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US Billionaire Thomas Lee Dies By Suicide In Office

US Billionaire Thomas Lee Dies By Suicide In Office

According to a report in the New York Post, American billionaire Thomas Lee, who was known as a pioneer of private equity investment and leveraged buyouts, died by suicide at the age of 78 in his Manhattan office on Thursday.

Police responded to an emergency 911 call from Lee's Fifth Avenue Manhattan office, the headquarters of his investment firm, on Thursday morning around 11:10 am local time. Lee was declared dead at the scene, having suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Life-saving efforts were unsuccessful, and he was found on the bathroom floor by a female assistant who had gone to look for him after not hearing from him all morning.

According to a statement from his family friend and spokesperson Michael Sitrick, "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 was the Founder and Chairman of Lee Equity, which he established in 2006, and previously served as Chairman and CEO of Thomas H. Lee Partners, which he founded in 1974. He served as a trustee and philanthropist on the boards of several institutions, including the Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art, Brandeis University, Harvard University, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

Lee invested more than $15 billion in hundreds of deals over the past 46 years, including the purchase and later sales of well-known brands like Warner Music and Snapple Beverages. He was reportedly one of the first financiers to use borrowed money to buy businesses, now referred to as a "leveraged buyout."

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