NYC billionaire financier Thomas H. Lee is found dead inside his Fifth Avenue office: Cops discover investor, 78, with self-inflicted gunshot wound
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Billionaire financier and investor Thomas H. Lee was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his office in New York City.
The 78-year-old’s death was confirmed by his family in a statement released on Thursday.
Police discovered Lee’s body around 11:10 a.m. at his office on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan – where his business Thomas H. Lee Capital, LLC is located.
Thomas H. Lee and Anna Nikolayevsky attend Lincoln Center’s 2016 Fall Gala on November 1, 2016 in New York City. Lee was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday
Lee, who was friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton, pictured with the former president years ago
Lee, who founded is firm in 1974, is credited with being one of the early pioneers in private equity and specifically leveraged buyouts.
The businessman’s firm bought Snapple in 1992 and and sold it two years later for $1.7 billion.
He has been married twice – first to Barbara Fish Lee, who he divorced in 1995,. His second wife was Ann Tenenbaum of Savannah, Georgia. Lee has five children.
He was a good friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton. In June 2008, following Hillary’s unsuccessful presidential run, the couple reportedly stayed at Lee’s East Hampton home.
Family friend and spokesperson Michael Sitrick released a statement on behalf of the family:
‘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. Our hearts are broken. We ask that our privacy be respected and that we be allowed to grieve.’
