As the General Director of the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (Hapag), Albert Ballin was one of the most admired, envied, and controversial figures of Wilhelmine Hamburg and the German Empire. His journey from the son of a small Jewish emigration agent to the "Sovereign of Shipping" led him to the top of the world's largest shipping company, where he introduced significant innovations in emigration and freight law. Under Ballin's leadership, between 1911 and 1914, the three giant liners "Imperator," "Vaterland," and "Bismarck" were launched, setting new standards for passenger travel. A confidant of Wilhelm II, he was viewed with suspicion at court due to anti-Semitic sentiments and was often mocked by the Jewish community as the "Kaiserjude." He also attempted to influence grand politics and sought to prevent escalation in the lead-up to World War I by advocating for a German-British naval agreement. Even during the war, Ballin tirelessly worked to mitigate damage. The failure of his mediation efforts, which he associated with the collapse of his life's work for Hapag, led Ballin to take his own life on the day of the revolution, November 9, 1918.