James Schine Crown (June 25, 1953 – June 25, 2023) was an American businessman and heir. He was president of Henry Crown and Company, a family investment company.^[1] Crown was a director of JPMorgan Chase & Co., General Dynamics and Sara Lee. He was also the managing partner of the Aspen Skiing Company.^[2]

Crown was born the son of Renée (née Schine) and Lester Crown. His mother was the sister of producer G. David Schine^[3] and the daughter of theater and hotel magnate, Junius Myer Schine.^[4] His grandfather was Chicago industrialist Henry Crown. His sister was Susan Crown.^{[citation needed]}

In 1976, Crown earned a Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1980. He served as chairman of the board of trustees of the University of Chicago from 2003 to 2009.^[5][6] After law school, Crown worked as an associate for Salomon Brothers in New York City where he became a vice president in the Capital Markets Service Group in 1983.^[7]

In 1985, he returned to Chicago to join his family's investment firm.^[7] He became president in 2002 and chairman and chief executive in 2018.^[8]

In June 2023, Crown served as the chairman of the Commercial Club of Chicago Civic Committee's public safety task force.^[9]

In 1985, Crown married Paula Hannaway, a 1980 magna cum laude A.B. graduate of Duke University and 2012 M.A. graduate of School of the Art Institute of Chicago.^[7] The couple had four children.^[7]

Crown died in a single vehicle crash at the Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, Colorado, on June 25, 2023, his 70th birthday.^[10]