US Billionaire Thomas Lee Dies By Suicide In Office

American billionaire Thomas Lee, considered a pioneer of private equity investing and foreign investment, killed himself in his Manhattan office on Thursday at the age of 78, according to a report in the New York Post.
The businessman was pronounced dead at his Fifth Avenue Manhattan office, the headquarters of his investment firm, when police responded to an emergency 911 call around 11:10 a.m. local time Thursday morning. The outlet added that Mr Lee died of a “self-inflicted gunshot wound” and that life-saving efforts were unsuccessful. A female assistant found him on the bathroom floor in his office. Since there was no news since morning, she went looking for him.

Also, first-responders found Mr Lee “lying on his side with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head”.

According to a report by Fox News, Thomas Lee’s family friend and spokesman, Michael Sitrick, said in a statement: “The family is deeply saddened by Tom’s death. The world knew him as one of the pioneers of the private equity business and as a successful businessman, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, who always put the needs of others above his own. We know each other as friends and philanthropists.”

Thomas Lee is the founder and president of Lee Equity, which he founded in 2006 and formerly Thomas H. He served as chairman and CEO of Lee Partners, which he founded in 1974. Among the institutions he served as a trustee and philanthropist were Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art, Brandeis University, Harvard University, and the Jewish Heritage Museum.

Over the past 46 years, the billionaire has invested more than $15 billion in hundreds of deals, including the purchase and sale of well-known brands such as Warner Music and Snapple beverages. He is said to have been one of the first financiers to buy businesses using money borrowed against the company. This is now referred to as “over-purchasing”.