Dave Goldberg cause of death? I think it’s suicide
First of all, let me say that I feel really bad for everyone who is losing Dave Goldberg in their life. I feel bad that he will not get to see his two kids grow up. His death is very sad. I have not had a spouse die or a parent die and I’m sure the experience is more awful than I could even imagine.
Still. I can’t help but wonder how he died. It is completely standard in journalism to report the cause of death when the announcement is made. After the initial, cursory announcement of death, major publications frequently run an obituary when a famous person dies, yet the Wall St. Journal and the New York Times ran formal obituaries and still mention nothing of the cause of death.
If there were suspicion of murder, there would be a police report.
If there were some sort of complicated condition that Dave kept a secret, the death announcement could follow a time-honored tradition of being vague and uninformative, like saying “heart condition” or “muscular complication” or even “degenerative disease”.
Let’s say he has a terrible disease, like the one in Still Alice, where he will die early and so will his children. And let’s say his children do not know and the family has chosen not to tell them. Fine. The announcement could use that same, vague language.
If the family does not want to talk about the cause of death, it seems that the most logical thing to do would be to announce some sort of vague cause that would stop people from asking questions. But surely the family knows there will be questions if they say nothing. Dave and Sheryl are the most vocal couple on the planet about how to have a dual-career marriage, and one half of that marriage is gone. Of course people will ask questions. The best way to stop the questions is to give a vague, boring cause of death.
So the only explanation I can see for being totally quiet on this topic is that he killed himself.
Why is this important? Why do I get to ask the personally invasive question about his death?
Because Sheryl Sandberg, who was married to him, is not only Facebook’s COO, but she is also the author of the book Lean In. That book tells women that they should have a career like Sheryl’s. And, most significantly for this post, that women should pick a spouse like Dave.
Sheryl has said over and over again that it is because of her spouse that she is able to Lean In (which, loosely translated, means work insanely long hours and have kids and have a great marriage).
I want to know, how can someone Lean In as a single parent? I wonder how someone will Lean In when there is no other parent to comfort a sad child.
If this sounds spiteful and ugly it is. But I think it is also appropriate, and who else would say it besides me?
Most people have something in their life that prevents them from leaning in. I don’t actually even think this is a gender thing. I coach hundreds of men whose earning power plateaus because they won’t relocate or they won’t work weekends, or they want to be home for spring break. It’s not that we are victims of life, it’s that at some point in most of our lives there comes a time when something else is more important than Leaning In.
I don’t have any evidence that it was a suicide. All I have is someone notable died and no one is saying how. And however Sheryl’s husband died is news, since she has been news for three years telling women their husband is instrumental into the process of Leaning In.
But really, I just want to know how Dave died. Because I think he killed himself. And if he did, this might tells us a lot about what happens when both people in marriage Lean In.
Update: A few hours after I published this post news outlets started reporting various other causes of death. Here is my response to those reports: Do we still have to lean in if Dave Goldberg is dead?
” The prosecutor’s office said he was staying at an exclusive villa inside the Four Seasons Punta Mita Resort. But the Four Seasons denied that Goldberg was a registered guest at its resort, villas or residences, and the hotel chain said Goldberg’s injury did not take place on the Punta Mita resort.
“As the tragedy did not take place on our property, nor was Mr. Goldberg a guest, we are not in a position to comment further,” the company said in a statement. ” http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/05/technology/dave-goldberg-barack-obama/
Thank you for telling it like it is as usual. I also wish they would talk about his cause of death, as it is also most likely something people should understand better, like mental illness or drug issues. Unfortunately, people usually want to sweep these types of issues under the rug and not letting people know how common they are and that people are human and not perfect.
There is a strong circumstantial case that Dave Goldberg was murdered. Cause of death is hushed for 2 days and then we hear he died of blunt head trauma while exercising! Does this not deserve a full police investigation? I know I would want one if that were me!
I agree the death should be investigated. The hotel where they say Dave Goldberg had the accident denies he was a guest there!
I haven’t read Lean In but I’m an ex-Silicon Valley exec who has watched men and women rise to power since the early 80’s. What I have observed firsthand is that women who don’t have children – or women who have a stay-at-home husband/partner and kids – fare the best career-wise. High powered, two career-parents don’t really make for a happy family. Someone needs to be there for the kids. The stay-at-home parent can work part-time but the kids need to be the priority for this parent or they aren’t going to turn out so great. So I don’t believe in the Lean In ruse — I was told I could have it all — in the 80’s they told us we could. Have a career, kids, be a great wife, look hot– we found out the hard way that this was not possible– these expectations were wildly unrealistic and unfair– to ourselves and to our families.
That being said, David Goldberg could have died from hitting his head, getting knocked out, and bleeding to death. Being in Mexico, it is conceivable the medical attention he got wasn’t enough to save his life. This might be all there is to the story.
except that the hotel where they say Dave Goldberg had the gym accident, denies Dave G was a guest there. There is more to the story that we are not being told. Something does not add up: first they said he died suddenly, then that he collapsed after exercising, then that he fell off the treadmill at a hotel that denies he was a guest there…. the true story has not been told imo
“…She lives on a farm in Wisconsin and homeschools her sons.”
Is there anything else to say ? Penelope Trunk is garbage
There is nothing wrong with living on a farm, or with homeschooling kids. If I had to do it all over again, I would homeschool mine because they were stressed out with long school hours where they did not learn much. I had to supplement their schooling at home, to make sure they were ready for college and mastered math and English and foreign languages
Hey, I’m from Wisconsin. Despite Penelope, Wisconsin is a pretty cool place.
Hmm, somewhere David Dellifield is laughing his ass off. Karma, gotta love it.
http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/04/13/i-hate-david-dellifield-the-one-from-ada-ohio/
I still think it’s a little odd that the GM of the Four Seasons claims there were no incidents on their properties. It kind of reminds me of Olivia Pope spin for some reason. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/technology/dave-goldberg-cause-of-death.html
The point is, this article was merely representative of what everyone else was thinking or guessing.
Sounds like it actually occurred at a nearby private villa. I think people were curious about the specifics but doubt that many really thought it was suicide.
Very few, if any media, post cause of death because of HIPAA laws. It’s up to the family to decide publication of cause of death. We as audience aren’t entitled to know details of public figures or anyone else unless they choose to share. We also don’t need to be involved in “reality” programming, etc.
If the cause of death was related to, oh say a gun, then wouldn’t there be a police report that stated this, regardless of HIPAA?
Somewhere there is a picture of Penelope Trunk which, like the picture of Dorian Gray, shows exactly how mean-spirited and disgusting she is.
What is your opinion of them saying he had head trauma? How ridiculous. Why can’t they just be honest? Do they really think we are that stupid to believe that.
and also, what do you think about the hotel management (Four Seasons) denying that the Goldbergs were guests there? The media says Dave Goldberg had a gym accident at the Four Seasons in Puerto Vallarta, but the hotel denies he was a guest there
The news reports said he died of head trauma after falling off the treadmill at a resort in Mexico, but that resort denies he was a guest there. Something does not add up: first they said he died suddenly, now that he got to the gym at 4, fell off the treadmill and was found at aroun 7 pm by his brother, but the hotel denies they were guests there, and besides, I have been to that hotel, it is a luxury hotel, and when I was there, there was always an attendant at the gym
If it was indeed blunt force trauma that subdued Mr. Goldberg, but the incident did not happen in the hotel- according to the manager- then where did the incident take place and why would the family not speak more openly about it?
I am waiting to read a retraction and apology for this obscene post. Obviously Penelope and those who added their inane comments haven’t experienced the sudden death of a loved one. By its very nature, it sneaks up on the survivors: no rehearsal–no planning ahead how to respond “correctly.” So they didn’t give details of cause of death immediately. So what?! Have some compassion!
We have not heard the entire truth. The hotel where they say Dave Goldberg had the accident denies he was a guest there. Sounds fishy to me, especially after they took so long to disclose the death was due to a gym accident, they first said he died suddenly
Why are my comments not published? What, you have to censor out more responses that might out you as the disreputable hack writer that you are? Disgrace.
May he rest in peace.
You should delete this post. It makes you look bad.
Oh, no, it makes her look brave and truthful.
Mr. Goldberg suffered a fatal head trauma. Thank you to the poster citing HIPAA; this is commonplace.
I am mental health professional specializing in mood and behavioral disorders, and I am astounded by Penelope and some of her readers’ baseless and inaccurate profiles of those experiencing anxiety, depression, and/or suicidal ideation, as well as the utter lack of compassion displayed by this woman in writing such a petty, bitter blog post. Penelope, I hope the page views you looked forward to are worth the complete loss of your reputation, which you deserve. Writing this baseless, cruel, and slanderous post only showed the world the person you inherently are.
Damn, you are all high-and-mighty! You must have a degree or somethin’!
This is my response to a person’s retort to a previous comment of mine. What I have is some sense of compassion and an established healthcare background relating to the topics in discussion. I also feel it is my responsibility to apprehend mental health misinformation when I come across it; misinformation only hurts those that are truly suffering. In the context here, it is being wielded as a blunt instrument to hurt and provoke. And yeah, I really happen to find Penelope’s blog post generally self-serving, bloodthirsty, annoying, and inhumane. This is not a PSA for the greater good, as she would have everyone believe, know that.
On the comments of disbelief that a man can die from falling off a treadmill, work in a hospital ER for a week and see what kinds of cases ER docs come across EVERY DAY. You will be astounded. A fall off a treadmill resulting in fatal head trauma is by far normal in comparison to the unending number of freak accidents that medical professionals regularly come across.
I wish for some consideration of Ms. Sandberg’s request for privacy, so she and her children can begin their process to heal.
Since that man condescendingly brought it up, yeah, I have a few degrees.
Mexico is a dangerous place for even middle class people (like someone with $2000 cash in their fanny pack). Imagine someone who is obviously extremely wealthy and high profile? I would suspect foul play before leaping to the conclusion that this was a suicide. In either case, Facebook and the country of Mexico and their tourism industry would have plenty of reasons to cover that up. Yes, the story is fishy, and no, we’ll never know the truth. Now, back to our own lives.
Suicide? Definitely a possible cause given the murky storyline of Dave’s death. But then the element that doesn’t fit is “blunt force truama to the head”, because, how can you beat yourself to death (sorry for the visual) unless you are really having some issues that probably you cannot hide? He was then taken to the hospital. I am really pretty sure that most any doctor in Mexico knows what a bullet wound looks like, but also where would he get a gun in a resort area? No gun, no banging your head into a brick wall “The Happening” style. You don’t just fall off of a treadmill and land on your head, as you are paying too much attention to your feet, as opposed to an old lady walking with a bag of groceries and tripping over her cat. An accident it was not. Suidcide even more unlikely. Can anyone think of a third possiblity?
Mystery solved. The NY Times corrected its article:
“Correction: May 5, 2015
An earlier version of this article misstated Mr. Goldberg’s location at the time of his death. He was at a private villa near the Four Seasons Resort, not at the Four Seasons itself.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/technology/dave-goldberg-cause-of-death.html?_r=0
First of all, Penelope has the right to print what she wants- free country.
It is a woman’s choice whether or not to stay at home or work- whatever makes you happy.
I do not believe it was suicide… It was maybe a freak accident or he had a stroke or heart attach- that made him collapse on to the floor in the first place- something triggered the fall….
May he rest in peace and all the best to Sheryl and the kids.
The media hasn’t reported the fact that the family left Mexico immediately after the incident. Put another way, they didn’t seek or oversee immediate medical care in the vicinity. Head trauma requires immediate care.
Another fact the media isn’t reporting is the Jalisco cartel’s terrorist activity in the area that same day.
I’m thinking the ‘fell of a treadmill’ reports we are seeing right now are lightweight on purpose. Fell off a treadmill and died? Even a waif could walk away from a fall like that.
This is my response to a person’s retort to a previous comment of mine. What I have is some sense of compassion and an established healthcare background relating to the topics in discussion. I also feel it is my responsibility to apprehend mental health misinformation when I come across it; misinformation only hurts those that are truly suffering. In the context here, it is being wielded as a blunt instrument to hurt and provoke. And yeah, I really happen to find Penelope’s blog post generally self-serving, bloodthirsty, annoying, and inhumane. This is not a PSA for the greater good, as she would have everyone believe, know that.
On the comments of disbelief that a man can die from falling off a treadmill, work in a hospital ER for a week and see what kinds of cases ER docs come across EVERY DAY. You will be astounded. A fall off a treadmill resulting in fatal head trauma is by far normal in comparison to the unending number of freak accidents that medical professionals regularly come across.
I wish for some consideration of Ms. Sandberg’s request for privacy, so she and her children can begin their process to heal.
Since that man condescendingly brought it up, yeah, I do have a few degrees.
Apparently he was knocked out so couldn’t summon help or his cell phone to call his wife or brother didn’t work.
You took Freedom of Speech to a whole new level. I can’t believe you wrote such an unsympathetic post. You can speculate whatever you want, but perhaps you should do so quietly!!! Who are you to question their privacy and make remarks about her Leaning In? Clearly you have issues!
Yeah, it was suicide by treadmill. Granted, the truth did come out, but if I go from severe wounds caused by treadmill I have asked my wife to tell everyone I died when I slipped in the shower “and fell on a shampoo bottle” that was sent directly up my rectum and out my mouth, and to say that I loved the last second of my life more than any other. It just feels more dignified to me.
“Mr. Goldberg died on Friday from head injuries after collapsing on a treadmill at a luxury resort in Mexico, according to the authorities.” (New York Times)
Aren’t you SO proud you engaged in speculation …..
Jesus Christ, I have tried to unsubscribe from this thread, and block all notifications from this website, yet I’m still getting an email every time there’s a new comment.
What does a person have to do to resign from this club?
You’re an idiot. Your argument is as thin as a worn out cotton nightie. These are real people with real expectations of privacy. For some reason people think they are entitled to all the facts about people they don’t even know (or, in all honesty, care about). They aren’t. Others are entitled to ask you to respect their privacy, however. The correct response to that request is “Of course.”
Thank you very much for this post. I am astounded at the mainstream media pretending – like they pretended with Harry Reid – that you can be exercising with modern equipment and hit your head and die or go blind.
Someone above wanted possible scenarios. Here’s my list.
1. It was a treadmill accident. However, it’s rather odd to think of that happening in a ritzy resort exercise room with nobody noticing for three hours. It’s especially odd when the resort denies that such a thing happened on their property.
2. Suicide. This seems unlikely to me. I don’t blame Ms. Trunk for raising this possibility, but her theory may be another case of “to a person with a hammer, all problems are nails.”
3. Murder. Seems possible. Drug cartels have killed many people in the area very recently. Or perhaps he met up with a prostitute and it turned out badly.
4. Another kind of accident. A stray bullet?
In any case, the three-hour unnoticed demise is odd, and the resort denial that he was there at all is extremely odd.
I agree with you, wholeheartedly… They are covering something up.
Regardless of whether a reporter is or is not a heartless beast, the American people deserve to know if Goldberg’s death was a murder or suicide. A very thorough autopsy should be performed with multiple experts (they can afford it) examining the corpse. If Goldberg’s skull was punctured, the people need to know exactly which object it was that did the puncturing. Questions such as, “How can a man bleed to death on the floor of an expensive resort’s gym?” need to be answered.
If it is a murder, then the murderer needs to be brought to justice. If it is a suicide, that needs to be made known. If it is an accident, the exact cause of the accident needs to be ascertained.
It is not shameful or beastly to work to reveal important facts to the public. Those who want to shut down investigation with shaming should be ignored.
I want to be taken off this thread, this list, and anything that has to do with this creature! I hope she’s getting the career suicide she deserves.
Gee,here’s a surprise. I asked to be taken off your threads via email bc your unsubscribe link didn’t work. Received a lame apology blaming it on your tech people. Link is back up, I unsubscribed myself but still have emails flooding my inbox. At second try to unsubscribe, I get a notice that says I’m not subscribed!!! Get your sh%^ together!
ok everybody. put of fresh undies and send em to the drycleanerd this just in from wdj may 5- page 2 I recall. he was on treadmill, slipped cracked his skull, died in a puddle of blood.
Unlike the public world that thrives on displaying the intimate details of their lives, there are some who value privacy. Your comments are speculation to support your political and personal views that women can’t do it all. Your comments are offensive, insensitive, and certainly lacking good taste.
Penelope, you must feel like a complete idiot now. He died from head trauma after falling off a treadmill. Why is your blog still here?
You are a horrible person. It doesn’t matter how he died.
lol @falling off a treadmill. You are running forward, yes? If you had a miss-step caused by sheer clumsiness or a heart attack, your feet would be swept behind you, and you would fall forward.
The lame cause-of-death statement screams out “foul play”. Reminds me of a flash piece I wrote, “Mexico is a Good Place to Die”.
BTW, I love your blogs, P! Keep it real despite the haters!
Agreed, Christopher!
The hotel where Dave died claims that the “falling off the treadmill” accident never happened. I think he died some other way and they made up a story to protect their family’s reputation. Maybe it was asphyxiation, the way Michael Hutchence died. Maybe it was indeed, a suicide. Think about it – how many people fall off a treadmill and hit their HEAD?! If you fall, you usually break your fall with your arms or legs.
All it takes is a quick search to find that about 450,000 people are admitted to the ER from treadmill accidents every year. they have those emergency stop buttons you can clip to yourself for a reason.
How dare you dis-honor the legacy of Michael Huchence! Have you not seen the video of INXS performing “Don’t Change” on You Tube? Who had ever hear of Dave? I hope you realize all the “D” words that you have caused the great country of Australia…disdain, discontent, debauchery…arrrrrr!
Penelope- I echo other readers who describe this post as “clickbait” of the worst kind.
Women should support each other, especially given that both you and Sheryl Sandberg put emphasis on the power of life partners.
Another reader is done reading your blog.
I guess the family’s privacy didn’t occur to you as a reason why it was not immediately disclosed? While I am no fan of Lean In, this is a pretty needlessly mean post.
I know nothing of this man or his wife, but every fact and circumstance of this case spells out MURDER…this scenario isn’t exactly novel …
How dare you. Some details seem “vague” or “fishy” and so your assumption is suicide? Like that’s responsible journalism, merely speculating based on zero facts or research…because YOU think it’s shady business? How disgusting, insensitive, and irresponsible. Perhaps it was vague because they’re both public people and didn’t want to share more than they had to. Shame on you, and shame on everyone like you.
Reminds one of Nelson Rockefeller’s death in many ways…one might read several accounts of the strange goings-on then to see the parallels……but with this case like with Rockefeller, the media- don’t seem to have much interest in looking into the circumstances surrounding Goldberg’s death . Why ? ….one thing, the ” death by treadmill ” is almost certainly untrue– there are apparently a total of 3 deaths PER YEAR by treadmill…lots of injuries, but no deaths….
Lets see, he died from a huge gash on his head…
AND LOST 40% OF HIS BLOOD FROM A TREMILL FALL?
Are you all idiots?
Treadmills go 10mph max. MAYBE you’d get a concussion, at worst a broken arm. But a punctured skull and massive blood loss?
Yeah, totally the treadmill.
Treadmill*
Agreed. And if you look online at the weight training room, there are no sharp objects to cause such a gash.
Just read this: “CBS News has learned that autopsy results suggest Goldberg had a heart arrhythmia that may have contributed to his death…”
Goldberg didn’t exactly look like he had a workout regimen. I was suspicious from the first minute his death announcement was made, especially due to the prompting the facebook world got (“please post your memories and junk so his wife and kids will know he was loved” — yes, very badly paraphrasing that). Without even knowing the cause of death? Not that it should matter, because a man is dead after all — but before the world should feel obligated to share their fondest memories maybe they’d like to know he didn’t die in bed with a mistress. Or that he didn’t die with his balls tied up in a rope tied to the treadmill in some kind of form of sexual self gratification. It’s only fair to tell the world what he died of, before demanding everyone kneel at his altar and give praise. There is more than a slight air of “set up” and it’s by his wife’s design. Surely he didn’t have a will that stated “Should I die on an exercise machine in a foreign country, please withhold that information from the public until my cremation is complete.” He, his wife and kids were on vacation last week? I don’t have kids myself, but I noticed school was in session last week. But rich kids probably get special vacations and … oh, he was on vacation alone? The best treadmills are in Mexico? I know someone (just an ordinary middle class man without any special “pull”) who died in Puerto Vallarta and it took two weeks to get the government to release the remains to the family. Good to know that being the Facebook COO gets special treatment. The one thing that hasn’t surfaced yet is video of the actual event that killed him. You know it’s out there, if he really died the way it’s said he did. And you know if it existed, his wife would have paid to keep it out of the press. Nouveau riche style. Leaning in. Blah blah blah.
Is it just me or are there others out there that have tried to opt out, but have been completely unsuccessful?
Penelope, thank you for this completely honest post. You have picked up on something strange. I can’t believe the controversy this has caused, it was respectfully written and you were obviously aware that people may feel it was a problem. When you write publicly you have to ask yourself, is this in the public’s interest? And this definitely is. Now there is more information out, there are still questions to be asked. I have talked about ‘leaning out’ with my career choices and I think even if it was a simple accident that led to the poor guy’s death… what were the choices that led here?
Still getting messages on this garbage. Please unsubscribe those of us who have a life.
I had to come read this for myself. I must say that this post was disgraceful.
Maybe the backlash against this unfortunate post will be a breakthrough for you. The moment that you accept that YOU NEED HELP. Your work reads like one very extended manic episode. Find the best psychiatric diagnostician you can find, the most skilled at psychopharmacology. There is excellent treatment available if you look. For the sake of your kids. Until then, best wishes to your family (make no mistake they are suffering right along with you.)