Gaston GlockThe engineer and tycoon who developed one of the world’s best-selling pistols died Wednesday at age 94, an Austrian news agency reported. APA.

The Austrian has found a loyal following in police and military forces around the world with weapons bearing his name. Forbes assessed his condition and the condition of his family in $1.1 billion in 2021.

Its rise began in the 1980s when The Austrian army was looking for new innovative weapons.

In the meantime, Glock produced military knives and consumer goods, as curtain rods, but he assembled a team of firearms experts and developed the Glock 17, a lightweight semi-automatic pistol made primarily of plastic.

It was used by many American police officers, and the country’s rappers included it in their songs, including “Protocol” by Snoop Dogg and “Da Glock” by the Wu-Tang Clan.

Gun control advocates Glock criticized for popularizing powerful pistols which they said were easy to conceal and held more ammunition than others.

Glock himself rarely responded to activists’ criticism. avoided public debate and in 2000 refused to join other arms manufacturers in signing a voluntary arms control agreement with the US government.

His 49-year marriage to Helga Glock ended in divorce in 2011, and the couple entered into a lengthy legal battle over alimony. Soon after, he married his second wife, Catherine, who was more than 50 years his junior.

He owned a mansion next to a lake and an equestrian center in the province of Carinthia, where celebrities attended parties. He is survived by his wife, daughter and two sons.

Reuters