French financier commits suicide while touring $2.3m New York apartment

A French financier reportedly asked a real estate agent if he could view the balcony of a luxury New York apartment he was viewing before he died by apparent suicide.

A police spokesperson confirmed to the New York Post that Charles-Henry Kurzen, 43, was viewing a unit at 100 United Nations Plaza on the 32nd floor in Midtown at around 1:15pm on Thursday afternoon and was later found on the third-floor patio below.

The French businessman, who had moved to Brooklyn from Paris over two decades ago, had reportedly asked the real estate agent if he could view the balcony of the $2.9m unit before he reportedly jumped from the balcony and fell to his death, source told the New York Post.

The Independent reached out to the New York Police Department for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The 43-year-old had properties in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn and a separate apartment on the Lower East Side, both valued at around $1m, according to public records.

The 52-floor luxury complex at 100 United Nations Plaza has apartments listed that can fetch for anywhere between $1m to $3.5m.

Mr Kurzen, a graduate of the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP) Business School, was a partner at Saltbox Partners LLC, a New York-based finance firm, and had several years experience working in the banking sector before moving to the US, according to the company website.

A New Yorker article from 2004 about French businessmen, who created a bi-weekly gathering in an effort to maintain good relations with their American counterparts following the US invasion of Iraq (France vetoed a United Nations resolution in favour of war against Iraq, a move that splintered relations between the two nations in the years following), quoted then-25-year-old Mr Kurzen, who attended these “French Tuesdays”.

The French financier was apparently attempting to garner the attention of New Zealand supermodel Rachel Hunter, who rebuffed his attempts, according to the article.

When asked by the magazine why he was so determined to meet the supermodel, who at the time was still married to Rod Stewart, now her ex-husband, the young Frenchman said the then-34-year-old Hunter was a “beautiful, mature woman; a woman of character, a woman of history, a woman who has lived!”

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.