Thomas H. Lee, a multibillionaire financier and investor, was discovered dead at his Manhattan office on Thursday morning from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police sources.
Around 11:10 a.m., according to the sources, police responded to a 911 call at 767 Fifth Avenue, where Thomas H. Lee Capital, LLC is situated on the sixth floor.
The 78-year-old businessman was pronounced dead at the scene by EMTs.
The official cause of death will be established by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“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 family friend and spokesperson Michael Sitrick said in a statement.
“Our hearts are broken. We ask that our privacy be respected and that we be allowed to grieve.”
Although Lee’s death was unknown to the front desk staff at his office building, they were informed that there was a “emergency” on the sixth floor.
“They don’t want anyone going to that space right now, not even the building staff,” the man said.
Lee is credited with being among the first financiers to invest in businesses by borrowing funds against the target company, a practise that is now known as a leveraged buyout.
In addition to founding Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., the Harvard grad also served as chairman and CEO of its predecessors.
The founder of private equity acquired Snapple in 1992 and sold it for $1.7 billion two years later, making 32 times his initial investment.
However, not everything always went as expected.
The fifth-largest North American printer, later known as Vertis Communications, was acquired by Lee in 1999. Since it lacked the funds to expand to provide additional services, like marketing, by 2006, when many of its competitors had done so, it fell to ninth place. In 2008, Vertis declared bankruptcy.
Scott Sperling took over Thomas H. Lee Partners after Lee and his longtime partners divorced in 2005. Lee later left to found Lee Equity Partners, where he served as chairman until his passing on Thursday.
Forbes estimated Lee’s net worth to be $2 billion at the time of his passing.
“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 Harvard University, one of the school’s largest gifts ever from a living alumnus.
He was given the Jack Nash Award by the UJA-Federation in 2014 for his lifetime of philanthropy. Jack Nash was a financier who contributed to the development of the modern hedge fund industry.
Lee is survived by Ann Tennenbaum, his wife of 27 years. He leaves behind two grandchildren in addition to his children Jesse, Zach, Nathan, Robbie, and Rosalie.
A Lee Equity Partners employee who answered the phone on Thursday afternoon declined to comment.
