Billionaire JPMorgan Chase Board Member James Crown Dies in Car Accident Age 70

James Crown, University of Chicago board of trustees chair, listens during a meeting in Chicago on May 30, 2007. Milbert O. Brown/Chicago Tribune via AP

American businessman and JPMorgan Chase board member James Crown died in a car crash on June 25, officials have confirmed.

The 70-year-old billionaire suffered “multiple blunt force” injuries after being involved in a single-vehicle accident at the Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, Colorado, according to a statement from the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office.

“The official cause of death is pending autopsy, although multiple blunt force trauma is evident,” the coroner’s office said.

Pitkin County authorities said Crown was killed when the vehicle he was in collided with a barrier at the country club motorsports park, the Colorado Sun reported.

His death has been classified by the coroner’s office as accidental. Investigators are still probing the crash.

The businessman served as lead director at General Dynamics Corp, an aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and as a director at JPMorgan Chase.

He was also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Aspen Institute, a Trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry and of the University of Chicago, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as a former member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, according to JPMorgan Chase’s official website.

“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.”

‘A Remarkable Human’

General Dynamics said in a separate statement that it is mourning the loss of its lead director.

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with Jim’s family during this painful time,” the company said.

Crown was the grandson of industrialist Henry Crown and the chief executive of his family’s business, Henry Crown & Co, which invests in public and private securities, real estate, and operating companies, and is worth around $10.2 billion, according to Fortune.

Speaking to the Chicago Sun-Times, Crown’s father, financier Lester Crown, said his son “was driving a race car, and it hit a wall going around a curve.”

“He was the leader of our family both intellectually and emotionally, and he looked out for everybody,” Lester Crown said. “He also was a great leader also for the community. Basically, he loved to take care and do things for people. He had no bias and very little ego. Just a remarkable, remarkable human.”

“The Crown family is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Jim Crown in an accident earlier today,” Aspen Skiing Co. said in a statement on Sunday. “The family requests that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. Further details regarding plans for a memorial to remember Jim’s remarkable life will be released at a later date.”

Crown leaves behind his wife, Paula, four children, and grandchildren, according to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who also paid tribute to the businessman he called a “lifelong Chicagoan” who gave back to the city through “philanthropy and leadership.”

“I was especially grateful for his commitment to work collaboratively with my administration to build a safer Chicago, having met recently to share ideas,” Johnson said.

Plans to Tackle Chicago Crime

Elsewhere, former President Barack Obama, who appointed Crown to his administration’s Intelligence Advisory Board in 2014, said he considered the businessman a “dear friend,” adding that he and his family had only recently spent an evening with Crown.

“Jim was a pillar of Chicago, a prominent voice in the Jewish community, and a true civic leader who loved our city,” the former president and first lady said in a joint statement. “He cared deeply about Chicago and making it a place where everyone could thrive—no matter who they are or what part of town they call home.”

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden also noted in a statement published Monday that Crown had joined them at the White House last week for a State Dinner.

“Jim was as he always was—thoughtful, warm, a good man. It was heartbreaking to learn today of his shocking death,” the statement reads. “Jim was on the cusp of a new initiative, rallying fellow corporate leaders to commit to hiring people from communities that have been left behind and to be part of the solution to end gun violence.”

Prior to his death, Crown had recently announced that he and other cooperate leaders in Chicago were looking to fight rising crime levels in Chicago by investing in violence-intervention programs and providing jobs for up to 10,000 people from high-crime areas across the city.

The businessman and philanthropist said at the time that the goal was to bring the number of murders in the city down to less than 400 a year over the next five years and below 200 in a decade.

“We came up with those numbers because, adjusted for population, it’s what’s been achieved in Los Angeles and New York,” Crown told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Epoch Times has contacted JP Morgan Chase and Aspen Skiing Co. For further comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.