The father
The fortune begins with him. The open questions do too.
Last updated July 31, 2026
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.
The record says Othmar John Hitz. The Rechnungsruf of the Kreisamt Seewis, published in the Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt of 29 and 30 January 1960, reads "Othmar John Hitz, geb. 20. April 1899 in Chur". The family understood him as Othmar Jakob. The Chur birth register settles it. Until it does, the honest statement is that the official Swiss document says John, the family said Jakob, and the question is open. Note also that he was born in Chur; Seewis im Prättigau is the Heimatort.
He died on July 4, 1958. His former wife said poison. Per the family, a later court-ordered look at the grave found it empty.
He had placed assets in other people's names, chiefly his lawyer's. In 1966 Caracas papers covered seizures of jewels and securities. See empty grave.
Act I of the public teaser is the fortune and the lawyer. Act II is the grave. Those are his acts. Series map: /series/.