Brains
Behind the slopes of Aspen, Deer Valley, Mammoth and more lies not just snow and chairlifts, but a multi‑generational American dynasty few outside the business world talk about: the Crown family.
America’s ski industry is dominated by two players, Vail Resorts and Alterra, which combined control around 50% of the market. While Vail Resorts is a publicly listed company with largely institutional ownership, Alterra is a privately held company owned by two firms: KSL Capital Partners and Henry Crown & Company. But Henry Crown & Company is not some anonymous venture capitalist, it is the family office of Henry Crown’s heirs. Here lies a true rags to riches story as American economic history is famous for, and the secret to the family that owns some of the most famous ski resorts in the U.S.
Henry Crown was born as Henry Krinsky in Chicago in 1896 to Lithuanian immigrant parents. With just an eighth‑grade education, he and his brothers founded the Material Service Corporation in 1919, selling gravel, sand and building materials to the booming Midwest construction industry. By the late 1950s, Crown had used that business as a springboard into defense contracting, gaining controlling interest in General Dynamics in 1959. The merger of Material Service with General Dynamics helped transform the company into one of the nation’s largest military contractors. For a decade beginning in 1951, Crown even owned one of the world’s most iconic skyscrapers—the Empire State Building—before selling it in 1961 with a substantial profit.
Crown had three children: Robert Crown (1921–1969), Lester Crown (born in 1925) and John J. Crown (1929–1997). As the oldest child, Robert Crown grew up in the family business, however, following his sudden death at the age of 48 from a heart attack, his brother Lester took the reins, while youngest brother John pursued a career as Cook County judge and also raised cattle in Illinois.
Lester Crown went to university at Northwestern and Harvard, and expanded the family business by diversifying its holdings into hotels, real estate, manufacturing and sports. Under his leadership, the family’s portfolio came to include stakes in companies such as Maytag, Hilton Hotels, and the Chicago Bulls, as well as longstanding positions in General Dynamics and other major corporations. Lester and his wife Renée raised seven children, many of whom have played roles in the family’s business and philanthropic enterprises. It was their son James “Jim” Crown (1953–2023), who was the CEO of Henry Crown & Company and was a managing partner of Aspen Skiing Company (“SkiCo”) until his sudden death during an accident at Aspen Motorsports Park. Aspen SkiCo is wholly owned by the Crown family as well. The family first purchased a half interest in SkiCo in 1985 and then became sole owners in 1993, acquiring full control of the company that operates Aspen’s four ski areas—Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass.
After Jim’s death, his brother A. Steven Crown became the co-CEO at Henry Crown & Company together with his cousin William “Bill” H. Brown, his cousin and son of Judge John Crown. While it is known that Steven is one of seven siblings, there is no publicly available information about John’s or Robert’s children. The family is notoriously private, unlike other billionaire families, who make the tabloids or prefer a more public profile. The Crowns manage their businesses mostly out of public sight, owning stakes in major corporations, real estate assets, manufacturing firms, and influential cultural and philanthropic institutions.
While the family’s connection to skiing goes back to the 80s when it purchased SkiCo, the Crown family took its ski industry footprint to a national scale with the 2017 formation of Alterra Mountain Company in partnership with private equity firm KSL Capital Partners. The move was designed in part to challenge Vail Resorts in a market that has increasingly consolidated around two major players. KSL, who were owners of Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows) in California, and Henry Crown & Company jointly acquired Intrawest Resorts, owners of Steamboat and Winter Park in Colorado, Stratton in Vermont, Snowshoe in West Virginia, Blue Mountain in Ontario, Tremblant in Quebec, and CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures in British Columbia, to form Alterra Mountain Company.
Alterra now operates nearly 20 resorts and offers access to dozens more through its Ikon Pass, giving millions of skiers and riders a viable alternative to Vail’s Epic Pass. In recent years, the Ikon Pass also extended its pass privileges to resorts in Europe, such as Dolomiti Superski in Italy and Engadin St. Moritz in Switzerland.
Despite their wealth and influence, the Crowns are known more for quiet philanthropy than for public spectacle. Their giving has supported major cultural, educational and health institutions, particularly in Chicago and beyond. The family’s roots in Chicago’s Jewish community and longstanding support for philanthropic causes have drawn praise from civic leaders. Yet the Crowns rarely seek publicity, preferring to operate behind the scenes through private companies and foundations.
So while their name might not be instantly linked with skiing, the family quietly controls a major part of the American ski industry. But much like the resorts they own or control, there is a quiet power in the Crown family’s reach—steering one of the most competitive industries in the country without the need for flashy headlines. The Crown family has quietly shaped where Americans ski, how mountains are run, and even the way season passes connect riders across continents. It’s a dynasty that proves lasting wealth and vision often thrive best behind the scenes, leaving the snow to speak for itself.
