The German self-made billionaire reveals the dark side of his success as well as how he found back to a more balanced life, in a new book.
«I want to shield others from overworking, burnout, and addiction,» the former head of AWD and investor in Swiss life Carsten Maschmeyer wrote on Instagram and Linkedin (in German). He was describing how the pressure of 18-hour days led to sleepless nights and burnout and, ultimately, to addiction to barbiturates that he popped «like Tic Tacs».
«I became addicted and kept increasing the dosage. The side effect from this was depression.» He relates how his personal life was in tatters and that his wife, actress Veronika Ferres, was his «anchor and beacon».
Odd Finance Job
Maschmeyer later overcame his addiction thanks to psychiatric care – which he describes as his «personal hell». He considers himself healed thanks to psychotherapy. «Through self-reflection I finally realized that the elements of a successful life are not just work and money, but family, friends, and both physical and mental health.»
Maschmeyer originally studied medicine but ended up in finance thanks to a college job before in 1987 joining Allgemeinen Wirtschaftsdienst, or AWD. He later took over a majority of the Germany company as well as overseeing financial distribution, a journey which saw AWD expand to Austria, the U.K., Switzerland, and Eastern Europe before an initial public offering in 2000.
Entertainment Career
Seven years later, he helped sell AWD to Swiss Life, to whom Maschmeyer offloaded his 30 percent stake. Through another deal – the sale of MLP – he became the largest private investor in the Swiss insurer. He sat on Swiss Life's board from 2009 through 2011.
His addiction actually led him to invest in healthcare: together with his physician, Florian Holsboer, Maschmeyer founded HMNC Brain Health. He revealed his problems with substance abuse in connection with the publication of a book on how he turned his life around.
Maschmeyer has since then appeared as a coach on a German version of «Dragon's Den», a reality show where contestants pitch start-up ideas and vie for funding. Worth $1.1 billion according to «Forbes», Maschmeyer later surfaced in a scandal over so-called cum-ex products.
