German multimillionaire Adolf Merckle, owner of several companies, including the pharmaceutical giant Ratiopharma, committed suicide by throwing himself under a train due to financial difficulties caused by the collapse of the global financial system, his family announced on Tuesday.
"The severe economic situation in which his companies found themselves due to the consequences of the financial crisis, along with the associated insecurity and helplessness, broke the passionate entrepreneur who therefore took his own life," stated the Merckle family’s announcement released on Tuesday afternoon. Merckle threw himself under a train on Monday evening near Ulm. Merckle’s industrial empire, which includes Ratiopharma, Heidelberg Cement, and the special vehicle manufacturer Kaessbohrer, has reportedly fallen into financial trouble after significant losses resulting from speculation in Volkswagen shares last autumn, as well as miscalculations during the purchase of the British cement manufacturer Hanson. In recent weeks, Merckle had been negotiating with several banks for a loan of half a billion euros. Adolf Merckle, with a net worth of $9.2 billion, ranked fifth on the list of the richest Germans and among the 100 richest people in the world. (H)
