Irwin Jacobs and his wife Alexandra were found dead in their Orono home, an incident the police said was a contained case and had no suspect.
  
Irwin Jacobs, a businessman who was known for buying failing companies and turning them around for a profit was found dead with his wife Alexandra Jacobs and a friend and business associate who spoke to newsmen said they died in an apparent murder-suicide. A talented painter and sculptor, Alexandra Jacobs was not only a generous donor to the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, but a familiar face. A work space in the Center’s stone carving area is still marked with her name.
“It’s a tragedy when its someone that you don’t know but when it hits this close to home … I think we are all having a really difficult time just processing,” said Executive Director Roxanne Heaton. “I think it was extremely important for both of them to give back and, obviously, they had the ability to do that” he added.
  

Irwin Jacobs, 77, had a stake in the Vikings in the 1980s before selling his share. His business interests ranged from beer brewing to sandbags. One of his most notable local transactions was his purchase of the Grain Belt beer company and brewery in the mid-1970s. He later sold the beer brand to G. Heileman Brewing Company and the brewery and real estate assets to the city of Minneapolis.
  

Jacobs became rich during the 1980s, buying big stakes in companies like Kaiser Steel, Disney and the parent of Dole Foods, threatening them with takeovers or management changes, and then making a profit by selling his shares to higher bidders. In 1987, Fortune ranked him as one of the 12 biggest corporate raiders, saying he had a $750 million war chest and $200 million in personal net worth.

Irwin Jacobs and wife dead, Irwin Jacobs and


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