Alex Navab, veteran financier and former KKR & Co. head of the private equity in the Americas, has died at the age of 53. Navab reportedly passed away “unexpectedly” on Sunday while on a brief vacation with his family, according to statement released by his firm Navab Capital Partners on Monday.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the untimely passing of our founder, Alexander Navab,” the statement said. “Alex was an accomplished business leader and generous philanthropist who loved his family and played an important role in the professional and personal lives of many.”
Navab began his career in finance and investment at Goldman Sachs in the 1980s. He left KKR in 2017 after 24 years and launched his own equity firm, Navab Capital Partners, in April 2019. He planned to raise billions of dollars to finance investments in diverse areas in North America, including technology, media, health care, and financial services.
Navab helped KKR to raise more than $14 billion in funds. He also helped the firm to secure major deals, such as the the acquisition of Canada’s Yellow Pages, and Nielsen. He was a Nielsen board member until 2016.
“We are heartbroken,” Henry Kravis and George Roberts, KKR’s co-founders, said in a statement on Monday. “Alex was an outstanding investor, leader, mentor and a friend to many.”
Navab was born in Iran but fled his native country with his family after the 1979 Islamic revolution, and finally settled in the US.
He studied at Phillips Academy in Massachusetts. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and an MBA from from Harvard Business School.
He was a philanthropist who contributed to multiple charitable causes. His new firm Navab Capital was launched with a philanthropy arm and he was director of the Robin Hood Foundation which focuses on fighting poverty and homelessness in New York City.
How much was Alex Navab worth in 2019?
Alex Navab’s exact net worth is unclear, although there are details available about real estate and reported renumeration.
He launched his own private equity firm Navab Capital Partners in April 2019, and according to The Wall Street Journal, he was planning to raise $3 billion for his firm’s private equity fund, which, if successful, would have made his firm’s equity fund the “largest ever debut private equity vehicle raised by an independent firm.”
He and his wife Mary Kathryn Norman-Navab own multiple units worth an estimated $4.9 million in River House, a 26-story building at Manhattan’s 435 East 52nd Street, named by CityRealty Manhattan’s most prestigious residence.
They also own a three-story house in Southampton worth $12 million.
Alex was an independent director of Fidelity National Information Services. His total compensation at Fidelity National Information Services was reportedly $203,038.
KKR’s founders, Kravis and Roberts, were estimated in 2017 to have a net worth of $5.1billion each.