By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Tough economic times around the world appear to be leading to more suicides by rich people.

It's not an upbeat topic. But it's still interesting to see what happens when people of massive wealth and prestige are confronted by suddenly failing fortunes. The latest:

-- Chicago police this week said Steven Good, leader of one of the nation's biggest real estate auction companies, appeared to have shot himself to death. His body was found in his Jaguar on Monday. He was 52.

-- On Tuesday the family of German billionaire Adolf Merckle said he had committed suicide. He was run over by a train. He was 74.

Merckle was financially involved in all kinds of industries, but reportedly had lost hundreds of millions on an investment in Volkswagen. And his holding company "had been in talks with banks to secure credit after its business interests ran up high levels of debt, and also lost value amid the global financial crisis," according to CNN.

-- Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet killed himself in his New York City office by slitting his wrists late last year. He was 65.

He reportedly had lost more than $1 billion of his clients' money and tens of millions of his own funds by investing with Bernard Madoff, who's accused of running a Ponzi scheme.

Explaining why anyone commits suicide is extremely difficult.

But the loss of lots of money and prestige accompanied all of these stories.

Given the grim economic times, more similar stories of the rich and famous killing themselves could be ahead in 2009.