Father-of-two financier, 59, jumps to his death from skyscraper yards from Trump Tower after his $20 billion assets firm was liquidated when investors 'lost trust in him'
A Manhattan financer jumped to his death from a skyscraper yards from Trump Tower just weeks after his assets firm that was once worth $20 billion was liquidated.
Charles de Vaulx, 59, was the chairman and chief investment officer of International Value Advisers when he allegedly took his own life on Monday at the company's offices at at 717 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.
The company confirmed the married father-of-two's death on its website and but the cause of his death was revealed by the research firm Morningstar. That publication reported the award-winning portfolio manager had apparently taken his own life.
The NYPD had said that a man had died in an apparent suicide but declined to identify him.
Charles de Vaulx, 59, was the chairman and chief investment officer of International Value Advisers when he allegedly took his own life on Monday
The company confirmed his death on its website
Emergency personnel are seen responding to the death of a man in midtown, reported to be de Vaulx
De Vaulx's death came seven weeks after the firm abruptly announced it would liquidate its funds and halt business. It said that it had completed the liquidation on April 19.
'It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our Chairman and CIO, Charles de Vaulx,' the website reads.
'The entire IVA community convey their deepest sympathy to his family at this difficult time.'
De Vaulx had founded the company 14 years ago and built it up to be worth more than $20 billion in assets at its peak before it was ultimately liquidated, the New York Post reported. IVA had $863 million in total net assets at the end of 2020.
A body believed to be that of DeVaulx is pictured covered with a sheet on the road after his suicide
Charles de Vaulx (center), founder of International Value Advisers, is seen in a July 27, 2018 photo visiting the offices of Commonwealth Capital Management in Kentucky
A source close to de Vaulx told the New York Post that the tale of de Vaulx is 'a Shakespearean tragedy.'
'This is a Shakespearean tragedy on a lot of levels … ironically many of the stocks he owned have appreciated significantly in the past few months,' the source said.
The source described the late financier as a 'complex man with a lot of hubris.'
'[He] felt he failed in his mission of value investing and lost his raison d'etre,' the source added.
De Vaulx's longtime business partner, Chuck de Lardemelle, left the company abruptly in July causing alarm for investors in the company which had been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic when investors withdrew their money.
A street view from the skyscraper which De Vaulx plunged from is seen above
According to the New York Post, sources close to de Vaulx said he was hurt when some investors no longer trusted him with their money despite being worth millions of dollars.
The firm's assets had shrunk to $3 billion shortly before it was abruptly closed last month.
'It was never about the money,' one person close to de Vaulx told the outlet. 'IVA was an embodiment of de Vaulx's personality and when it began to unwind, he took it personally.'
De Vaulx was a protégé of legendary investor Jean-Marie Eveillard and had founded IVA after abruptly leaving the firm First Eagle.
Known as a value manager who favored undervalued and unloved stocks, de Vaulx was named Morningstar´s International Stock Manager of the Year in 2001 along with Eveillard - his long-time mentor. He was a runner-up for the same prize in 2006.
