The parents of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick were both in a boating accident on Friday. His mother passed away, and his father is currently in the hospital in “serious” condition. The New York Times’ Mike Isaac was the first to report the news on Twitter. Uber provided Business Insider with the following statement:
“Last night Travis and his family suffered an unspeakable tragedy. His mother passed away in a devastating boating accident near Fresno and his father is in serious condition. Our thoughts and prayers are with Travis and his family in this heartbreaking time.” How Travis Kalanick’s Parents Died: What We Know So Far.
Uber boss Travis Kalanick’s mother dies in boating accident
Bonnie Kalanick, the mother of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, has died in a boating accident. Bonnie Kalanick, 71, perished when the boat she and her husband were aboard collided with a rock in Pine Flat Lake near Fresno, California. The Northridge couple has been long-time boat owners.
In a letter to Uber employees, Liane Hornsey, the company’s chief human resources officer, described the occurrence as an “unimaginable tragedy.” She stated that “everyone in the Uber family knows how incredibly close Travis is to his parents.”
On May 6, when his parents went to the Kentucky Derby together, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick posted a photo with them on Twitter.”
Travis Kalanick’s parents
Travis Kalanick was born on August 6, 1976, and grew up in Northridge, California. Travis’ parents are Bonnie Renée Horowitz Kalanick (née Bloom) and Donald Edward Kalanick.
Bonnie’s family were Viennese Jews who immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century and worked in retail advertising for the Los Angeles Daily News.
Kalanick grew up in a Slovak-Austrian Catholic family with ancestors who emigrated to the United States from the Austrian city of Graz.
He was a civil engineer for the city of Los Angeles, born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Kalanick has two half-sisters: one is Ashley Arm’s mother, while his brother is a firefighter.
During his middle and high school years, Kalanick was notorious for being competitive and determined to succeed. Kalanick sold Cutco knives door-to-door as a teenager. With the father of a classmate, he started “New Way Academy,” an exam preparation business, at the age of 18.
Following graduation from Granada Hills Charter High School, Kalanick enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to study computer engineering and business economics. At UCLA, he was a member of Theta Xi fraternity. To work full-time at Scour in 1998, he dropped out of UCLA.