by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News June 27, 2023
James Crown, a multi-billionaire who was a key intelligence adviser and regarded as being in President Barack Obama’s inner circle, was killed in a race car crash in Colorado, according to reports.
Crown was killed on Sunday, his 70th birthday, when his race car careened into an impact barrier at Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, the Colorado Sun reported, citing the local coroner.
“He was driving a race car, and it hit a wall going around a curve,” said his father, billionaire financier Lester Crown.
“The official cause of death is pending autopsy although multiple blunt force trauma is evident,” the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office said in a news release.
Several local agencies are investigating the fatal crash including the coroner’s office, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Colorado State Patrol.
In a written statement, Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama called Crown a “dear friend” and one of his “most perceptive advisers” dating to when Obama first ran for the U.S. Senate.
Crown was also the Illinois co-finance chair for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Joe Biden, who hosted Crown at a state dinner last week, said, “Jim represented America at its best — industrious, bighearted and always looking out for each other.”
Obama appointed Crown to his administration’s Intelligence Advisory Board in 2014. He was an intel adviser to Obama at the time that the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Donald Trump was launched.
Crown, who also was a director of General Dynamics and JPMorgan Chase & Co., was one of the wealthiest people in Chicago.
“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.
“He was an integral part of JPMorgan Chase and our lives, and his presence will be deeply missed,” Dimon said in a message to the board of directors.
Crown, 70, was also the chairman of The Aspen Institute.
Crown was chairman and chief executive officer of his family business, Henry Crown & Co. in Chicago, and managing partner of Aspen Skiing Co.
His family was ranked 34th-richest in America by Forbes in 2020, which estimated its fortune at $10.2 billion.
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