Imperial Valley press., 1932-03-12
SWEDISH MATCH
MACNATE TAKES
LIFE WITH GUN
Brilliant Career Comes
To Tragic End In
French Capital.

PARIS, March 12. U.P) = Ivar
Kreuger, SO, Swedish match king"
and one of the worlds great fl
nanciers, was found dead today
pistol bullet in his heart
The tall, so>=-vo;ced industrialist
who had built up one of the most
powerful organizations in the world
during the last quarter of a CEN
tury. left note saying it was bet
ter that he disappear" the min
lister of interior said.
Police said a pistol was claSped
in his hand when the body was
found and that they believed he
had committed suicide.
Kreuger had returned recently
from the United States, where ne
saw President Hoover at Wash
ington, and he was scheduled to
preside this morning at meeting
of the board of directors of the
Swedish Match trust and bankers
of the United States, France and
Britain.
He failed to appear and the vice.
chairman of the board went to his
home on Victor Emmanuel avenue,
where the body was found.
STOCKHOLM, March 12 UP)-
Ivar Kreuger, famous Swedish in
dustrialiSt was found shot to death
today and is believed to have taken
his own life.
He was SO years old on March 9.
Kreuger, who had visited the Unit
ed States several times recently,
was managing director of the Great
Swedish Match company.
Kreuger had headed the COM
pany since 1917. He was connected
with companies throughout the
world, and was considered one of
the greatest financier of modern
! times.
He was a bachelor, a handsome,
Soft-spoken man who usually avoid
ed publicity despite the fact that
his industrial enterprises had made
him a world famous figure.
Known as "The Match King, he
also had become something of a
mystery man during his brilliant
career. Born at Kalmar, in 1880,
his record at school was not better
than the ordinary, and he began
his apprentice years" as a bridge
and house contractor and as a
salesman in England, the United
States, Mexico and South Africa.
Then his spectacular rise began
as his organizing ability became
more APPARENT and he marched rap
idly to financial fame through the
organization of the match trust.
Silence, silence, silence was
said to have been his motto, but his
career was based on originality and
persistence.
Kreuger was involved in many
private international loans, some of
them having been granted in re-
turn for match monopolies in vari-
Gus countries.
Recently, it was understood he
was interested heavily in loans in
Germany, where political and econ
omic developments, including the
election to be held Sunday, were
expected to have wide influence on
financial affairs in the future.
Kreuger was tall with a striking
personality which made him many
friends and admirers in world cap
itals He was a brilliant conversa-
tionalist and worked on such a
large scale that his interests were
of vast Importance in many coun-
tries.
STOCKHOLM, March IL. U.P)-
Major Fernandez, a director of the
Swedish Match Co., collapsed and
died today when advised of the
death of Ivar Kreuger at Paris.
The Swedish cabinet met in spe-
cial session after announcement of
Kruegers death, which was re-
garded as "a national catastrophe"
because of his vast industrial hold
inQS