Business people who died in 2010 January-2010 Harry Männil Born May 17, 1920(1920-05-17) Tallinn, Estonia Died January 11, 2010(2010-01-11) (aged 89) San José, Costa Rica Resting Costa Rica place Residence Estonia (1920–1943) Venezuela (1946–2010) Ethnicity Estonian Citizenship Estonian, Venezuelan Occupation Businessman Known for Entrepreneurship, art collecting, alleged war crimes Spouse Masula D'Empaire Children 4 Relatives Ralf Männil (brother) Harry Männil (May 17, 1920 Tallinn, Estonia – January 11, 2010 San José, Costa Rica) was an Estonian businessman, art collector, and cultural benefactor in several countries. In 1946, he moved to Venezuela, where he lived for the rest of his life. He was a successful businessman and part owner of ACO Group, a large Venezuelan automotive concern. He formed his own company in 1994. Harry Männil was accused by the Simon Wiesenthal Center of having participated in the murder of Jews while he worked for the political police in 1941–1942 during the German occupation of Estonia. After a four-year probe, Estonian investigators could find no evidence against him and he was cleared of the charges. Harry Männil was born into an iron salesman's family on May 17, 1920, in Tallinn, Estonia, and spent his childhood in Pääsküla, Tallinn. [1] [2] He graduated from the Gustav Adolf Grammar School in 1938 and from 1939–40 studied economics at the University of Tartu and the Tallinn University of Technology.[1] In the summer of 1941, during the Soviet occupation, he hid in a forest to avoid the mobilization.[1] Männil joined the political police of the Estonian Self-Administration as an assistant in September 1941. He held the position until June 10, 1942, when he was fired for unknown reasons. [1] This period of collaboration with the Nazi government would later lead to Männil being accused of war crimes. After being fired, Männil continued his studies at the University of Tartu. In October 1943 he escaped to Finland when the German Security Service began to consider him politically dangerous as a student leader at the university. [1] [3] In Finland he studied business management in Helsinki.[4] Männil was accused by a local police official of illegal trade in gold and valuables brought to Finland by Estonian refugees. These claims were, however, denied by Männil.[1] Männil moved to Sweden in September 1944 with the intention of continuing his studies. He stayed at a refugee camp for a short while. Soon he received a residence permit to live in Stockholm and a working permit that allowed him to take a job at an archive. In November 1944, a complaint regarding Männil's Nazi involvement was filed at the Swedish Commission of Foreigners, and he was investigated by the Sandler Commission. [1] [5] The relative ease with which Männil received his work and residence permits raised the suspicions of the local authorities. In September 1945, he was fired from his job at the request of the Commission of Foreigners. A month later, an extension to his residence permit was declined.[1] Männil was allowed to stay in Stockholm to make preparations for his emigration to Venezuela, and an extension was granted on his residence permit a short while later. After Männil was denied a transit visa to Britain, the Swedish authorities pressured him to leave the country.[5] February-2010 John Ruan (businessman) John Ruan (February 11, 1914 — February 14, 2010) was the former Chairman and CEO of The Ruan Companies and Chairman Emeritus of the World Food Prize. At the Ruan Companies, Ruan represented a diversified group of businesses with activities that include transportation, commercial banking, financial services, international trading and real estate development.[1] In his native Iowa, Ruan was a major contributor in business and the development of the Des Moines metropolitan area. In the early 1970s, Ruan built the 36 story Ruan Center to house the administration of the growing number of Ruan companies. Ruan built the 33-story Marriott Hotel in 1980 and the 14-story Two Ruan Center in 1982. He was active in the development and building of the Des Moines Convention Center in 1985 as well as several parking ramps in the downtown area. Ruan also owned Bankers Trust Company, the largest independent bank in Iowa. Ruan funded ongoing research at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Lukes MS Clinic in Chicago and also sponsored the Ruan Neuroscience Center at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. One of the top-ranked facilities of its kind, the Center provides quality care for people around the globe. Ruan began his trucking company in 1932 with only one truck. This small business grew into Ruan Transportation Management Systems, which is now one of the nation's largest trucking operations. Internationally, Ruan founded the Iowa Export-Import Trading Company, a business involving over 50 nations around the world. He was the subject of a 2003 biography, In for the Long Haul: The Life of John Ruan, by historian William B. Fredericks. Ruan died on February 14, 2010, three days after his 96th birthday. Ruan was survived by his wife, the former Elizabeth Jayne Adams; two sons, John III and Thomas; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His daughter, Jayne, died in 1992, at the age of 44. March-2010 1)Jerry York (businessman) Born Jerome Bailey York June 22, 1938(1938-06-22)[1] Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. Died March 18, 2010(2010-03-18) (aged 71)[1] Pontiac, Michigan, U.S. Jerome Bailey York (June 22, 1938 – March 18, 2010), commonly known as Jerry York, was an American businessman, and the Chairman, President and CEO of Harwinton Capital. He was the former CFO of IBM [1] and Chrysler, and was CEO of Micro Warehouse. He was a chief aide to Kirk Kerkorian and his Tracinda investment company.[1] In February 2006, Kerkorian helped elect York to the board of directors of General Motors, from which he had previously resigned.[1] York was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1938[1] and lived in Oakland Township, Michigan. He earned degrees from the United States Military Academy at West Point,[1] the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,[1] and the University of Michigan,[1] and was trained as an engineer. A gymnastics injury prevented York from serving in the military.[2] York eventually became the CFO at Chrysler. When Lee Iacocca retired as Chrysler CEO in 1992, York was a leading candidate to succeed him.[3] After being passed over as Chrysler CEO, York became CFO of IBM Corporation. He later served as a special adviser to investor Kirk Kerkorian during Kerkorian's 2007 failed takeover bid for Chrysler and his other investments in Ford Motor Company and General Motors where he previously served as a board member from February to October 2006 before resigning over frustration resulting from GM's failure to distribute materials to the Board in advance of its meetings and a reluctance to implement change recommendations, including the shedding of peripheral brands,[4] which GM ultimately affected during bankruptcy in the form of terminating the Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer brands (after a failed sale attempt to Chinese Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery) and the sale of its SAAB division to Dutch "Hypercar" maker Spyker.[5] From 1999 to 2003, York was Chairman and CEO of Micro Warehouse,[6] which went bankrupt. He was also on the board of Apple, Inc. after Steve Jobs' comeback in 1997. [7] [7] York was also an enthusiast of alternative energy, particularly wind energy. He was the CFO and a Member of the Board at USWind, a wind energy company of which he was a co-founder and active management team member. York was also part of a team developing the next generation portable computer. York was hospitalized on March 17, 2010 after collapsing in his suburban Detroit home from a brain aneurysm.[8] He died the next day.[1] 2)Dan Duncan Dan Duncan originally from Houston and still living there at the time of his passing, was a very successful business man in his own right whose death on Sunday March 28th at the age 77 shocked so many people who liked, adored and loved the guy. The news of his death came from a close source acting on behalf of his company Enterprise Products Partners LP. As of yet no one knows the cause of his death but this will come to light when further tests and investigations get underway to determine the exact cause for his passing.. Dan Duncan was the richest man in Houston. Although we have no definite details on how Duncan died, we ask anyhow would his money have saved him. If he secretly was dying of cancer or some other killer disease then it's sad to think that all the money in the world can't save you. I believe when you have riches, and those riches run into billions then spend it or help others as you can't take it with you. This highly popular business tycoon's wealth accumulated to a staggering $9 billion. The whole Enterprise family grieves over his passing and trying to come to terms with the unexpected passing of Dan Duncan a dear friend and close business associate of so many people who will truly miss him. Michael Creel, president and chief executive officer of Enterprise Products said "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family." There are a lot of mixed emotions going on right now. Tears flow and then stop while relatives of the richest man in Houston try to put the pieces together and make sense of death.