Alfred Loewenstein

Alfred Loewenstein
Alfred Loewenstein
Born	March 11, 1877 (age 149); Brussels, Belgium
Died	July 4, 1928 (aged 51)
Occupation(s)	Financier, businessman, banker, investor
Known for	Mysterious disappearance and death in 1928; early investments in electric power and artificial silk industries; owner of thoroughbred steeplechase horses

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Alfred Loewenstein, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 11 August 2025

Alfred Léonard Loewenstein (11 March 1877 – 4 July 1928) was a prominent Belgian financier. By the 1920s, his net worth reached approximately £12 million (equivalent to £ million today), making him the third wealthiest individual globally. His fortune originated from early stakes in the electric power sector and the artificial silk industry. Loewenstein remains chiefly known for his enigmatic disappearance and subsequent death in 1928.

Early life and business career

Alfred was born in Brussels, Belgium, to Bernard Loewenstein, a German-Jewish banker who had converted to Catholicism. Alfred founded his own banking enterprise and had accumulated considerable wealth by 1914. During World War I, he proposed lending the Belgian government US$50 million interest-free to stabilize the currency, in exchange for the rights to print Belgian francs; this offer was refused. After the war, he relocated his operations to England, where he developed an investment firm that positioned him among Europe's foremost financiers. He collaborated with Canadian-born Sir James Dunn on multiple projects, generating profits exceeding £1 million from their 1920s investment in British Celanese alone.

In addition to his financial ventures, Loewenstein owned a distinguished stable of thoroughbred steeplechase horses, securing victories at the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris in both 1926 and 1928.

Business successes

Loewenstein built an extensive fortune by supplying electric power infrastructure to emerging nations through his Belgian firm, Société Internationale d'Énergie Hydro-Électrique (SIDRO). By the mid-1920s, he was regarded as a trusted advisor by numerous global leaders. The British government acknowledged his contributions by appointing him a Companion of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath.

In 1926, he established "International Holdings and Investments Limited," successfully attracting significant financial capital from affluent investors eager to participate in his enterprises.

That same year, he purchased Villa Sacchino, a lavish estate located in Biarritz, which overlooks the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Disappearance

On 4 July 1928, Loewenstein boarded his private Fokker F.VIIa/3m trimotor (G-EBYI) at Croydon Airport en route to Brussels, accompanied by six others. While flying over the English Channel at , he went to use the rear lavatory. Shortly thereafter, he disappeared; the lavatory was empty, and the rear door was discovered open and fluttering in the slipstream. Fellow passengers inferred that he had fallen from the aircraft into the Channel. The plane made an initial landing on a beach before proceeding to Saint-Inglevert Airfield, Pas-de-Calais, France.

News and investigation

The news of Loewenstein’s disappearance caused panic among shareholders, leading to a decline of more than fifty percent in his companies’ publicly traded stocks.

By 12 July 1928, tests conducted by the British Air Ministry on his aircraft demonstrated that the rear door could not have opened accidentally during flight; when pushed outward against the slipstream, it would have been forced back inside.

His body was recovered near Boulogne on 19 July and identified through his wristwatch. The autopsy revealed a fractured skull and multiple broken bones; it also confirmed he was alive when he entered the water. His family commissioned this examination to counter speculation regarding foul play or poisoning.

Loewenstein was interred in an unmarked grave within a cemetery outside Evere, sharing a tomb belonging to his wife’s family, the Misonnes.

Theories

Numerous hypotheses have emerged concerning Loewenstein's disappearance from his plane, including allegations of a criminal plot involving his staff. According to The New York Times, his growing absentmindedness might have caused him to exit through an incorrect door. Considering his intricate and heavily leveraged business dealings, some believed his financial empire was on the verge of collapse, while others suggested he may have taken his own life to avoid exposure of fraudulent activities. However, none of these claims have been substantiated.

In 1987, William Norris recounted Loewenstein's case in The Man Who Fell From the Sky, proposing that if no rival conspiracy was involved, opportunistic motives surrounded the tycoon's demise and insurance matters. Norris pointed out previously ignored incidents, such as Loewenstein's son Robert shooting a household servant under ambiguous conditions and later perishing in a 1941 air accident while serving with the Air Transport Auxiliary. Norris argued that pilot Donald Drew probably ejected Loewenstein from the aircraft at the request of Madeleine Loewenstein to gain control over his wealth, asserting that the rear door was removed during flight and reinstalled later at St. Pol.

Crime authors Robert and Carol Bridgestock theorized that Loewenstein staged his death due to financial discrepancies, citing the unmarked grave and his wife's absence from the funeral as supporting factors.

Alleged drug deal with Arnold Rothstein

In his biography of gangster Arnold Rothstein, author David Pietrusza claimed that Loewenstein collaborated with Rothstein to fund a significant drug transaction in the spring of 1928. Loewenstein's death reportedly halted essential financing, compelling Rothstein to extend resources further to avert the deal's failure.

In popular culture

Loewenstein's mysterious death was showcased in the History Channel’s Vanishings! series in 2010.
BBC Radio 4’s Punt PI devoted an episode to his death in 2014.
The concluding episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime in 2021 explored Loewenstein’s disappearance.

Publications

William Norris: The Man Who Fell From the Sky. New York, Viking, 1987.
Maurice Privat: La vie et la mort d'Alfred Loewenstein. Paris, La nouvelle société d'édition, 1929
E. Phillips Oppenheim: Who Travels Alone. The Life and Death of Alfred Loewenstein (e-book, 2012). Project Gutenberg Australia.

External links