Dalio opens up about loss of son
GREENWICH — The loss of his son in a crash nearly two weeks ago “triggered an enormous amount of pain and reflection,” Greenwich entrepreneur and philanthropist Ray Dalio said in a lengthy essay released Wednesday.
Devon Dalio, 42, was killed Dec. 17 after his Audi crashed into a Verizon store in the Riverside Commons shopping center in Greenwich and caught fire.
In the essay, published on Ray Dalio’s LinkedIn account, the billionaire hedge fund founder reflected on the 13 days since his son’s death.
“Over that time, I went through a journey that I’m still on,” he wrote.
“At first losing Devon was worse than losing a part of myself, which was made more painful by my seeing the pain that it was causing my family members.”
With time, Ray Dalio said he was able to learn there is no “right approach” to healing after a tragedy.
“Each person needs to deal with
the death of a loved one in the way that is right for them,” he wrote.
Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, a Westport-based hedge fund.
While Dalio said he had helped many other people through the death of loved ones during his more than 40 years at Bridgewater, and had lost others before, “these things did not prepare me for this.”
“There is still a painful void and probably will be for some time, but there is also a lot of joy. We walked where he walked and visualized him being there with us and we watched a couple of his favorite movies including comedies so we laughed with him,” Ray Dalio wrote of his family’s journey in the days since his son’s death.
Fire officials believe the gas tank of Devon Dalio’s 2016 Audi ruptured and ignited after it crashed into the East Putnam Avenue store. The state medical examiner is still working to determine his cause of death.
Police arrived on the scene around 3:50 p.m. but were unable to enter the store due to the intense smoke. Store employees escaped without injury.
“I won’t talk any more about this. Starting on Monday I will be on to my new normal,” Ray Dalio wrote in concluding his essay. “Thank you for your help. I hope this is of some help to you and/or others.”