Billionaire James Crown killed in race car crash

By Bryan Mena, CNN

Washington, DC (CNN) — James Crown, a billionaire businessman who held several leadership roles including board member of JPMorgan Chase, died Sunday in a racing accident in Colorado.

Crown, who also turned 70 on Sunday, died in the single-vehicle crash after colliding with an impact barrier at Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, Colorado, The Colorado Sun reported.

Among his many roles, Crown was chairman and CEO of his family business, the investment firm Henry Crown and Company. In addition to serving on the JPMorgan board, he was also a board director at General Dynamics. Crown had served on JPMorgan’s board since the early 1990s.

“We extend our deepest condolences to Jim’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said in a statement. “Our thoughts are also with all of you who knew and loved Jim, as much as I did. He was an integral part of JPMorgan Chase and our lives, and his presence will be deeply missed.”

“The Crown family is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Jim Crown,” a family representative said in a statement to media. “The family requests that their privacy be respected at this difficult time.”

Crown lived in Chicago but frequently traveled to Colorado, and he held additional positions at organizations in both states. He was a managing partner of Aspen Skiing Co., chair emeritus of the Aspen Institute and a trustee at three institutions: the Museum of Science and Industry, the Civic Committee and the University of Chicago. In 2014, President Barack Obama appointed Crown to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

Local officials are currently investigating the crash.

“The official cause of death is pending autopsy although multiple blunt force trauma is evident. The manner is accident,” the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office said in a news release.

Forbes estimated the Crown family’s wealth at $10.2 billion in 2020.

Crown is survived by his wife, four children and his parents.

President Joe Biden mourned Crown’s death, calling the businessman “a good man, a dear friend, and a great American.”

“Jim lived a great Chicago story – one that tied our nation’s industrious past to an ever-hopeful future. He grew up the great-grandson of a sweatshop worker whose son turned a construction-supply company into an empire. Throughout his own career as a business and civic leader, Jim continued to drive that legacy forward, bring out the best in his peers, and help shape the city he loved,” Biden wrote.

Crown attended the White House State Dinner last week honoring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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– CNN’s DJ Judd contributed to this report