The terrible price that Merckle paid

In December, German billionaire Adolf Merckle gave a rare interview to defend his failing investment strategy.

"We are now lumped together with hedge funds, while in fact it was a growth strategy that allowed us to fund companies that are fundamentally healthy," he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "I have already overcome many of these so-called market crashes, but I could not have anticipated a financial and banking crisis of this size."

On Jan 5, Merckle threw himself under a train near the southern German town of Blaubeuren, where in 2005 he lived in a flat-roofed bungalow with a nameplate outside.