August Thyssen

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German industrialist, variously called “King” and “Rockefeller of the Ruhr,” a self-made millionaire. Born to a poor family in the Rhineland, Thyssen nonetheless managed to save 20,000 marks by his early 20s and bought a rolling mill. In 1871 he established the firm of Thyssen & Co. KG at Mülheim. Recognizing the vast natural resources of the Ruhr for iron and steel production, he literally transformed the region. By the outbreak of World War I he was employing 50,000 workers and producing one million tons of steel and iron a year. A firm believer in vertical organization, Thyssen had his own railroads, ships, and docks. His holdings extended from Germany to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and even India, Russia, and South America. He was the biggest coal operator in Germany, owned cement and allied industries, and broke the Krupp monopoly on heavy armaments manufacturing during World War I. Despite his enormous wealth—estimated at $100 million at his death—Thyssen was noted for his simple, unostentatious lifestyle. He wore cheap suits, drove an old car, worked in a dingy office overlooking his steelworks, and often drank beer and ate wurst with his workmen. He was a thoroughgoing republican with a deep dislike of the kaiser and all hereditary power. His credo was unrelenting work, and the motto on the Thyssen coat of arms was “If I rest, I rust.” He died of pneumonia on 4 April 1926, Schloss Landsberg bei Kettwig, at the age of 84, following complicated eye surgery. Link to Wikipedia biography