Dave Goldberg Cause Of Death Sparks Speculation And Rumors
The Dave Goldberg cause of death question has been circulating the Internet in the few days since SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg suddenly and mysteriously passed away while on a family vacation on May 1, 2015.
The 47-year-old executive’s death appears to have come as a great shock to his family, who have been understandably tight-lipped about the circumstances in the days following his death. And while Dave Goldberg’s brother, Robert Goldberg, personally confirmed the death of Dave Goldberg, cause of death remains a mystery.
Both Robert Goldberg and SurveyMonkey answered the Dave Goldberg cause of death question in very simple, non-specific terms. Robert Goldberg was the first to announce the news in a Facebook post on Sunday, May 3.
“It’s with incredible shock and sadness that I’m letting our friends and family know that my amazing brother, Dave Goldberg, beloved husband of Sheryl Sandberg, father of two wonderful children, and son of Paula Goldberg, passed away suddenly last night.”
Unfortunately, lack of information often leads to speculation, and theories and rumors are in full force. Penelope Trunk, entrepreneur, columnist, and blogger put force to the Dave Goldberg cause of death rumor mill in her blog post on May 3, 2015.
Trunk gets formalities out of the way by stating that she feels “really bad” that Dave Goldberg died. She then goes on to say that the real question is the Dave Goldberg cause of death question, citing a journalistic standard that the cause of death is disclosed when the death announcement of a famous person is made. She refers to the Wall Street Journal‘s and the New York Times‘ formal obituaries, neither of which disclosed Dave Goldberg’s cause of death.
Trunk goes on to rule out any possibility of murder, as there appears to be no police report. She also dismisses the possibility of a complicated condition such as degenerative disease, muscular complication or heart condition as no “vague, boring cause of death” was cited.
This leads Trunk to the conclusion that Dave Goldberg committed suicide, and she speculates that this is being kept a secret due to the fact that Dave Sandberg’s wife, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandburg, is the author of the book Lean In, which coaches couples on how to have it all – a successful marriage, happy family, as well as both partners working long hours in successful careers. Trunk draws the conclusion that Sheryl Sandburg will continue to keep the real answer to their Dave Goldberg cause of death question a secret, for fear that it may somehow undermine the message that she is delivering in her book.
Melayna Lokosky at Killing My Career even claimed that, due to the public position that Dave Goldberg held at SurveyMonkey, it is unethical to not disclose his cause of death, claiming that Dave Goldberg may have committed suicide due to SurveyMonkey potentially being in financial trouble or being investigated.
“This may not be popular but not disclosing a CEO’s cause of death is unethical. Mr. Goldberg is not your next door neighbor who died quietly in his sleep.”
Others, however, are allowing Dave Goldberg’s family to have the privacy that they have requested, and do not feel the need to pry into the Dave Goldberg cause of death issue.
More moving and poignant than ever, @sherylsandberg‘s acknowledgment in #LeanIn of her husband @davegoldberg: pic.twitter.com/p2rgXBddtt
— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) May 2, 2015
