks at Blaubeuren in southwestern Germany, prosecutors in nearby Ulm said in a statement. They described the death as a "railway accident" and said there was no evidence that anyone else was to blame.

His family, which had reported Merckle missing after he failed to return home Monday, issued a brief statement saying he took his own life. A person close to the investigation, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media, said Merckle left a suicide note. Its contents were not divulged.

Merckle's holding company, VEM Vermoegensverwaltung, recently had been in talks with banks to secure credit after its business interests ran up high levels of debt, and also lost value amid the global financial crisis.

The company declined to say how much it needed, or to comment on German media reports that it might have to sell some of its interests.

In addition, the holding company recently said it had suffered heavy losses on shares of automaker Volkswagen AG, which fluctuated wildly last fall as fellow car maker Porsche SE moved to increase its stake in the company.

"Adolf Merckle lived and worked for his family and his firms," the family statement said.

"The distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being able to act, broke the passionate family businessman, and he ended his life," it said.

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Merckle's business interests included generic drug maker Ratiopharm International GmbH and cement maker HeidelbergCement AG.

Merckle helped turn his grandfather's chemical wholesale company into one of Germany's biggest pharmaceutical wholesalers, Phoenix Pharmahandel, in which he held a 57 percent stake.

He used his wealth, estimated by Forbes last year to be $9.2 billion, to take stakes in HeidelbergCement and Ratiopharm. HeidelbergCement shares were down 5.8 percent at euro31.39 ($43.18) in Frankfurt trading after news broke of Merckle's death.

Merckle also owned stakes in companies that made a wide array of goods from all-terrain vehicles, software to textiles.

The governor of Merckle's home state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Guenther Oettinger, said the region had lost a "great entrepreneurial personality" who built up a "business of European significance."

Merckle was awarded Germany's highest decoration, the Bundesverdienstkreuz, in 2005.

Despite his wealth and prominence in corporate Germany, Merckle mostly avoided publicity. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, and four children.

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Associated Press Writer Oliver Schmale contributed to this report from Stuttgart, Germany.

Comments

[gypsim]

Come on.

1. prove these a$$e/t/$ are truly amortized...*please*. Somehow I doubt it.
2. IF they really really are [whew], you don't get that rich without stealing from everybody else.

[roddenberry]

This pandemie of suicides and debacles among richest show the moral trouble and big bang in which is the capitalism is evolving in the 21st century

[mankind 12]

Dear reader and writers.
I am A German and while reading most of your comments it shows me regretfully that the majority of the participants are making statements about a man whom they don"t even know or even heard his name in the previous time.
May I recall an old saying: never judge a book without reading it?

Ladies and gentlemen let me tell you: Mr. Adolf Merckle was not only one of those very respectable and ethic business and family man which formed the backbone of the German and international high level business community, above all he was without a moment of doubt a man of great honor, responsibility and ethic and for such man you would have to look very hard in the entire USA to find and compare him with.
Whatever where the circumstances and reasons of Mr. Merckle"s tragical death I believe that any person who is aware and fully understands the real business risks within the frameworks of political and social responsibilities owes to Mr. Adolf Merckle, who will always be remembered on the national and international business platform as honest , outstanding and successful businessman, the utmost and highest respect.
Many greetings from Moscow ,Russia
Manfred Hermann,

[outnow]

Financial speculators shorted Volkswagen stock and caused shareholders, including his own investment firm to suffer massive losses. The problem is with the financial collapse; nothing that Adolph Merckle did contributed. He took risks to create the 100 companies that employed 100,000 workers but the manipulation of the global markets is the root cause. Private equity and hedge funds in the UK and the US are "destructive locusts" who conspire to bankrupt the individuals and companies that actually produce something of value and which employ people.

Unfortunately, Merckle himself was identified as such a locust within Germany by those looking for a convenient scapegoat inside of Germany. Those who know what is really happening, or who have ever even been to Germany, realize that he is not to blame.

Look for your scapegoats among those who are really to blame - the international financial cabal. This poor man never understood the hatred that developed against him personally. That's why he took his own life.

[flatus]

Seems a bit odd that such a wealthy man would choose such a gruesome death.

[Harinama]

indeed it is more likely that certain "business associates" helped him to his demise. Lets see where the money leads..

[hulagirrrl]

No, there were no "business associates", this man was responsible for the employment of 100.000 people, and this crisis had crushed him. He was part of a different generation, surely a risk taker, but also aware of his immense responsibility. He could not handle the situation, that is all. Many people jump in front of a train when they are really tired of living. God rest his soul, and my condolences to the grieving family.

Some people here are really tasteless. This man was not part of the elite US club of greedy managers.

[Marioli]

Family businesses are more personal than others, so I won.t believe he killed himself for the sheer financial loss. He must have felt devastated having damaged his family.s business through wrong investment-decisions and ultimately having risked losing the family business, thus failing to conserve it for his children and grandchildren.
There is very little monetary about this tragedy but a lot of feelings of responsibility, guilt, failure and fear.
I hope he now rests in a peace that had left his soul for him to take such a tragic decision.

[vyfareon]

There is a line, I believe it is from the movie "Wall Street". It goes something like..."It is better to never have money than to have money and lose it." I think we are sadly seeing this played out now among the very wealthy.

[Lis12]

I wish this guy would have had a really good therapist or shrink who could have told him (and convinced him) of the following:

"Dude.....your value as a human being is not based on the amount of your financial assets or financial losses, but rather on the quality of time and attention that you gave to matters of the human heart and human spirit".

I think everyone who wrote into this blog is feeling either angry with his suicide or critical of this man because many of us manage to carve out a meaningful life in ways that have nothing to do with money (because many of us don't have money, including myself!)....and that in itself takes lots of courage and is one of the most noble things people can do.

[concernvoter]

They talk about the blue collars, but look at the white collars. The white collars are leaving out in handcuffs or a body bag. Money is the enemy to their lives.

[HallStyle]

Money can't buy Happiness.

[JessWonderin]

Maddoff makes off with 50 BILLION, sends a few MILLION in jewels to "the family members" while under "Penthouse Arrest" . . . . does he know the way to a subway station?

[Troubledwawa]

Trading Places...

[LMPE]

Partying like it's 1929.

[MrJM]

"Chickens come home to roost. Being an old farm boy myself, chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they've always made me glad. " -- Malcolm X, December 1, 1963.

[miamia]

WTH?

Is this survival of the fittest?

These people are weak as h3ll.

[rogerz]

It's not surprising alot of people here hate a guy just for being successful in life and having alot of money.

It's just a reflection of their own short comings.

[Lavafalls]

If he was a success he wouldn't have done this just for want of money.

[rogerz]

Done what, he didn't do anything to you.