SAUGATUCK'S
RICHEST MAN
In 1976 after the death of Howard
Hughes and J. Paul Getty, Daniel Keith Ludwig was proclaimed by the New York Times to be
the richest man in the world and there is no doubt that he was a world class
mega-billionaire!
What most do not know is that Daniel Keith Ludwig- born in South Haven in 1897 - moved
with his mother Flora Belle and his father Daniel L. Ludwig to Saugatuck at the age of
seven and grew up right here on Hoffman St. He got his start shining shoes and selling
popcorn in the Big Pavilion. His father, nicknamed "Lud" was a sailor, and a
businessman who made a living selling real estate and dabbling in business ventures,
including a partial ownership interest in the Pavilion.
According to a 1978 Commercial Record article by Kit Lane (who wrote a book titled The
Popcorn Millionaire and Other Tales of Saugatuck), Keith Ludwig exhibited entrepreneurial
talent at a young age--besides sellling popcorn, he managed the finances for the local
ball team, bought an old boat, which he and Ky Walz rebuilt and sold for a profit. He was
remembered as a likeable but disinterested student in the class of Mrs. Carl Bird. Elita
Bird, a classmate remembered that Keith was interested in candy sales at the Bird
Drugstore. Keith was a member of a group called "Whits Boys," a YMCA type group
organized by Charles F. Whitcomb who lived on Holland St.
His parents separated when he was in the eighth grade-he then quit school and went to Port
Arthur Texas with his father. At age 19, he left Texas to return north, where he bought a
dilapidated Lake Michigan cruise vessel for $5,000 and converted it to a barge bulk
carrier to haul molasses. In the next 20 years he proceeded to make his fortune--first by
buying and leasing tanker ships, then building ships during WWll and ultimately
established a diversified world-wide empire that included major interests in oil refining,
coal mining, salt water conversion, agriculture, real estate, finance and banking. He was
always somewhat of a loner and shunned publicity. In his most publicized venture, he
invested billions in an unsuccessful timber farming venture (the "Jari Project")
in the Amazon. When he died in 1992, he had no living descendents, and most of his fortune
was left to his Cancer research foundation.
By Jack Sheridan
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