Daniel K. Ludwig facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daniel Keith Ludwig
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| Born | June 24, 1897 South Haven, Michigan, U.S.
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| Died | August 27, 1992 (aged 95) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
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| Occupation | Business tycoon |
| Known for | Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Jari project |
| Board member of | Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, National Bulk Carriers, American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, Princess International Hotels, Exportadora de Sal, SA, Citricos de Chiriqui, SA, United Pocahontas Coal Company, European-American Securities Inc., Southwest Savings and Loan Association, |
| Spouse(s) |
Gladys M. Ludwig
(m. 1928–1937)Ginger Higgins
(m. 1937–1992) |
Daniel Keith Ludwig (born June 24, 1897 – died August 27, 1992) was a very successful American businessman. He was known for his work in shipping, but he also owned many other types of businesses. He was a pioneer in building huge oil tankers in Japan. He also started the world's largest salt company in Mexico, called Exportadora de Sal, SA.
Ludwig also created a special community in Brazil as part of his Jari project. This project aimed to produce paper pulp from trees grown along the Amazon River. He also owned many hotels around the world. Even though he was one of the richest people of his time, with businesses in 23 countries, Daniel Ludwig preferred to live a very private life. He rarely spoke to the media and only gave one interview in his entire life. In 1982, he was listed as the richest person on the Forbes 400 list.
Contents
Early Life and First Jobs
Daniel Keith Ludwig was born in 1897 in South Haven, Michigan. This town is located on the shores of Lake Michigan. His family had a history with ships; several of his granduncles were captains on Great Lakes vessels.
When Daniel was 15, his parents separated. He moved to Port Arthur, Texas, to live with his grandfather. Daniel left school after eighth grade. He started working in different jobs related to shipping. He learned how to be a machinist, a marine engineer, and how to handle ships. In Port Arthur, he sold supplies to ships. Later, he worked at a marine engine plant, which took him to places like the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
Starting His Own Businesses
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At just 19 years old, Ludwig started his own shipping business. He transported goods like molasses and lumber across the Great Lakes.
In the 1930s, he found a smart way to pay for new ships. He would borrow money to build tankers and use future shipping agreements as a guarantee. His company, National Bulk Carriers, grew into one of America's largest shipping businesses. Eventually, he owned about 60 ships. During World War II, his shipyards in Virginia found a new way to build ships using welding instead of riveting. This saved a lot of time when many new ships were needed. After the war, he had ships built in Japan because labor costs were lower there. In the 1950s, he was one of the first to build and use giant supertankers to carry oil around the world.
Ludwig didn't just stick to shipping. He expanded into many other areas. He owned an oil refinery, banks, cattle ranches, insurance companies, and real estate. He also invested in mining projects on almost every continent. He built a chain of fancy hotels in Mexico, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. He even helped develop a community called Westlake Village, California. At his busiest, he owned over 200 companies in 50 countries. His wealth was estimated to be around $4.5 billion.
Princess International Hotels
Daniel Ludwig built or bought many impressive hotels. Some of these included the Hamilton Princess and Southampton Princess in Bermuda. He also owned the Bahamas Princess and the Xanadu Princess Tower in Freeport. In Mexico, he had the Acapulco Princess and the Pierre Marques. He also owned the Francis Drake hotel in San Francisco. The famous American millionaire Howard Hughes bought the Xanadu Princess in 1973 and lived there for the last two years of his life.
Exportadora de Sal, SA
In 1954, Daniel Ludwig visited Baja California Sur in Mexico. There, he started Exportadora de Sal S.A., which became the "Largest Salt Company in the World." It was located at the Guerrero Negro lagoon. This area was mostly empty, so Ludwig arranged for workers and materials to be brought in. They built a large new town in the municipality of Mulegé. The saltworks were created by pumping salty water to the surface and letting it dry in the sun. In 1973, Ludwig sold his share of the company to Mitsubishi. This happened because there were talks that the Mexican Government might take over the company. Today, Mitsubishi owns 49% of the company, and the Mexican government owns the controlling share.
Citricos de Chiriqui, SA
In 1960, Ludwig started a $25 million project in Panama. He bought about 10,000 acres of land in Dolega to grow citrus fruits. He cleared all the land and built roads and bridges. He planted 800,000 Valencia orange trees. He expected them to be fully producing fruit by 1967. This was considered the largest private project of its kind in the world. Years later, the government took over the company. The New York Times reported that an auction for Citricos de Chiriqui, SA didn't get any buyers. The lowest price was $13.9 million. Later, a Colombian businessman bought it, and it is still working today.
The Jari Project
In 1966, Ludwig became interested in developing land in the Amazon region of Brazil. After a change in government in Brazil, foreign investment was encouraged. In 1967, he bought about 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares) of land in Brazil. This land was on the north bank of the Amazon River. He planned to build a factory to make paper pulp. This project was known as the Jari project. Ludwig believed there would be a shortage of paper fiber in the future, and he was right. The location was downstream from a failed project by American Henry Ford to produce rubber. Ford had also built a workers' city in the jungle, called Fordlandia.
Ludwig planned a huge paper pulp project. He cleared land to plant two types of trees that would be used for paper. He built a 26-mile railroad and 3,000 miles of trails and roads. By early 1982, about 30,000 people lived in the settlements he created. To feed all the workers, he raised cattle and planted 15,000 acres of rice. To support all this, he built a planned community called Monte Dourado. A less organized settlement, Beiradao, grew across the river from Ludwig's development.
His farming efforts on the land were not fully successful. Neither the rice nor one type of tree grew well in the soil there. But in 1978, he had a factory shipped by sea from Japan. It came in two huge parts, each 70 meters (about 230 feet) high. These were unique in shipping history. The factory was put together, and starting in February 1979, Jari produced 750 tons of cellulose (paper pulp) every day.
However, the project faced large financial losses and criticism. Ludwig decided to sell his interests to Brazilian investors in 1981. He had wanted more help from the government, and he also said his health was failing.
The French newspaper Le Monde later said that Ludwig was ahead of his time with the Jari project. In the 21st century, a group of Brazilian companies bought the Jari complex. They planted Eucalyptus and Australian pine trees, which grow better in the region. New machinery and technology from Finland have greatly reduced the number of workers needed. The government also approved a hydropower project that Ludwig had wanted. Even the informal settlement was improved and renamed Laranjal do Jari. Ludwig had the right idea about the need for paper, but he was too early and too old to see the project through to its current success.
Helping Others (Philanthropy)
Starting in 1971, Daniel Ludwig began selling many of his businesses in other countries. He used the money to create the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, which he founded in Switzerland. This became his main focus in his later years. Since his death in 1992, this institute has given over a billion dollars around the world to help find cures for cancer.
According to his will, Ludwig Centers were also started in 2006 at six research places in the United States. These include Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, and Stanford University. So far, these centers have received $900 million for cancer research.
These Centers and the Ludwig Institute are now known together as Ludwig Cancer Research. The people who lead and work at these centers are meant to work together to fight cancer.
Personal Life
Daniel Ludwig married Gladys Madeline Ludwig in Florida in 1928. They divorced in 1937.
Years later, Daniel Ludwig had blood samples frozen in the 1970s. This was in case anyone tried to claim they were his child and challenge his will after he died. In the 1990s, after his death, a lawsuit was filed. However, DNA tests proved that Ludwig was not the father, and the case was dismissed.
Several months after his divorce from Gladys, Ludwig married Gertrude Virginia "Ginger" Higgins in 1937. She was a widow with three children. They lived in a fancy apartment in Manhattan and stayed married until his death on August 27, 1992.
See also
In Spanish: Daniel K. Ludwig para niños
- American Petroleum Transport Corporation
- List of wealthiest historical figures
- List of richest Americans in history
