Adolf Merckle – The Bailout With A Human Face
Now that state cash is pumping into various money furnaces across the globe, everyone wants in on the action – General Motors despite having nothing to sell that remotely makes sense when oil prices are halfway expensive, AIG despite having failed to plug the holes with its first handout, and now Adolf Merckle, despite being a single human being, thinks he could really do with some more money right now.
Merckle is the world’s 94th richest man according to Forbes, Germany’s fifth, but his fortunes have been scuppered of late by those flash bastards Porsche. You may remember a couple of weeks back when Volkswagen briefly and ludicrously became the world’s largest company, thanks to Porsche letting slip that they actually now owned it, sending the VW share price rocketing. Merckle, like lots of hedge funds who didn’t see this coming, sold his shares in the company short, leading to a large three-digit million euro loss. Doesn’t look like Merckle is going to be troubling the Mittals and Ambanis in the next year’s Rich List.
In normal times, Merckle would probably have to have a lie down, nurse his wounds, and fire a lot of people. But these are crazy times, remember! So he’s asking his home state of Baden-Wurttemberg to bail him out, according to a banker who spoke with the FT yesterday.
Before you vom in anger at this apparent willlingness to blag state funds to patch up personal speculation errors, consider that he employs 100,000 people, many in Baden-Wurttemberg, and the state wouldn’t want them to lose their jobs. This news coming out is already hurting his companies – Heidelberg Cement, of which Merckle owns 80%, saw their share price drop 22% yesterday.
So if you are feeling the recession impinging upon your wealth, maybe you should give Darling a call. I know I speculated heavily on Spanish beer and cheap flights this summer, and now I’m left exposed. Help a brother out!
Posted by Ben Beaumont-Thomas in Hot Money | November 18, 2008 12:14PM |
January 6th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Umm… RIP?
January 6th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Nice article since you ripped apart a person who just committed suicide. The Mittal and Ambani stab was really witty of you. I do not know this guy but I am sure your article took him one step closer to his own demise.
Good job keep writing and I am sure Pulitzer will not be troubling you.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Puh-lease. So you’re saying journalists shouldn’t question greedy multi-billionaires who gamble their wealth away on the off-chance that they might top themselves in the future? Sounds like your knowledge of Pulitzer reporting could be comfortably written on a postage stamp, Mr. Arya…
January 6th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
This coward killed himself cause he lost a few billion dollars!? But you know what? He’s was still filthy rich! At a time when thousands are losing jobs and 75% of the population are one pay check away from being on the street this guy decides he can’t stand only being worth a few billion instead of 9.2 billion! Greed is what killed him. Not a damn webpage article!
January 6th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I’m actually proud of our Adolph. He’s done the manly thing.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
First the US auto CEOS go to beg in Washington DC on a PLANE?
Now the VW guy throws himself under a TRAIN?
I’m starting to think these car thingies are not reliable enough even for basic functionality.
Next the Ford guy is going to use a SHIP for a doorstop.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Meanwhile, no-shame ahole Madoff is all smiles, sending friends and relatives on vacation expensive jewelry from his collection.
Merckle looks like an ok person by comparison.
January 7th, 2009 at 6:02 am
From the looks of it Madoff might well Ken Lay on us in a few months. Though I predict a brain tumor made him do those things. Only reasonable explanation, his business plan was weirder than AOL’s has been since 2000. OK, as weird.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Sudeep Arya Said (among other things):
January 6th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
“…I do not know this guy but I am sure your article took him one step closer to his own demise.”
Yes Sudeep, THIS article’s what finally pushed him over the edge.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
lol ok this a sad event but funny commence lol
I find it funny that everyone thinks this article pushed Merckle over the edge considering it was written two months before he actually went ‘over the edge”…must a been a long way from it before lol or maybe he was just doing the ‘manly thing’ as one person suggested and waiting till after christmas lol
January 11th, 2009 at 4:00 am
“Capitalists are ‘human faces” squeezing the working family’s neck to make a profit.” I guess he didn’t like how it felt to get punked. That’s what happens to control freaks. Too bad we don’t have enough trains in the world to grind through the rest of the unethical bastards. May those unforgiven who caused this global crisis burn in hell and their progeny lose it all within 3 generations.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:47 am
i find most of the posts disturbing. from the little i gathered from time and telegraph, Adolf Merckle did not commit suicide because he lost a few billions. and he was not greedy either. accounts of the life he lived show someone who was more humble than most of us. the reason for his suicide is a mystery and to imply that he was greedy and other nasty things is just plain insentitive.
January 19th, 2009 at 3:51 am
capitalizm is not the enemy folks. lasy socialist are the enemy and the cancer of most nations
January 19th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Yeah, but at least they can spell ‘lazy’ in most cases.
July 25th, 2009 at 1:48 am
Sad a life is a life the monetary value is all relative to what one thinks is their worth. I am no where near billionaire or millionaire status but in the end articles like these are what drives humans to rethink their existence. Losing a few billions to us is ridiculous but did you ever think the political pressure of the press and the contant criticism may have taken him to the brink of his life. We really need to look at what makes a human and not their monetary value. Your value of human life goes to show how shallow you really are.
August 26th, 2009 at 4:17 am
Amazing how we add positive aspects to the news that works on profits and the real story is never shown.
Keep in mind SQUIRE the news works on the ability to read the story not the true facts. I am not a millionaire or far from a billionaire but it is amazing how we celebrate the massive news stream who earns profits from demise and you doubt the individual.