Billionaire businessman James Crown, 70, passed away on Sunday in a car racing accident in Colorado. The incident occurred at Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, where Crown, a board member of JP Morgan Chase, collided with an impact barrier in a single-vehicle crash, according to The Colorado Sun.
In addition to his prominence in the business world, Crown also had involvement in the political sphere.
Crown’s involvement in politics can be traced back to his long standing friendship with former President Barack Obama. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Crown served as the Illinois co-finance chair for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. In 2014, during his second term, President Obama appointed Crown to the Intelligence Advisory Board.
From The Colorado Sun:
James “Jim” Crown, the 70-year-old businessman, socialite and member of the billionaire Crown family who owns Aspen Skiing Co., died Sunday in a crash at the Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek.
The Pitkin County Coroner’s Office says he collided with an impact barrier at the member-owned, country club motorsports park. The club’s website says it offers a track for racing cars as well as a go-kart track.
“The official cause of death is pending autopsy although multiple blunt force trauma is evident,” the coroner’s office said in a news release. “The manner is accident.”
The crash is being investigated by the coroner’s office, as well as the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado State Patrol. A spokesman for the State Patrol said the agency was called to the scene at about 2:45 p.m.
“Due to the ongoing investigation, no further details will be released at this time,” the news release said.
At the time of his death, Crown — who lived in Chicago but frequented Colorado — was the chairman emeritus of the board overseeing the Aspen Institute, which this week is hosting the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen. He was also a managing partner of Aspen Skiing Co.
He was the grandson of industrialist Henry Crown and served as director of General Dynamic Corp. and JPMorgan Chase.
JPMorgan has been garnering numerous headlines in recent months.
During the month of June, JPMorgan reached a settlement of $290 million with victims of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted pedophile. This agreement was made due to JPMorgan’s involvement in conducting business with Epstein, despite being aware that he was flagged as a “high-risk client.”
Twitter user @MJTruthUltra posted an extensive list of headlines involving JPMorgan Chase:
