ASPEN, Colo. — A Chicago billionaire whose family owns the Aspen Skiing Company died Sunday in a crash at a Colorado motorsports park on his 70th birthday, authorities said.
James Crown died after the vehicle he was in crashed into an impact barrier at the Aspen Motorsports Park, the Chicago Tribune reported. Officials said Crown died in the single-vehicle crash at Woody Creek, according to the Aspen Times.
“The official cause of death is pending autopsy, although multiple blunt force trauma is evident,” the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office said in a statement. “The manner is accident.”
James Crown, a scion of one of Chicago’s leading philanthropic families, died on Sunday, his 70th birthday, after the vehicle he was in crashed into an impact barrier at the Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, Colorado. https://t.co/S6heSv3tDD
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) June 26, 2023
Crown, a businessman and philanthropist who also had a home in Aspen, held key roles with several institutions in the Chicago area, including the University of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry, the Tribune reported.
Crown was the chairman emeritus of the board overseeing the Aspen Institute, which this week is hosting the Aspen Ideas Festival, according to The Colorado Sun. He was also a managing partner of Aspen Skiing Company.
Crown was the grandson of industrialist Henry Crown and served as director of General Dynamic Corp. and JPMorgan Chase, according to the newspaper and CNN. Henry Crown founded Material Service Corp. in 1919, which later merged with General Dynamics, the Tribune reported. Crown’s father, Lester Crown, is a longtime civic leader in Chicago.
“He was the leader of our family both intellectually and emotionally, and he looked out for everybody,” Lester Crown, 98, said in a statement. “He also was a great leader also for the community. It’s just a heartfelt loss.”
“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 bought half of Aspen Skiing Company in 1985 and bought out the other owners in 1993, according to the Sun.
In addition to his business interests, Crown was a major supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential run in 2008, the Tribune reported. He co-chaired Obama’s 2008 Illinois finance committee and ranked among his top campaign donors, according to the newspaper.
“He was an extraordinary civic leader and a loyal and devoted friend who I have now known for 25 years,” Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said in a statement. “Jim chaired the board of the University of Chicago at the same time that I chaired the board of the University of Chicago Medical Center, so we worked together very closely, and he used his energy and commitment to excellence and brought all his incredible power and used it to be a force for good.”
Forbes estimated the Crown family’s wealth at $10.2 billion in 2020, CNN reported.
