German-born photographer Gunter Sachs committed suicide on Sunday. He was was born into a wealthy family and parlayed his inheritance to fund a glamorous and successful lifestyle. He was best known for being a playboy, his three-year marriage to Brigitte Bardot and his close friendship with Andy Warhol. We take a look back at his life.

Bio:

• He was 78 years-old.
• Born in Germany; died in Switzerland.
• Made a name for himself as a photographer, documentary filmmaker and art collector.
• Was fascinated by astrology and in the 1950s founded the “Institute for the Empirical and Mathematical Examination of the Possible Truth of Astrology in Relation to Human Behaviour”.
• He was married 3 times

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The Story

Swiss business magazine Bilanz estimated his fortune at 300-400 million Swiss francs ($340-$455 million).  Sachs explained in a note that he had shot himself because of what he defined as “no hope illness A”, which some have speculated to be Alzheimer’s.

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Where you've seen him:

• Trapeezing around the world from 1966-69 with then wife, Brigitte Bardot
• Hung out with Andy Warhol,  Salvador Dali; French presidents Charles De Gaulle and Georges Pompidou; Guy and Marie-Hélène de Rothschild; Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco; and the Shah of Iran
• Known in his heyday by the nickname “Sexy”, Sachs,  he boasted of “never having worked a day in my life.”

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