Adolf Merckle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Adolf Merckle | |
 |
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| Born | March 18, 1934 |
|---|---|
| Died | January 5, 2009 (aged 74) |
| Nationality | Germany |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Net worth | ▼ US$9.2 billion |
| Religious beliefs | Lutheran |
Adolf Merckle (March 18, 1934 – January 5, 2009) was a businessman, and one of the richest people in Germany.[1]
Merckle was born in Dresden, Germany into a wealthy family. Most of his wealth came from inheritance. He developed his Bohemian grandfather's chemical wholesale company into Germany's largest pharmaceutical wholesaler, Phoenix Pharmahandel. His family also owns the generic drug manufacturer Ratiopharm, and large parts of cement company HeidelbergCement as well as vehicle manufacturer Kässbohrer.
He was educated as a lawyer but spent most of his time investing. He lived in Germany with his wife and four children.
Merckle made a speculative investment based on his belief that Volkswagen shares would fall; however, in October 2008, Porsche SE's support of Volkswagen sent shares on the Xetra dax from €210.85 to over €900 in less than two days, resulting in losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars for Merckle.
In 2007 he was worth US$12.8 billion by most estimates (Forbes), and by December 2008 he was worth $9.2 billion, a loss of $3.6 billion. In 2006 he was the worlds 44th richest man, moving to 96th place by December 2008, yet still one of Germany's top five richest men.
[edit] Suicide
Adolf Merckle committed suicide on January 5, 2009 by throwing himself in front of a train near his hometown of Blaubeuren.[2][3] It was believed that his cement company was unable to make payments on a huge loan taken out to purchase an English competitor.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Adolf Merckle on Forbes.com
- ^ Tromm, Helmuth and Sheenagh Matthews. 6 January 2009. Billionaire Merckle Killed by Train. Bloomberg News.
- ^ German billionaire Adolf Merckle commits suicide. The Associated Press.
- ^ "Facing Losses, Billionaire Takes His Own Life". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/business/worldbusiness/07merckle.html. Retrieved on 2009-1-6.
