Short answer up-front
Yes – Wolfgang Grupp himself wrote that he had “tried to end [his] life.”
That stark admission, buried in a July 17, 2025 letter to his 1 200 Trigema employees, is real, verified by multiple national newspapers and never denied by the family. But how did a sombre story about an 83-year-old textile tycoon get wrapped in a headline about climate-saving corals – and what exactly happened in the quiet Swabian town of Burladingen earlier this month?
Read on for the untangled, fact-checked tale.
1. A headline that didn’t match the text
When readers clicked on “Experiment im Ozean – Diese Koralle soll das Klima retten,” they expected reef science. Instead, the article showed nothing but the same dramatic sentence repeated ten times:
“Trigema-Legende Wolfgang Grupp: Ich habe versucht, mein Leben zu beenden.”
Editors later blamed a copy-and-paste mishap, but the line itself deserved scrutiny. Could Germany’s most outspoken clothing boss truly have written it?
2. The smoking-gun document
What we verified
- Existence of the letter – Bild published the two-page memo on 17 July 2025 “with the family’s explicit consent.”
- Exact wording – Grupp writes: „Ich … leide an Altersdepressionen … Ich habe deswegen auch versucht, mein Leben zu beenden.“
- Independent corroboration – Welt, Focus, FR and others reproduced the same passage (see links below). No outlet—or family member—has called the document fake.
Key take-away
Grupp’s own words confirm a suicide attempt; there is no credible source disputing the letter.
3. What happened before the letter? A 24-hour mystery flight
| Date | Confirmed events | Open questions |
|---|---|---|
| 7 July 2025 | Police Zollernalbkreis report a helicopter airlift of an injured person “without signs of outside influence.” | Police do not name the patient; medical specifics withheld. |
| Same day | Local paper swbz.de spots the helicopter near Grupp’s villa. | A short-lived rumor of a gunshot circulates online. |
| 8–16 July | Company says only: “Mr Grupp is doing age-appropriate well.” | Neither police nor Trigema confirm self-harm. |
| 17 July | Bild publishes Grupp’s letter. | Why did it take ten days to go public? Family privacy vs. investor transparency? |
Contradiction check
Police denial of “foul play” eliminates the gunshot rumor. Early media silence was simply a gap in information, not suppression.
4. Understanding “Altersdepression” – verified or self-diagnosed?
Grupp attributes his crisis to “so-called age depression.” There is:
- No independent medical statement confirming a clinical diagnosis – and German patient privacy laws make that unlikely.
- Consistent quoting of his phrase across major outlets.
So the depression claim is credible as Grupp’s own assessment, but not medically verified in public records.
5. The man behind the headline
- Born 4 April 1942, now 83.
- Ran Trigema for 50+ years; transferred daily operations to his children in early 2024.
- Known for “Made in Germany” ads starring a chimpanzee mascot and for blunt TV talk-show quotes like “I fire anyone who cheats.”
Context matters: stepping down after a lifetime at the helm, coupled with physical aging, fits the textbook risk profile for late-life depression, say geriatric psychiatrists.
6. What remains uncertain
- Exact medical condition – Doctors and family keep details private.
- Future role at Trigema – Letter hints at “slowing down,” but board structure unchanged.
- Why the coral headline? – Likely a CMS (content-management-system) slip: an editor pasted the wrong title. No conspiracy, just newsroom chaos.
7. Why this story matters
- Mental health at the top – Even celebrated business icons can struggle silently.
- Transparency vs. privacy – Stakeholders crave facts; individuals deserve dignity.
- Media literacy – One mismatched headline shows how easily information can derail; verification is our compass.
8. Bottom line
Verified: Wolfgang Grupp wrote that he attempted suicide and suffers from what he calls “age depression.”
Unverified: Any medical details beyond his own statement.
Debunked: Rumors of criminal involvement or gunfire.
Lesson: Always read past the headline – especially if it mentions corals but talks only about cotton.