Trigger warning: suicide
Thomas Bowers, a former Deutsche Bank executive and head of the American wealth-management division, killed himself in Malibu, California, on Tuesday, November 19th, according to the Los Angeles county coroner’s initial report.
First reports of his death were shared by the New York Times’ David Enrich.
I’ve learned that Tom Bowers, a former senior @DeutscheBank executive, died last week at 55 in Malibu, Calif. I knew him. It’s very sad.
— David Enrich (@davidenrich) November 26, 2019
Bowers was the boss of Donald Trump’s banker Rosemary Vrablic, according to a New York Times article in early 2019. Vrablic approved over $300 million dollars in high risk loans for Trump starting in 2010. Bowers personally signed off on the Deutsche Bank loan for Trump’s Doral resort, according to the New York Times report. Vrablic’s other clients have included Jared Kushner and Stephen M. Ross.
Vrablic reportedly attended the Trump inauguration in the VIP section, and expects to be called before Congress regarding Trump’s relationship with the bank.
“Rosemary is widely recognized as one of the top private bankers to the U.S. ultra high-net-worth community,” Mr. Bowers said.
Deutsche Bank and Trump have connections going back to 1998, and over 30 years, Trump has received over $2 billion dollars in loans from the bank.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner/Coroner reported that Bowers died by suicide by hanging at his residence on the 19th.
One source who has direct knowledge of the FBI’s investigation into Deutsche Bank said that federal investigators have asked about Bowers and documents he might have. Another source who has knowledge of Deutsche Bank’s internal structure said that Bowers would have been the gatekeeper for financial documents for the bank’s wealthiest customers.
Bowers retired from Deutsche Bank in 2015, where he held the title Head of Wealth Management in the Americas, per a bank release in 2012. Prior to that, Bowers was the Head of Private Wealth Management.
There is no indication that Bowers was or is ever the subject of any FBI inquiry, nor any other inquiry into wrongdoing by Deutsche Bank. There are also no signs that his suicide was connected to his professional work life.
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This post will be updated as more is learned