German billionaire Adolf Merckle has committed suicide after his business empire was plunged into difficulties due to the financial crisis, his family said Tuesday.
Merckle, 74, threw himself under a train on Monday evening at his hometown of Blaubeuren, a small town near southern Germany city of Ulm, and a railway worker found his body by the side of the track, German news agency DPA reported.
A statement released by the family said the financial crisis and its effects on Merckle's 100-strong network of companies had turned him into a broken man.
"He took his own life," the statement said. Local police said there was no indication that anyone else was involved in his death.
Merckle had been listed as Germany's fifth richest man with an estimated fortune of 6.9 billion euros ( around 9.2 billion U.S. dollars), and his empire ranged from generic drugs to cement.
Merckle hit the headlines last autumn when he suffered massive losses on bets he had made on movements of the share price in Volkswagen, Europe's largest car company.
Before his death, he had been negotiating with banks for a bridging loan of 400 million euros (around 547 million U.S. dollars) to save his empire, which includes the pharmaceutical company ratiopharm and drugs maker Phoenix, according to DPA.
Merckle's group of companies employ 100,000 workers and has an annual turnover of 30 billion euros (around 39.9 billion U.S. dollars).
He is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter.
Source:Xinhua
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