John Adams Morgan, Banker and Ex-Husband ofReal Housewives of New YorkStar Sonja Morgan, Dead at 94

Mar. 15, 2025

Sonja Morgan and her late ex-husband, John Adams Morgan.Photo:Mindy Small/Getty; Gonzalo Marroquin/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Mindy Small/Getty; Gonzalo Marroquin/Patrick McMullan via Getty

John Adams Morgan has died at the age of 94. He was the founder and chairman of Morgan Joseph, and his great-grandfather was the legendary financier J. P. Morgan. An Olympic sailor, he was married toReal Housewives of New YorkstarSonja Morgan, his fourth wife, from 1998 to 2006.

“My family is navigating this together,” she continued. “I very much loved and admired my dad. I am so grateful for the love and care I have been shown in these past weeks.”

Quincy also posted a photo of herself as a little girl looking up to her father.

Quincy Morgan and late father John Adams Morgan.Quincy Morgan/Instagram

Quincy Morgan/Instagram

Sonja has not addressed her ex-husband’s death publicly on social media. PEOPLE reached out to Sonja and her reps for comment.

John was born in 1930 in Oyster Bay on New York’s Long Island. His parents were Henry Sturgis Morgan — the the co-founder of Morgan Stanley — and Catherine Frances Lovering Adams, a descendant of U.S. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams whose father served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy. Morgan attended the Groton School before graduating from Yale in 1953.

Morgan competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki in the 6 Metre yacht race. He won a gold medal as a member of the boat’s six-member team.

John Adams Morgan in 2004.Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Morgan began his banking career at Dominick & Dominick before moving to Smith Barney, now part of Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management. In 1982, he established his own firm, Morgan Lewis Githens & Ahn, Inc.

He spoke toThe New York Timesin 1986 about the decision to start a small firm, noting, “The physical and mental pressures of investment banking are tremendous. Here the atmosphere is more pleasant and the pace is survivable.''

The outlet noted that in banking “pedigree opens doors,” so his background helped “build the network of relationships, alliances and directorships that has made his small house among the most profitable of the new investment boutiques.” The firm was eventually sold, and Morgan co-founded Morgan Joseph in 2002.

John Adams Morgan and wife Connie Morgan in 2017.Gonzalo Marroquin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Gonzalo Marroquin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Morgan also served on the board of trustees of the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan, which began as J.P. Morgan’s private library in 1906 and became a public institution in 1924. It is a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Landmark.

Morgan rarely gave interviews, though in 2000 he commented toThe Wall Street Journalon the merger of Chase and J.P. Morgan Bank. “I don’t think that anybody in the family can have any emotional reaction. Nobody in the family had been really involved in the bank for a number of years,” he told the outlet of the company that bore his family’s name.

He added that the Morgan family — unlike the Rockefellers, whose family was linked to Chase — were not particularly close. “We see each other once in a while,” he said.

Morgan was married five times. In 1953 he married Elizabeth Robbins Choate. They welcomed son John Adams Morgan Jr. in 1957 but divorced that same year.

John Adams Morgan and Connie Morgan in 2019.Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

In 1962, he married Tania Goss. They shared one child, Chauncey Goss Morgan, and the marriage also ended in divorce. He married Anne Chute in 1992.

Morganmarried Sonja, then Sonja Tremont, in 1998. The pair met when Sonja worked as a hostess at a Manhattan restaurant. They welcomed a daughter,Quincy Adams Morganin 2000. They divorced in 2006.

“My breakup is pretty boring,” she toldThe Daily Beastin 2019, telling the outlet that they got engaged on the first date. “We were in love, and then we broke up. There was no drama. We still love each other, and it was painful for both of us.”

Sonja also addressed their divorceduring a 2021 episode ofRHONY. “I lost my best friend and a wonderful marriage,” Sonja said. “Is he dead? No. But for all intents and purposes, for me, he’s gone. I had to make a choice for my daughter, and I feel so bad. Maybe I should have stayed with him and made sure she had everything she needed and got more time with me. Did I make the right decision?”

Morgan married his fifth wife, Connie, in 2010.

source: people.com