VW chart - shows a giant short squeeze when Porsche was buying additional shares to gain unconditional control of VW, which is 20% owned by German state of Lower Saxony. Porsche now owns or controls just below 75% which it would need for full financial control of VW.
But losing "only" $500M on VW bet alone would not seem to lead to a financial ruin, so things must be pretty bad in other businesses, and cash / liquidity may be hard to come by these days. Also could be a matter of honor, or shame.
If this is a suicide based on monetary losses, as we have been seeing lately, it has struck me that these people are apparently killing themselves rather than be faced with living a “normal life” as I do, and as most FReepers do. Perhaps we are all learning anew that the pursuit of great material wealth is fruitless and soulless, and when things go wrong, worthless.
Myself, I’m about to hop into a warm bed with a snowstorm whistling outside and nod off listening to Mark Levin on the radio. Could I do any better if I was a billionaire?
It is possible, I guess, that these suicides include guilt over the ruination of others who trusted the person. I know the thought that I might have destroyed the life savings of others would eat at me. I would hope it would not be because I personally would now have to manage to live on millions instead of billions.
I’ve never understood how people with tens or hundreds or thousands of millions can go broke—really broke. Who doesn’t just put $20 million or $50 million aside where it can’t be touched and is never at risk?
Sad for the family, but maybe if he had stuck to his productive businesses instead of trying to score easy money in speculation, things would have turned out differently.
"To speculate in stocks when you are no longer an insider is like buying cows by candle light." - Daniel Drew
Another article last month said that Porsche made more money on this deal than it did selling Porsches (I assume) for the whole year of 2008.
He ends in a cruel and thoughtless gesture. Consider the trauma to the train driver who had to be the unconsenting executioner.