Real Estate Is My Life

My Yahoo!

(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.



And so it begins - He only had 9 Billion so his self worth was so low that his only option was to kill himself.

In real estate we have that little saying " real estate is my life" - these people take that literally.

Whenever the market tanks we see these things. We've been seeing it in real estate for the last year - the top producers killing themselves as the market declines.

This last year has been a re-setting of value. The folks that don't re-invent themselves, or are over extended, are hurting right now. The hummers, the big houses, the multiple investment properties - they are all gone now.

The market comes and goes, as do the properties and vehicles, please don't let the cycles of today become a "permanent" mistake.

This too shall pass.