German billionaire Adolf Merckle committed suicide, in despair over the huge losses suffered by his business empire during the financial crisis, his family said on Tuesday (6^th January). The media-shy billionaire, whose family controls some of Germany's best-known companies, was hit by a train on Monday (5^th January) evening, local officials said.

 

State prosecutors from the southern city of Ulm said Merckle, 74, left work on Monday (5^th January) and died after being hit by a train near the town of Blaubeuren. He left behind a suicide note to his family, they added. There was no sign of anyone else being involved, they said.

 

In 2008 Merckle was ranked as the world's 94th-richest person and Germany's fifth-wealthiest by Forbes magazine. Merckle, a father of four, inherited the basis of his fortune from his Bohemian grandfather, but went on to build up the chemical wholesale company into Germany's largest drugs wholesaler.

 

The passionate skier and mountain climber assembled a business conglomerate with about 100,000 employees and 30 billion euros ($40.45 billion) in annual sales. His family controls a number of German companies including cement maker Heidelberg Cement and generic drug company Ratiopharm.