Saturday, January 10, 2009

Money and happiness

Sadly, this story just goes to prove the old addage "Money can't buy happiness".

Financial Downturn Leads to Suicides

BERLIN (Jan. 6) - His spirit broken by financial fears, German billionaire Adolf Merckle took his own life this week -- becoming the latest high-profile casualty of a global economic crisis that already has claimed the lives of executives in Europe and the U.S.

Merckle, a respected businessmen with a wife and four children, jumped in front of a train in the town of Blaubeuren in southwestern Germany, officials said Tuesday.

His business empire had run into trouble in the crisis, and its problems were compounded by heavy losses in trading of shares in automaker Volkswagen AG. Merckle's business interests included generic drug maker Ratiopharm International GmbH and cement maker HeidelbergCement AG.

Merckle's family said in a statement that "the distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being able to act, broke the passionate family businessman."

Authorities said he left a suicide note, but gave no details. Merckle's death appears to be at least the third comparable suicide in less than four months.

In September, Kirk Stephenson -- the chief operating officer of private equity house Olivant -- jumped in front of a train at a rail station west of London. The 47-year-old husband and father of a young son stepped onto the tracks, was struck and killed.

A British coroner ruled last month that the death was suicide, though the precise reasons remain a mystery. He left no suicide note.

Two days before Christmas, in New York, Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, was found dead at his desk, both wrists slashed and bottle of pills nearby after his fortune and the money of his loved ones vanished along with his clients when he lost $1.4 billion invested with Bernard Madoff.

Crush du Jour: Paul Blackthorne

Sadly, this story just goes to prove the old addage "Money can't buy happiness".




BERLIN (Jan. 6) - His spirit broken by financial fears, German billionaire Adolf Merckle took his own life this week -- becoming the latest high-profile casualty of a global economic crisis that already has claimed the lives of executives in Europe and the U.S.


Merckle, a respected businessmen with a wife and four children, jumped in front of a train in the town of Blaubeuren in southwestern Germany, officials said Tuesday.


His business empire had run into trouble in the crisis, and its problems were compounded by heavy losses in trading of shares in automaker Volkswagen AG. Merckle's business interests included generic drug maker Ratiopharm International GmbH and cement maker HeidelbergCement AG.


Merckle's family said in a statement that "the distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being able to act, broke the passionate family businessman."


Authorities said he left a suicide note, but gave no details. Merckle's death appears to be at least the third comparable suicide in less than four months.


In September, Kirk Stephenson -- the chief operating officer of private equity house Olivant -- jumped in front of a train at a rail station west of London. The 47-year-old husband and father of a young son stepped onto the tracks, was struck and killed.


A British coroner ruled last month that the death was suicide, though the precise reasons remain a mystery. He left no suicide note.


Two days before Christmas, in New York, Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, was found dead at his desk, both wrists slashed and bottle of pills nearby after his fortune and the money of his loved ones vanished along with his clients when he lost $1.4 billion invested with Bernard Madoff.

4 comments:

Bob said...

'Want the things you have, don't have the things you want' is my philosophy.
Money cannot buy happiness.
It doesn't mean you can't buy things or have things, but don't look to them to make you happy.

Joy said...

I know that was devastating and humiliating for them to lose all that money and in some cases a betrayal of trust, but it shows that they must have their identity based on material things. Do you think their lives were already empty or what? It's sad and hard to wrap my head around.

Joy said...

Oh, and I totally agree with the crush of the day! I hope Lipstick Jungle stays on so I can watch him ... and Andrew McCarthy. I like him, too.

cb said...

I think this proves that money CAN buy happiness. They lost their money, then lost their happy.