Billionaire financier and investor Thomas H Lee died by suicide at his Manhattan office on Thursday morning, according to reports. He was 78.
The businessman was declared dead at his Fifth Avenue office, the headquarters of his investment firm, on Thursday morning around 11am (local time) after police responded to an emergency 911 call, the New York Post said. It added that Lee died by “a self-inflicted gunshot wound”.
“The family is extremely saddened by Tom’s death. While the world knew him as one of the pioneers in the private equity business and a successful businessman, we knew him as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, sibling, friend and philanthropist who always put others’ needs before his own,” Lee’s family friend and spokesperson Michael Sitrick said in a statement, according to Fox News.
“Our hearts are broken. We ask that our privacy be respected and that we be allowed to grieve.” A front desk worker at Lee’s office building was told there was an “emergency” on the sixth floor, but was unaware of Lee’s death. “They don’t want anyone going to that space right now, not even the building staff,” he said.
Lee is credited with being one of the first financiers to purchase companies with money borrowed against the business being bought, or leveraged buyout.
A Harvard graduate
The Harvard graduate founded Thomas H Lee Partners LP in 1974, serving as the chairman and CEO of the company. In 2006 he founded Lee Equity. Over the past 46 years, he was responsible for investing more than $15 billion in hundreds of deals, including the purchase and later sales of well-known brands such as Warner Music and Snapple Beverages.
At the time of his death, Lee’s net worth was estimated at $2 billion, according to Forbes.
Known philanthropist
Lee was a known philanthropist, particularly for the arts and education. He sat as a trustee for several Big Apple art organisations, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
“I’ve been lucky to make some money. I’m more than happy to give some of it back,” Lee said in 1996 after donating $22 million to his alma mater, one of the school’s largest gifts ever from a living alumnus.
Lee leaves behind his wife of 27 years, Ann Tennenbaum. He is survived by his children Jesse, Zach, Nathan, Robbie and Rosalie, as well as two grandchildren.