Yeah. If I found out I was only worth $9 billion instead of $12 billion, I'd step in front of a train, too. Oh, the horror of not being a double-digit billionaire...



(CNN) -- German billionaire Adolf Merckle, one of the richest men in the world, committed suicide Monday after his business empire got into trouble in the wake of the international financial crisis, Merckle's family said Tuesday in a statement.

Merckle, 74, was hit by a train in the southwestern town of Ulm, police said.

His family said the economic crisis had "broken" Merckle.

He was number 94 on the Forbes list of the world's richest people. He had fallen from number 44 on the Forbes 2007 rich list as his fortune declined from $12.8 billion to $9.2 billion in 2008.

Isn't this the very definition of "pathetic?" Spending your entire life to amass a huge fortune, only to kill yourself when it goes away? Is that what this person was living for? Money?

Is it so hard to define one's self by who they are, instead of what they have?

Weak and disgusting.

MrMephisto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Isn't this the very definition of "pathetic?"
> Spending your entire life to amass a huge fortune,
> only to kill yourself when it goes away? Is that
> what this person was living for? Money?
>
> Is it so hard to define one's self by who they
> are, instead of what they have?
>
> Weak and disgusting.


If you listen to Donald Trump or Jack Welch in interviews, they sound like very insecure people. I think for many people, the desire to accumulate so much wealth is the result of a pathological drive for self-affirmation. That doesn't appear to be the case for guys like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, who seem to make money because they are good at what they do. But for some of the guys it appears to be all about money for money's sake.

Poor train.

I think this is a picture of Adolf Merckle
Attachments:

WashingTone Locian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you listen to Donald Trump or Jack Welch in
> interviews, they sound like very insecure people.
> I think for many people, the desire to accumulate
> so much wealth is the result of a pathological
> drive for self-affirmation. That doesn't appear to
> be the case for guys like Warren Buffett and Bill
> Gates, who seem to make money because they are
> good at what they do. But for some of the guys it
> appears to be all about money for money's sake.

Here's a good test for whether or not someone is a materialistic prick: if you can imagine them living on a deserted island and think they would still be the same person, chances are that they're not shallow.

MrMephisto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Here's a good test for whether or not someone is a
> materialistic prick: if you can imagine them
> living on a deserted island and think they would
> still be the same person, chances are that they're
> not shallow.


If I was stranded on a desert island with Mark Cuban, it would take about 20 minutes until I would beat him to death with a rock if he continued to be the same person.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/2009 08:21PM by WashingToneLocian.

And see? Mark Cuban shouldn't be one of your close friends, then.

The "desert island" scenario has many applications.

Guys who deserve to be on a desert island together....

Hey, isn't that faggot in the sunglasses Daniel Wingerdsteinowitz?

And another one's gone, and another one's gone. Another one bites the dust...

CHICAGO -- Real-estate executive Steven L. Good was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday in his Jaguar in a forest preserve outside Chicago, said the Kane County Sheriff's Department.

Mr. Good, 52 years old, was chief executive of Sheldon Good & Co., one of the nation's largest real-estate auction firms. His father founded the company in 1965.

WashingToneLocian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> in his Jaguar

Good. Death to the yuppie fucks.

MrMephisto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WashingToneLocian Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > in his Jaguar
>
> Good. Death to the yuppie fucks.


What's the name of that dealership that used to run the pretentious radio ads for Jaguars? They would use fake British accents and stretch out the pronunciation "Jag-you-waah."

I hated those fucking ads.

Something's not adding up about this guy. I mean really, who kills himself when he still has $9 billion? Yeah, he lost about 30% of his net worth, but the Dow was down 40% for the year I believe, so he still beat the market. I feel like there's more to this story that hasn't been made public.

Rosenthieves.

jhey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Something's not adding up about this guy. I mean
> really, who kills himself when he still has $9
> billion? Yeah, he lost about 30% of his net worth,
> but the Dow was down 40% for the year I believe,
> so he still beat the market. I feel like there's
> more to this story that hasn't been made public.


The guy was probably another Madoff and people hadn't figured it out yet.

Gangsta Boogie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rosenthieves.


Possibly. The ads sucked almost as much as those ads Buzz used to do...I think for Farish Jeep. Remember those? He would talk about how you couldn't 4-wheel drive in a sedan. They were horribly written, probably by the daughter of the guy who owned the dealership or some bullshit like that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2009 09:57AM by WashingTone Locian.

Not me faggots

WashingTone Locian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> If you listen to Donald Trump or Jack Welch in
> interviews, they sound like very insecure people.
> I think for many people, the desire to accumulate
> so much wealth is the result of a pathological
> drive for self-affirmation. That doesn't appear to
> be the case for guys like Warren Buffett and Bill
> Gates, who seem to make money because they are
> good at what they do. But for some of the guys it
> appears to be all about money for money's sake.


WashingTone Locian called it 8 years ago. Trump is insecure.

Called out... Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> WashingTone Locian Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > If you listen to Donald Trump or Jack Welch in
> > interviews, they sound like very insecure
> people.
> > I think for many people, the desire to
> accumulate
> > so much wealth is the result of a pathological
> > drive for self-affirmation. That doesn't appear
> to
> > be the case for guys like Warren Buffett and
> Bill
> > Gates, who seem to make money because they are
> > good at what they do. But for some of the guys
> it
> > appears to be all about money for money's sake.
>
>
> WashingTone Locian called it 8 years ago. Trump is
> insecure.


Hows about George $oro$?

I won't vote for Soros either.