Bitter end

[Joanne98]

He ranked, according to Forbes magazine, among the world’s 100 richest people. Yet the 74-year-old Adolf Merckle, who this week became the most notable personal casualty of the credit crunch, had barely been heard of outside his native Germany until just two months ago – when a failed bet on Volkswagen shares led, ultimately, to his suicide on Monday night.

The story of his downfall is a tale of our times. It involves an entrepreneur who by last year had come to be worth an estimated $9.2bn (£6.1bn, €6.8bn) after building an empire of 120 companies over four decades. The businesses together produced some €38bn in annual revenues but were supported by interlocked, credit-fuelled transactions. Merckle was nothing if not a risk-taker.

But by taking one risk too many, stepping out of the cosy world of German capitalism into high-octane derivatives on VW and Frankfurt’s Dax-30 index, he saw his life’s work unravelling. So on a bitterly cold evening – after putting his signature to a bridge loan likely to lead to the break-up of his empire – Merckle walked a few hundred metres from his home to wait for the next train and death.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/df61011a-de81-11dd-9464-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

[K Gardner]

1. I suppose nothing but billions could make him happy... damn. Very sad.

[.... callchet ....]

2. Still amazing

I am amazed and encouraged by the small amount of human tragedy exhibited by the population that has lost so much money.