John Kenneth Dunn, co-founder of a Dallas-based real estate investment firm, died in a plane crash last week along with five other people, his company said Monday.
John Kenneth Dunn | Rainier Companies
The 62-year-old who co-founded the $1.6 billion firm Rainier Companies was on a flight from Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, when the plane crashed while attempting to land at an airport about 20 miles southwest of Reno, federal aviation officials told the New York Post.
Federal safety officials are investigating why the plane went down. None of the occupants survived the crash, and the other people on board remained unidentified.
“The Rainier family is deeply saddened by the loss of its co-founder, partner and friend,” Rainier Companies President and CEO Danny Lovell said Monday in a press release. “Our most heartfelt sympathies go to Ken’s family during this unbelievably difficult time. He will be terribly missed.”
According to an obituary in The Dallas Morning News, Dunn was traveling with friends to spend time in the Lake Tahoe area. He was survived by his wife, two children, two stepchildren and three grandchildren, the paper said.
Since Dunn and business partner Tim Nichols founded the commercial real estate company in 2003, it has grown to manage a $1.6 billion portfolio, its website says. It has closed more than $2.5 billion worth of investment assets in that time.
Two decades earlier, Dunn had co-founded Meridian Realty Advisors, another Dallas-based firm. Dunn specialized in acquisitions and capital formation, and was involved in transactions totaling more than $3 billion in value over the last four decades, according to his bio on the Rainier website. Dunn’s work in commercial real estate spanned from office and retail to hotels, multifamily and skilled nursing facilities.
Dunn also served as executive vice president of The Hampton Real Estate Group from 1989 to 1993. Prior to that, he worked as a commercial loan officer in the banking industry, with experience in real-estate and oil-and-gas lending.