Wendy Rush, wife of Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, the company behind the submarine that disappeared Sunday while traveling to the wreckage of the Titanic, is the descendant of two first-class passengers who died when the transatlantic liner sank in 1912. the The New York Timesciting archival records.
Wendy Rush is Isidor and Ida Straus, two of the wealthiest people aboard the Titanic who both owned retail stores. Born in 1845, Isidor was part owner of Macy’s malls.
The wife of OceanGate’s CEO, whom she married in 1986, has participated in three expeditions to the Titanic wreck in the past two years and is the company’s communications director, according to her LinkedIn page.
In addition to the deaths of Rush’s great-great-grandparents, they were portrayed in the movie Titanic. Isidor Straus refused to be rescued in a lifeboat when women and children were still waiting to escape from the sinking ship. Ida, his wife of four decades, said she would not leave her husband. Both were seen arm in arm on the deck of the Titanic as it sank. The scene was immortalized in the 1997 movie about the disaster.
Isidor Straus’s body was found at sea about two weeks after the sinking of the Titanic, but Ida’s remains were never recovered.
It should be noted that it was Stockton Rush who was piloting the “Titan” when the submarine disappeared.
In addition to Rush, the British magnate, Hamish Harding (58 years old), the French specialist specialized in the tragedy of the “Titanic”, Paul-Henri Nargeolet (77 years old) – nicknamed “Mister Titanic” – and the Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood (48 years) and his son Suleman (19 years), both of British nationality.
For $250,000, they offered to explore the remains of one of the greatest maritime disasters of the 20th century.
The “Titanic” sank on its maiden voyage in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, killing 1,500 passengers and crew.
Since the discovery of the “Titanic” wreck in 1985, scientists, treasure hunters and tourists have visited the site.
Source: DN
