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The tech tycoon killed in a plane crash alongside his wife and two young children had been flying them to the Bahamas to celebrate his birthday — just weeks after gushing to friends that life was “going too well.”
Texas-native Adam Robinson, 45, had chartered the $2 million Learjet from Austin to take his family, their nanny and two friends for a week-long birthday celebration when it nose-dived and crashed in a fireball in Florida on Sunday, killing all nine on board, TMZ reported.
Before the tragedy, the startup founder had been telling friends that his life was “going too well,” one pal, Jesse Ouellette, told the outlet.
Robinson and his wife, Helen Sharp, 40, had a “love affair that will last forever,” their grieving relatives said in an online tribute.
They were also “devoted parents” to their two young children — Emma, 4, and Charlie, 2 — who “were the light of their lives,” the tribute said.
All four were with their kids’ nanny, Anita Maria Cetina, and two close friends, Rachael Reed and luxury boutique property owner Charmi Fehr, when the jet crashed, killing them along with the two pilots, Jeffrey Gregory, 55, and 20-year-old Nathalia Gadelha Filgueiras.
Robinson had made millions on Wall Street, which he then used to become an “amazing conscious capitalist” based in Aspen, Colo., close friend and mentor Brett Hurt told Business Insider.
“It’s an unspeakable tragedy,” Hunt said. “He was a genuinely good, loving guy that just loved his family and loved the community so much, and did so much for everyone around him.”
Robinson’s companies — Retention.com, RB2B and MoltSets — called him “a friend, a mentor and a bold, outspoken leader who lived life to the fullest.”
“His loss is deeply felt across our team and the tech community, as we collectively mourn,” the comapnies said in a joint statement to Business Insider.
Robinson met Sharp while she was living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before she launched the Austin-based PR company Influential PR in 2019. She launched a ceramics business this January.
“Together, they built a life rooted in family, adventure and love,” a statement shared on her ceramics business page said.
“Helen adored her family. Her happiest place was next to Adam and their two beautiful children, along with their dog Bonnie, who was always by her side (and usually in her lap).”
“To know Helen was to love her. The number of people grieving Helen and Adam is a testament to how many people were lucky enough to have them in their lives.
“Helen embodied a life well lived. She embraced the world, made beautiful things, built lasting relationships, and loved her people fiercely.”
Months before the crash, Robinson candidly spoke about how he didn’t want to miss out on spending time with his young children.
“People my age now (45) said they were working 70, 80, 90 hours a week for their families…but all their families actually wanted was their presence,” he wrote on X in April.
“My family life gives me energy for my work. My work gives me energy for my family life.”
The cause of Sunday’s plane crash is still being investigated. But the plane encountered turbulence and ice before disaster struck.
