Getty Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca attends the unveiling of the new Mercedes-Benz Maybach 57S at Mercedes Benz of Beverly Hills on October 18, 2005.
At the age of 94, automobile executive Lee Iacocca passed away today, July 2. TMZ was the first to break the news, saying that their source was a family member who did not give further details regarding his cause of death. The Washington Post later reported that his daughter, Lia, informed that he died due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease. Lee Iacocca is survived by both Lia and her sister, Kathryn.
According to the Iacocca Family Foundation’s website, Kathryn (whose married name is Hentz), is the current President of the foundation; her father was Chairman of the Board. Lia Iacocca Assad is also a board member. The foundation was founded in 1984 in honor of Iacocca’s first wife and the mother of both of his children, Mary, who passed away due to complications from type 1 diabetes.
In 1996, Fortune Magazine interviewed Lee Iacocca about his life in “retirement.” During the interview, he said that his “children and grandchildren” were what “gives him the most pleasure these days.” He also reflected on how he didn’t know how much money to leave for his children when he passes. Opening up to the magazine, he said:
“If you left your children a billion dollars, they wouldn’t be able to handle it. People say I’ve left my two daughters too much. They do have trust funds, but not big ones. They won’t be worrying like the Ford family about which hunting lodge or English castle to buy next. When I’m dead, they may screw up, but they’ll still be able to lead a good life.”
No matter how much of his fortune he decided to leave behind for his daughters and their families, they are undoubtedly well-taken care of, as CelebrityNetWorth.com estimates his net worth was $100 million. Even without their father’s inheritance, both women are successful in their own rights, both professionally and personally.
Facebook/Kathryn Iacocca Hentz.Kathryn Iacocca Hentz
Kathryn’s Facebook profile reveals that she currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts; according to Lia’s Facebook page, she is currently living with her family in Laguna Beach, California. Their Facebook pages also say that Kathryn graduated from Middlebury College and studied Italian, Spanish, and French, while Lia graduated from Oakland University with a degree in Communications 1986.
A New York Times article from 1986, in which Iacocca proudly announces Kathryn’s engagement and impending June wedding, says that husband, Ned Carlton Hentz, was also a Middlebury graduate. At the time of their engagement, Hentz was writing for Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne, and Kathryn already held her title as President of her family’s charity.
Lia Iacocca Assad and her husband, Victor.
Another New York Times article, this time from September 1987, announced the marriage of Lia to James F. Nagy Jr. Nagy was a landscape supervisor at the time of their wedding, and Lia was president of her family’s wine company, Villa Nicola Ltd. It appears that their marriage ended in divorce, as Lia is currently married to Victor Assad.
According to Lehigh University, for which Lia became a member of the Board of Trustees in 2016, she has been married to Victor for 27 years. She says that her family is her “greatest accomplishment;” the two have 4 children. Lia’s term on the Board ended two days before her father’s passing, on June 30, 2019. Adding to her list of accomplishments, she is also a founding member of the residential development company Kacoon Development Inc.