Daniel Keith Ludwig (June 24, 1897 – August 27, 1992) was an American shipping businessman, who was also involved in many other industries. He pioneered the construction of super tankers in Japan, founded Exportadora de Sal, SA in Mexico and developed it as the largest salt company in the world, built a model community in association with the Jari project, which he pioneered, on the Amazon River in Brazil to produce pulp paper, and had numerous hotels around the world. Though he was one of the wealthiest tycoons of his day, with operations spanning 23 countries, Ludwig remained completely obscure due to his reclusive lifestyle. He "avoided the press like the plague", keeping a low profile throughout his business career. He only gave one interview during his lifetime, which he granted to Dero A. Saunders of Fortune Magazine in 1957. Ludwig was #1 on the Forbes 400 in 1982. Childhood Daniel Keith Ludwig was born in 1897 to Daniel Franklin Ludwig (1873–1960) and Florabelle Leslie (1876–1961) in South Haven, Michigan, on the shores of Lake Michigan. His grandfather, John G. Ludwig (1842–1920), was one of seven brothers in a family of 13, most of them born in Pennsylvania. Four of Daniel's granduncles made their living as captains of Great Lakes vessels. His grandfather's brother, Lancaster Columbus Ludwig (1855–1954), served as a captain on a passage steamer from South Haven to Chicago for many decades. The senior Daniel and his wife Florabelle separated when young Daniel was 15. Daniel Sr. took the youth to Port Arthur, Texas to live with his grandfather John G. Ludwig. Florabelle Ludwig was left alone in South Haven without any means of support. She remarried Daniel Robert Martin in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1915 and resided in the state of Washington the rest of her life. Daniel Sr. moved to Virginia and remarried Isabel Rutherford. Daniel Sr. died in Manatee, Florida in 1960. Ludwig's first venture into shipping was at the age of nine, when he salvaged a boat. He left school at the end of eighth grade to work in various shipping-related jobs on Lake Michigan and in Texas, directly learning such trades as machinist, marine engineer, and ship handler. In Port Arthur, he sold supplies to sailing ships and steamers. He returned to Michigan to take a job at a marine engine plant, which sent him to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Early business