Facing Losses, German Billionaire Takes Own Life

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/business/worldbusiness/07merckle.html?ref=business

by johnrob • 18 years ago

11 9 18 years ago

this is a good example of the fact that once you pass a certain threshold money becomes an arbitrary measure of status and not a vehicle to procure goods and services with. huge loss of money = huge loss of status. this is similar to the ritual suicides japan used to be famous for.

time_management2• 18 years ago

I doubt that it's the loss of status that drove him to do it. Fear, paranoia, and stress are probably the major contributors.

If your net worth is $1 billion and it drops to $5 million, and you have no financial commitments that will take you under, you're almost certainly not going to commit suicide. Very, very few people would. Most would downscale their lifestyles and adapt, as a lot of wealthy people are doing right now.

On the other hand, if you're going to be severely in debt and face major embarrassment, and have no hope of ever regaining your honor and getting out of the muck, and everything you might earn in the future will be garnished to pay off creditors whom you'll never be able to pay off, you can see that it might be tempting to snuff it. For example, if your net worth goes from $1B to -$1B, and you lose your job, and you're in your 70s, and you might be going to prison (because, even if you did nothing wrong, there are powerful people pissed off at you)... then you're fucked.

baha_man• 18 years ago

Going to prison? I'm pretty sure they don't have debtors' prisons in Germany these days.

nazgulnarsil2• 18 years ago

I'm not saying that most people would commit suicide in that situation. Just that the loss is more about social concerns than lifestyle. a tendency towards suicide in these cases would be more prominent in societies where a lot of emphasis is placed on social status.

run4yourlives2• 18 years ago

Dear God. Although I hope to one day become financially independent and no longer worry about paying the bills, I hope I never become so enthralled by money that I value it above my (or anyone else's) life.

What a sad tale his life must have been.

daniel-cussen• 18 years ago

...I hope I never become so enthralled by money that I value it above my (or anyone else's) life.

You need to be rather fond of money to became a billionaire.

run4yourlives2• 18 years ago

I'm comfortable not being a billionaire.

ars• 18 years ago

I thought it was almost impossible to corner the market? Isn't that exactly what Porsche did to the Volkswagen stock market?

Facing Losses, German Billionaire Takes Own Life

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