Dick Smith didn't die. It was murdered [1]. Long story short, a private equity firm bought out Dick Smith from Woolworth's using money that was on Dick Smith's

Dick Smith didn't die. It was murdered [1]. Long story short, a private equity firm bought out Dick Smith from Woolworth's using money that was on Dick Smith's balance sheet. They did some huge write-offs to lower the (paper) value of the business, sold inventory at a steep discount to boost revenue, and then put the company back on the market, with a P&L statement that looked good, but masked the fact that the company was a husk of its former self. As expected, investors bit, and the private equity firm walked away with a half-billion dollars of profit, while the later investors were left holding the bag. [1] https://foragerfunds.com/bristlemouth/dick-smith-is-the-greatest-private-equity-heist-of-all-time/ https://foragerfunds.com/bristlemouth/dick-smith-is-the-grea...