Mitch McConnell’s sister-in-law Angela Chao may have died by drowning: report
Angela Chao, the sister-in-law of Sen. Mitch McConnell, may have drowned after crashing her car into a body of water on private property in Texas’ Hill Country, according to a report.
The billionaire shipping executive’s shocking death was announced over the weekend by her grieving family, but few details have been made available about the fatal accident.
The Blanco County Sherriff’s Office said Chao’s body was found on a private tract of land about 60 miles west of her home in Austin, Texas, the Austin American-Statesman. reported Thursday.
A law enforcement source told the outlet that Chao, 50, possibly drowned after her car was found submerged in a body of water on the property — located in a rugged area dotted with multimillion second homes along rolling hills favored by many of the state’s wealthiest residents.
The cause of her death has not been determined.
The source told the publication that authorities do not expect foul play.
The Post has sought comment from Blanco County Sheriff’s Office.
Chao, the CEO of bulk dry shipping giant Foremost Group, lived in Austin with her husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer — a part-owner of the Boston Celtics who has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion — and the 3-year-old son they shared.
Breyer Capital, which has worked with the likes of Meta, Spotify and Etsy since Breyer founded it in 2006, is headquartered in Austin.
Chao, one of six daughters, including former cabinet member Elaine Chao, was a visionary who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in three years before obtaining her MBA at Harvard Business School.
In 2016, she became CEO of the family business founded in 1964 by her father, who currently serves as Foremost’s honorary chairman.
Chao’s 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.
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.
“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 Chao family added.
At various points in her career, she served on the board of MoMA, the Metropolitan Opera and Harvard Business School.
Her father, Dr. James SC Chao, remembered his youngest daughter as having a “fierce intellectual curiosity that endeared her to everyone and helped her excel at everything she did.”
“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. As a result, her leadership in the shipping industry was widely recognized,” the grieving father wrote in a statement on Feb. 12 earlier reported on by Marine Link.
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.”
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.
Angela Chao 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.
James Chao added that “her absence leaves a void not only in our hearts, but in the Asian-American community.”
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.
