Stanton Dowd

"Stanton Dowd comes from old, old money. These days, unfortunately, he doesn't actually have much of that old, old money... he just comes from it. Of course, for a family like Dowd's, "poor" is a relative term. It means they had to sell the yacht and one of the smaller castles, and they're down to their last railroad. Stanton Dowd isn't going to be boiling his Gucci loafers any time soon. Still, it's been a long and rather sudden fall.

The Dowds are also big noises in the secret ranks of the Illuminati... have been for generations. Stanton is no exception, having made it all the way to that organization's mysterious ruling council of five. Of course, these days even being a Prima Illuminatus doesn't mean as much as it used to.

Despite being poor, cut off from the seats of power, and just rejectly taken sick with the fatal gray death, Stanton Dowd always retains the unflappable charm and elan of the born aristocrat."

- description of Stanton Dowd

Stanton Dowd was amongst the Council of Five who led the Illuminati prior to 2052.

Background
Stanton Dowd was the previous owner of the PRCS Wall Cloud, a superfreighter that is owned by Majestic 12 in Deus Ex. MJ12 use it to transport the Gray Death virus from Hong Kong to the United States.

After Tracer Tong finds Illuminati "footprints" in the genetic information of the Gray Death virus, JC Denton meets Dowd in the ruins of a destroyed warehouse in Hell's Kitchen. Dowd, coughing constantly, reveals that he has been infected with the Gray Death. He asks JC to acquire a vial of Ambrosia for him to treat the disease. However, even if he doesn't, Dowd still lives and contacts him later in the game.

Stanton Dowd may have died during the Collapse, as hinted by Chad Dumier and Nicolette DuClare.

Trivia

 * Stanton Dowd is not his real name -- no one knows what that is.
 * Morgan Everett stated in Deus Ex: Icarus Effect﻿ that Dowd never leaves New York City.
 * Dowd's family has a crypt in the Lower East Side Cemetery of New York City. He can be found in the crypt after JC returns from the PRCS Wall Cloud.
 * During Illuminati conferences in Deus Ex: Icarus Effect and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, one member of the meetings is located in New York. As most other Council of Five members are present, it is likely that this person is Stanton Dowd.