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The Diesel bee was buzzing in Germany, France, Belgium, England. Patent deals in Germany and Great Britain netted Rudolf Diesel royalties of 70,000 marks a year. In addition, a German company paid him a lump sum of 1,250,000 marks plus a block of stock. Diesel moved his family into a lavish apartment, then into a lavish house in Munich, began pouring his money into oil and real-estate speculations. Most of these turned out badly. Lawsuits popped. The inventor's health began to crack, but he labored on, propping his strength with bromides and antipyrin. On a visit to the U. S., he met Thomas Edison, was deeply impressed by the U. S. inventor's simple, abstemious habits. When Diesel took his leave, Edison joked: "Don't eat too much!"
Diesel was plagued by business troubles almost all his life, but in 1913 things were going fairly well. The Selandia, first big ocean-going ship powered by Diesels, had voyaged from Copenhagen to Bangkok and back. Herr & Frau Diesel still had their big house in Munich, entertained many U. S. engineers there. They took a vacation in Italy. In September, Rudolf Diesel set out for England to see a Diesel plant inaugurated there. He and two friends took a Channel steamer at Antwerp. They had dinner, strolled on deck, went to their staterooms. When the boat docked at Harwich, Diesel was not on board. No note, no clue, no trace of his body was ever found.