Heralded executive Angela Chao, the sister-in-law of Sen. Mitch McConnell and the youngest of six daughters, was killed in a car accident, her grieving family said.
Chao, the chief of New York-based dry bulk shipping giant Foremost Group, was 50 years old.
Details about the tragic Feb. 10 crash in Texas were not available.
“Losing her at such a young age is something we never even imagined, and our entire family is devastated with grief,” Chao’s father, Dr. James SC Chao, said in a statement Feb. 12 published by Marine Link.
Angela Chao was a visionary who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in three years — before obtaining her MBA at Harvard Business School and heading into the family business founded by her father, Foremost’s honorary chairman, in 1964.
Her case study, titled “Ocean Carriers,” which she wrote while attending the Ivy League school, is a part of the required curriculum for first-year business students at Harvard, according to Foremost’s statement on Chao’s passing published by Hellenic Shipping News.
Angela Chao, 51, died in a tragic car accident on Monday. Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesAt various points in her career, she served on the board of MoMA, the Metropolitan Opera and Harvard Business School.
“As a trail blazer for women in the executive suite, she inspired others to pursue their dreams. She also loved music and tried the French horn as her instrument when young, insisting on carrying it herself to every lesson,” the family said in a statement.
James Chao, who would bring her to “Take Your Daughter to Work” days as a child, said she had a “fierce intellectual curiosity that endeared her to everyone and helped her excel at everything she did.”
Chao’s sister, Elaine Chao, was the Secretary of Labor in George W. Bush’s administration from 2001 to 2009 and the Secretary of Transportation in Donald Trump’s cabinet from 2017 to 2021.
She was the first Asian-American woman in history to serve in the cabinet and is married to McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader.
A note issued by the US Coast Guard Academy on X touted Angela Chao as “a trail blazer in the maritime industry.”
She was an advocate for environmentally sustainable business practices and the reason for the group’s sustainable operations and its eco-friendly vessels, the company said.
Chao’s brother-in-law is Senator Mitch McConnell, who’s married to Elaine Chao. Both Angela and Elaine graduated from Harvard Business School. Corbis via Getty ImagesForemost added: “Angela believed that the foundational element of success is the belief that shipping is not an asset finance business, but that it’s about people.”
“She placed special emphasis on paying attention to the care and well-being of our crews, and to everyone onboard and onshore who played a role in performing our services.”
James Chao added that “her absence leaves a void not only in our hearts, but in the Asian-American community.”
Chao is survived by her husband, Jim Breyer (pictured together), her father and her five sisters. Getty Images
Chao’s first husband was billionaire banker Bruce Wasserstein — who died in 2009, just months after they wed, after a stint in the hospital over an irregular heartbeat. Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesChao was a founding advisory council co-chair of the The Asian American Foundation — which called her “a beloved businesswoman, philanthropist and respected leader” in the wake of her sudden death.
Aside from her her father and five sisters, she is survived by her husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, a part-owner of the Boston Celtics who has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion. They have a 3-year-old son.
Chao had previously been married to billionaire banker Bruce Wasserstein.
He died in 2009, just months after they wed, following a stint in the hospital for an irregular heartbeat.
