Grieving pals of Bed Bath & Beyond exec Gustavo Arnal are flooding social media with posts of condolences — and disbelief, calling his suicide at Manhattan’s “Jenga building” “inexplicable.”
“I’m still in shock,” friend Yelitza Salazar wrote in Spanish on Facebook, describing Arnal as “one of those people you follow as an example to follow — successful, intelligent.
“Definitely, no one knows what we carry inside,” Salazar wrote. “God give his family much strength and resignation. … Inexplicable.”
Another friend, Rocke Aguilera, called Arnal a “friend of my whole life.
“You don’t know with how much pain I receive this news,” Aguilera wrote in Spanish. “I love you very much my friend. Your journey through this world enriched many lives, and here we are celebrating you. Rest in peace.”
Arnal, 52, the chief financial officer of BB&B and a native of Venezuela, jumped to his death in the wee hours Friday from his posh 18th-floor apartment in the ritzy, architecturally famous building in Tribeca, while his wife also was home, according to police.
HIs suicide came amid heavy financial troubles for BB&B — and two weeks after he was targeted along with several others in a class-action, $1.2 billion stock-fraud lawsuit.
Aguilar, responding to a mutual friend on Facebook after their pal’s death, wrote, “Do you remember this: All the ‘rolls’ we got into when we were trying to get rich in the stock exchange in Venezuela? The three of us dreaming and fighting to make those dreams come true.”
Another mourner, Catherine Jones, recalled Arnal as her math teacher in middle school in Venezuela.
“I remember a young man with a beautiful smile” and “gigantic intellectual capacity, with a knowledge of mathematics that came through his pores,” Jones wrote.
Police said Arnal did not leave a suicide note.
The city medical examiner ruled his death a suicide this week.
Arnal’s widow and two grown daughters have declined to comment.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
