Billionaire Jumps To Death From Skyscraper Office After Firm Liquidated Funds

Charles de Vaulx, a well-known value investor and the co-founder of International Value Advisors, died Monday, April 26. It was an apparent suicide, the New York Police Department confirmed.

The 59-year--old jumped from the 10th floor of his skyscraper at 717 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

De Vaulx was the chairman and chief investment officer of International Value Advisers when he died. He took his life six weeks after IVA announced it was shutting down, and a week after his assets firm, worth $20 billion was liquidated.

"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our Chairman and CIO, Charles de Vaulx," the company website reads.

'The entire IVA community conveys their deepest sympathy to his family at this difficult time."

De Vaulx along with his group of partners founded the company in 2007. It had total net assets of $863 million at the end of 2020.

A source close to de Vaulx, who did not wish to be identified, told the New York Post that de Vaulx’s tale is 'a 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 de Vaulx 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.

Chuck de Lardemelle, De Vaulx's longtime business partner, left the company abruptly in July. This alarmed the investors who withdrew their money from the company which had been having a rough time due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the New York Post, the source said that de Vaulx was hurt when some investors no longer trusted him with their money.

The firm's assets had stooped to $3 billion shortly before it was abruptly shut down 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."

Gregg Wolper, the senior analyst at Morningstar Manager Research, said that some of the investors were willing to compromise, however, de Vaulx stuck to the traditional approach.

"Others were willing to compromise and try some new approaches to adapt," said Wolper.

"De Vaulx didn’t think that was appropriate and stuck to the deep value approach. His investors appreciated it because there weren’t many other places to find that."

"The reason he stuck with it wasn’t because he was stubborn but because he felt it was the best way to invest to protect his shareholders from losses and it was his duty to preserve capital," Wolper added.

Larry Pitkowsky, a fellow value manager at GoodHaven Capital Management, recalls de Vaulx as a generous friend.

"Charles was a thoughtful, talented, disciplined, and risk-averse investor, who brought an intensity to his craft," Pitkowsky said. "And he was also a generous friend to many in the investment business."

De Vaulx won the Morningstar´s International Stock Manager of the Year title in 2001 along with his long-time mentor Jean-Marie Eveillard.

De Vaulx leaves behind a wife and two children.