Word: ludwig
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...American Billionaire Daniel K. Ludwig paid $3 million to a group of Brazilian families for approximately 6,000 sq. mi. of dense rain forest in the country's remote Amazon region. He then set in motion a bold plan for developing the area to help meet anticipated world shortages of food, lumber and wood pulp for papermaking...
Last week, after investing more than $1 billion, Ludwig, 84 and ailing, decided to abandon his cherished "Jari" project, named for an Amazon tributary that winds through the property. Possibly the largest entrepreneurial effort ever undertaken by one man, Jari had just begun to generate significant cash flows, but they were nowhere near as large as Ludwig had originally envisioned. Jari will now be sold to a consortium of Brazilian banks, insurance companies and industrial groups...
...Ludwig, who made his vast fortune in shipping, mining and real estate, did not fail for lack of trying. In vast stretches of virtually unpopulated jungle, he built a string of airstrips, thousands of miles of roads traveled by hundreds of cars and trucks, a private railway to haul freight, a deep-water port, a hospital, a school and a giant service depot stocked with spare parts and equipment. Jari's capital, Monte Dourado (pop. 35,000), is a sprawling community of neat bungalows, town houses and apartments...
...Ludwig threw money and manpower at problems thrown up by the jungle. But in many cases he made costly mistakes. In attempting to start his lumber and paper business, for example, he had to clear the land to plant new trees. Several Caterpillar "jungle crushers," giant bulldozers costing $250,000 each, were brought in to do the job, but the machines proved inappropriate because they damaged the unexpectedly delicate Amazon topsoil...
...Ludwig's associates said last week that the failing health of their 84-year-old boss was one reason for his giving up on Jari. But others were of the opinion that the billionaire quit simply because Jari had ceased to be a good prospect. Pesky government regulations and a xenophobic attitude among Brazilians further discouraged...