The father
The fortune begins with him. The open questions do too.
Last updated 2026-07-31
Othmar John Hitz was a Swiss businessman who built a coffee and real estate fortune in mid-century Venezuela. He was the father of Anna Maria Hitz, the only child and sole heir named in the public story of 1965.
He died on July 4, 1958. The official cause was kidney failure. His former wife said poison. Per the family, a later court-ordered look at the grave found it empty. The death certificate, per the family file, was never completed cleanly.
He had placed assets in other people's names, chiefly his lawyer's. A will registered in Caracas in the mid-1950s later did not remain a clean public object for the family. In 1966 Caracas papers covered seizures of jewels and securities. See empty grave · the lawyer · unclaimed fortune.
Act I of the public teaser is the fortune and the lawyer. Act II is the grave. Those are his acts. Series map: /series/.