German tycoon Adolf Merckle commits suicide By Markus Nagle Markus Nagle 32 mins ago
BLAUBEUREN, Germany (Reuters) – German billionaire Adolf Merckle who was hit by a train on Monday evening killed himself, unhinged by financial turmoil and struggling to salvage his business empire, his family said on Tuesday. Media-shy Merckle, whose family controls some of Germany's best-known companies, was ranked as the world's 94th-richest person in 2008 and was Germany's fifth-wealthiest, according to Forbes magazine. "The desperate situation of his companies caused by the financial crisis, the uncertainties of the last few weeks and his powerlessness to act, have broken the passionate family entrepreneur and he took his own life," a family statement said. Prosecutors in the southern German town of Ulm, near Merckle's home, said the 74-year-old died when a train struck him in the small town of Blaubeuren late on Monday. There was no sign of anyone else being involved, they said... (Reporting by Frank Siebelt, Maria Sheahan, Ludwig Burger, Andrea Lentz, and Eva Kuehnen; Editing by Greg Mahlich) -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
