Beloved Miami businessman and socialite JR Ridinger has died aged 63 after suffering a pulmonary embolism on a yacht in Croatia.
The Market America founder and his wife, Loren, were regulars in the city’s social scene, and the couple were friends with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Marc Anthony, Scotty Pippin and the Beckhams.
“Although I can’t speak and am in shock,” Loren wrote on Facebook, “you should know I’m broken. My heart was ripped out.”
“To clear up the rumors that he fell… during our first holiday in 3 years with… [family, J.R.] had a sudden pulmonary embolism that stole him from us. He was gone in a second. A moment. I beg you to pray and meditate on him. “
While the Ridingers own the $51 million superyacht Utopia IV, we’re told they were on a chartered boat instead. The Utopia IV is currently undergoing repairs after an accident in the Bahamas last December, when it sank behind an oil tanker on Christmas Eve.
JR leaves behind two daughters, Amber and Amanda.
Basketball legend Pippen wrote on Wednesday: “We lost a good one with the death of my friend. JR was so helpful and supportive as I started my life after basketball, giving me valuable advice and teaching me how to become an entrepreneur.”
Victoria Beckham and Khloe Kardashian also expressed their condolences.
An email sent to staff by the family business said it had “lost its great visionary and the world has lost a passionate human being who believed in other people even more than in themselves.”
The note added: “There are no words that can adequately express our shock, our pain and our deep sorrow at JR’s untimely passing. JR would like us to honor his memory and legacy by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.”