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Gaston Glock

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (July 19, 1929-December 27, 2023)
    Born in Vienna, Austria
    Mechanical engineer
    Founded Glock GmbH to make metal and plastic products (1963)
    Won a contract to make a service pistol for the Austrian army (1982)
    Began sales in the US (1986)
    Net worth at death estimated by Forbes as $1.1 billion

Why he might be annoying:

    He was drafted into the German Wehrmacht during World War II.
    He funded far-right Austrian politician and Hitler admirer Jorg Haider.
    Gun safety advocates claimed that the Glock’s ‘safe action’ feature, designed to make it ready to fire at a moment’s notice, made it more prone to accidental and impulsive shootings.
    He divorced his wife Helga after 53 years of marriage and married a nurse 50 years his junior (2011).
    He then fired his and Helga’s three children from the company.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He attended police academy classes while designing the Glock pistol.
    Because it had fewer parts, the Glock was easier to service than other handguns.
    The Glock became the firearm of choice for two-thirds of US police departments.
    A financial advisor who had been embezzling from him hired a French mercenary to kill him by attacking him with a rubber mallet in a carpark to make it look like an accident. After being hit in the head, Glock fought back, knocking out several of the attacker’s teeth before beating him unconscious (July 27, 1999).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 78 Votes: 69.23% Annoying