Tuesday, Jan 06, 2009
2nd this week
BBC: German billionaire kills himself
After the French Count who passed last week, here is another crunch-related suicides.
It is strange how losing other people's money fills them with remorse, yet having their own billions in the first place does not. You do not make that sort of cash with a day job. Both old guys.....
Posted by inflation is eating my savings @ 07:43 PM (856 views) Add Comment
9 Comments
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1. little professor said...
Obviously it's sad when anyone dies, but I'm finding it hard to feel much empathy for this guy. he lost his shirt in the VW fiasco this autumn.
Basically he and his like were shorting VW shares, hoping to drive the share price into the ground so that they would win big when the company went bust. They didn't care about the livelihoods of thousands of VW workers and their families, or the countless small business suppliers that were dependent on VW for their trade.
By shorting the stock, they were borrowing shares and selling them at the current share price, and promising to pay for the shares at a later date by which time they hoped the share price would be much lower, or zero. They got pwned when Porsche popped up and stated they owned 50% of the company and had preferential options to buy another 25%; the share price surged and the short sellers had to buy back the shares at double the price. Many of the short sellers lost all the collateral they had put up as security when they borrowed the stock. They were completely wiped out. Serves them all right.
2. little professor said...
P.S. who was the French Count? I could only find this, although it seems a little outdated...
3. crunchy said...
The stronger the fire the deeper the burn.
It amazes me that a person can create so much wealth yet leave themselves so exposed to failier.
The story of the decade!
Greed is good when it's good and prudence is bad when its bad.
4. inflation is eating my savings said...
LP, that is wonderful! Loved it.
Read it on plane in the "Herald and Tribune" 2 days back. Found it again in the NYT by typing in "suicide".
Here is a link, looks like the same chap.
PS. are you a Scot?
5. inflation is eating my savings said...
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/madoff-investors-suicide-leaves-questions/?scp=4&sq=suicide&st=cse
Sorry
6. little professor said...
Yes, I'm a Scot, why do you ask?
7. inflation is eating my savings said...
You posted on various Scottish issues (including one of much interest in my area). It stuck. Apologies if I was too direct.
I'm not a Scot, I'm a beastly southerner, but living in Scotland. Apologies for this also.
8. little professor said...
No need for apologies! I was just wondering how you managed to deduce that fact. I've gone the other way, a Scot now living in exile in Sassenach-land.
9. hpwatcher said...
Sad, but he who lives by the sword etc....