Have you heard about Alfred Loewenstein? If you were around in 1928, you certainly would recognize the name. He was, at the time of his death, the third richest person on the planet, with a net-worth of around £12 million (when adjusted for inflation, £944,757,514 or USD $1,221,696,759 in 2024 numbers). He was a high-flying financier.

Flying high is exactly what Loewenstein was doing on July 4, 1928. He was on a quick flight from England to Belgium, when natured called. Loewenstein did what countless people do every day: he got up to use the toilet. He did another thing that many of us have done: he opened the wrong door. Unfortunately, instead of awkwardly walking into a broom closet, he stepped out of the airplane and plummeted to his death in the English Channel.

This is one of those situations where “whoops” doesn’t begin to cut it.

We hear your protests. “Surely, no one could make that kind of mistake! There must be more to the story, right?”

You’re not the only one who has suspicions. Join us as we dive, jump, throw ourselves into, closely examine the life and mysterious death of Alfred Loewenstein.

A Fortune in the Making

Born on March 11, 1877, Alfred Léonard Loewenstein came from a long line bankers. He learned finance from his father Bernard. Alfred established the Belgian-based banking concern Société Internationale d’Énergie Hydro-Électrique. It targeted on developing nations around the globe.

By supplying third-world countries with electric power facilities, Loewenstein made a fortune. He invested in commodities like synthetic silk and had the knack of doing so right before they skyrocketed. With a passion for aviation and hundreds of flights under his belt, Loewenstein was christened the “flying financier” of Belgium.

When World War I erupted, Loewenstein had become one of the most powerful men in Europe. He had so much money in the coffers that he was able to offer the Belgian government an interest-free loan of $50 million to help stabilize the nation’s economy.

The Fatal Flight

On July 4, 1928, Loewenstein boarded his private plane and departed Croydon Airport in England to return to Brussels. It was a routine trip that he took quite often with his staff. The skies were clear as Loewenstein rose to use the lavatory, only to reportedly mistake the rear aircraft exit for the door and step right out of the plane.

Loewenstein’s pilot, mechanic, and four passengers said they had no idea what happened until until his secretary Arthur Hodgson found the rear door flapping in the wind. The explanation failed to answer the inevitable questions, however, and the mystery of what truly happened to Alfred Loewenstein remains unsolved to this day.

The Mystery Deepens

Investigations by the British Air Ministry revealed that opening the door mid-flight was practically impossible due to the strong slipstream. Even so, when Loewenstein’s body turned up in the water near Boulogne, France, a week later, there were no signs of foul play. Loewenstein’s body exhibited just a few broken bones and a fractured skull from the impact. Naturally, conspiracy theories abound—was it a murder orchestrated by his inheritors, a suicide to avoid financial collapse, or just an unfortunate mishap?

Despite his mysterious demise, Alfred’s empire, which included rubber plantations and Belgian railways, continued to be a goldmine for those who might have benefited from his untimely fall. Clearly, more investigation into his death was needed.

Theories and Speculations

The autopsy concluded that Loewenstein was most likely alive when he struck the water after his 4,000-foot fall. If that was the case, there were only three possibilities: mistake, suicide, or murder.

Could he have accidentally walked through the wrong door? The British Air Ministry conducted tests on the plane on July 12, and concluded it would have been impossible to open the rear door without the slipstream slamming it shut. Admittedly, airplane bathrooms are notoriously unpleasant places, but it is doubtful Loewenstein would have encountered a slamming door and rushing wind for a loo. Even so, family and business associates commented that Loewenstein had been growing increasingly absent-minded lately. Maybe he wasn’t thinking clearly?

Was it a suicide? That seemed unlikely. “Even supposing he had lost a few tens of millions of francs,” one his friends argued, “that would never have influenced him to take the leap into the void.”

Even so, some speculated that Loewenstein knew his fortune was about to fall. Some alleged that his business dealings were about to be investigated and that it would bring corruption to light. Could that have motivated him to take his life?

Or was it murder most foul by his employees or his own family? Researcher William Norris believes the pilot killed Loewenstein at the behest of Loewenstein’s wife, Madeleine. In support of this theory, some have have pointed to Madeleine not attending her husband’s funeral as evidence of her guilt. Reportedly, Madeleine had Loewenstein buried in an unmarked grave, scuppering the chances of a later inquiry.

Maybe it was his son, Robert, who was responsible? Robert later shot a servant under mysterious circumstances. In 1941, he died in a plane crash. For someone who loved aviation as much as he did, it has to be acknowledged that airplanes did not do Alfred’s family an favors.

Still others claim Loewenstein didn’t really die that day. Some claim he faked his death. Robert and Carol Bridgestock suggest he did this to cover up the financial irregularities of his various enterprises. They point to the fact that Loewenstein was “supposedly” buried in an unmarked grave and that his widow did not make an appearance at the funeral.

Ultimately, the circumstances of the businessman’s death remain an unsolved mystery. Unless some written record exists that has yet to be uncovered, we will likely never know why the fortunes and fate of world’s third-richest man took an unexpected nosedive.

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