Charles W Murphy

Charles Murphy, who helped pick insurance investments for U.S. hedge-fund manager Paulson & Co. and was an architect of the firm’s activist push at American International Group Inc., has died. He was 56. Murphy plunged to his death from a room in the luxury Sofitel New York Hotel on Monday afternoon, said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified. Murphy, who joined Paulson’s firm in 2009, played a key role in developing a stance to break up AIG. The investors pushed Chief Executive Officer Peter Hancock to shrink the company and boost returns. Murphy graduated with a B.A. from Columbia University, a law degree from Harvard University and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He’s survived by his wife, Annabella. Murphy previously worked at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York and then for Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG in London.