German billionaire Adolf Merckle has committed suicide after his business empire ran into trouble in the global economic slowdown.
In a statement his family said he had been "broken" by the financial crisis, and had taken his own life.
Mr Merckle ran up losses of about 400m euros (£363m;$535m) last year due to wrong-way bets on Volkswagen shares.
He was ranked as the world's 94th richest person in 2008, and his family controls a number of German companies.
The 74-year-old's body was found on Monday near railway tracks in southern Germany. Officials said there was no evidence that anyone else was to blame.
Volkswagen losses
His family, which had reported him missing after he failed to return home, said in a statement: "Adolf Merckle lived and worked for his family and his firms."
"The distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being able to act, broke the passionate family businessman, and he ended his life."
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