High Finance: This Man Ludwig

Most self-made men begin their impatient climb to wealth as teenagers; Daniel Keith Ludwig could not wait that long. As a nine-year-old in South Haven, Mich., he bought a sunken 26-ft. boat for $75, raised and repaired it, then chartered it for twice the price. He has not stopped since. Now a youthful-looking 66, D. K. Ludwig is the world's biggest individual ship operator, commanding a tanker fleet that can carry 2,500,000 tons. As if that were not enough the lean, frugal and publicity-shy Ludwig mines salt in Mexico, refines oil in...

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