Thomas Haskell Lee was one of the pioneers of private equity investment and leveraged buyouts. He was found dead on Thursday morning in the HQ of his investment firm in New York, US. Thomas Lee’s net worth was around $2 billion (over Rs 16,500 crore).
The cause of the 78-year-old billionaire’s death is not confirmed. It was not mentioned by the family of Lee in their official statement, US media reported that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound citing police sources.
Who was Thomas Lee?
Lee was a veteran investor and financier who had invested over $15 billion in hundreds of deals over nearly 5 decades. He was chairman and CEO of Thomas H Lee Partners which he had founded back in 1974. In 2006, he founded Lee Equity.
Lee was part of acquisition and subsequent sales of globally renowned brands like Warner Music and Snapple Beverages. He was also a prominent philanthropist and arts and culture patron. Apart from being a businessman, he was on the board of organisations like Harvard University, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Museum of Modern Art, Lincoln Center and Brandeis University.
He married twice, first to noted philanthropist Barbara Fish and then his longtime second wife Ann Tenenbaum. Lee was a friend of former US President Bill Clinton, and his wife and former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
READ | Delhi: 11-yr-old girl's murder mystery solved by missed call, accused held
(Inputs from Reuters)
