( 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 . Merckle 's business empire included interests as diverse as cement-maker HeidelbergCement and generic drug-maker Ratiopharm . But he lost hundreds of millions of dollars , including company capital , betting against Volkswagen stock last year . The state government of Baden-Wuerttemberg rejected his petition for financial assistance , and he entered bailout talks with several German banks . `` The financial troubles of his companies , induced by the international financial crisis and the uncertainty and powerlessness to act independently which the financial problems brought about , broke the passionate family business man , and he took his own life , '' his family wrote in the news release . An employee of Germany 's railroad company found the body on the tracks at about 7 p.m. Monday and notified authorities . Merckle 's family had already reported him missing earlier in the day after he walked out of the house and did not return . Authorities are currently conducting DNA tests to confirm his identity . CNN 's Frederik Pleitgen in Germany and Alysen Miller in London , England , contributed to this report .
Adolf Merckle was No . 1 on Forbes list of world 's richest people . Merckle 's net worth estimated to be $ 1 billion . Billionaire was killed by a bomb in German town of Ulm . Family says financial success ` ` to the passionate business - man ''