daunting

German billionaire Adolf Merckle - often described as Europe's Warren Buffett- jumped in front of a train and killed himself as his financial empire struggled under a towering burden of debt that left him "broken," his family said yesterday.

Merckle, 74, was found dead on the tracks Monday night, about 300 yards from his home in the southwestern German city of Blaubeuren. A suicide note was found.

Forbes magazine had ranked Merckle as the 92nd-richest man in the world, worth an estimated $9.2 billion, but his firms have been hit hard by the world financial crisis and an estimated $600 million loss in a recent Volkswagen stock deal.

Merckle's holding company owes $6.7 billion to banks. His recent pleas to the German government for a bailout appear to have gone nowhere.

"The dedicated family businessman was broken by his inability to handle the situation and he ended his own life," read a statement issued by his family.

Merckle's varied holdings included pharmaceuticals, cement, textiles, software systems and a manufacturer of all-terrain vehicles. A lawyer, he spent most of his career as an investor, earning the comparison to Buffett, ranked by Forbes as the world's richest man.

Merckle's "empire was falling apart," Stefan Mueller, a managing partner at Proprietary Partners in Frankfurt, told Bloomberg News.

Merckle is the third international investment figure to commit suicide under mounting financial pressure in recent months.

Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet, who lost an estimated $1.4 billion he had invested on behalf of his clients with Bernard Madoff, killed himself at his Midtown office last month.

In September, London financier Kirk Stephenson, a chief operating officer of private equity firm Olivant Advisers, stepped in front of a train speeding at 100 mph. Associates speculated he succumbed to the pressure of the financial crisis.

taken from here

Merckle was reported to have lost 400 million euros on the bad VW trade. He also was struggling to finance his roughly 80% stake in Heidelbergcement.

Last week, his holding firm, VEM, had reached a deal with 40 banks to give him more time to repay debt.

Shares of Heidelbergcement dropped 6% in late trading in Frankfurt.

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so ?? how? still want to shop like crazy?

still dare to?

:p