Billionaire financier Thomas H. Lee's family are 'suffering' after his shock gunshot suicide

The family of billionaire Thomas H. Lee are said to be 'suffering' after the 'envy of Wall Street' fatally shot himself earlier this week.  

Lee, 78, died of an apparent suicide in his office at his Fifth Avenue headquarters in New York shortly after 11am Thursday. 

The Harvard graduate had a net worth of roughly $2 billion at the time of his death, according to Forbes. 

A source close to the family told the New York Post that they are, naturally, in a 'somber state,' with another saying they were 'suffering.' 

The family, led by Lee's wife Ann Tennenbaum, has been receiving condolences at their East 57th Street apartment in Manhattan.

The family of billionaire Thomas H. Lee (pictured left) - including wife Ann Tennenbaum (pictured right) are said to be 'suffering' after the 'envy of Wall Street' fatally shot himself earlier this week

'I don't think it's a good time because they're in a somber state,' said the anonymous friend of the family. 

Another neighbor said that they'd just spoke to Lee two days before and that 'nobody seems to know' why the billionaire took his life. 

First responders found Lee lying on his side with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and he was pronounced dead at 11:26am when paramedics' lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful. It is currently unclear why Lee took his own life.

The financier rose to prominence by acquiring midsized companies, restoring their worth, and then selling them for massive profits - and his success led him to be dubbed the 'envy of Wall Street.'

After graduating from Harvard in 1965, he first worked as a securities analyst for the research department of L.F Rothschild & Company. 

He later transitioned into banking, working for First National Bank of Boston, where he rose to the position of vice president and led the high-tech lending group at the bank.

Almost a decade into his financial career, he started his company Lee Equity in 1974. During this time became credited as one of the early pioneers in private equity and specifically leveraged buyouts.

Billionaire financier and investor Thomas H. Lee, 78, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday. He is pictured in his Manhattan offices with what is believed to be famed Jeff Koons artwork Gazing Ball, which has an estimated value of up to $60,000

The NYPD responded to 767 Fifth Avenue — where Thomas H. Lee Capital, LLC is located on the sixth floor — around 11:10 a.m. and found Lee's body, it was reported

Thomas H. Lee, 78, pictured here with his wife Ann Tenenbaum in 2019, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday

He was best known for the sale Snapple for $1.7 billion in 1992, which he initially acquired for $135 million. After investing $28 million into the business, he boosted the company's revenue from $95 million to $750 million a year, before later selling.

His leveraged-buyout deals were legendary in the 1990s - pioneering financial transactions which allowed his company, in some instances, to produce more than 30-fold gains in a matter of years.

He reportedly went by the self-assigned nickname 'Tomcat', which he revealed at a 2014 event was because he had 'nine different lives'. 

Speaking to the DailyMail.com, a resident on the board of directors of Lee's building, who knew the financier for 23 years, said Lee was known among those he met for having a 'great sense of humor'. 

'He was a terrific guy,' he said. 'I'm as shocked as anybody. He was an extraordinary person, very successful and with a lovely family. 

Lee, 78, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound yesterday at his Fifth Avenue office

A fixture on the New York City social scene, Lee is shown with Bob Kraft and Glenn and Eva Dubin (far right), both of whom were friends with Jeffrey Epstein 

'He was very positive, very friendly, just a very nice guy... He always laughed, always saw the humor in everything, a great entertainer.' 

Following news of Lee's suicide, the family's spokesperson Michael Sitrick released a statement: '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.'

A 1997 Forbes profile described him as 'that rare thing on Wall Street - a genuinely nice guy.'

Lee is pictured golfing with then President Bill Clinton on Martha's Vineyard in 1999 

Lee with former NBC host Matt Lauer and socialite Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo in 2005

Lee was known for owning one of the most prominent homes in East Hampton, New York

An insider who knew Lee told The Post that he was renowned for his business savvy and claimed that he was the inspiration for Oliver Stone's 'Blue Horseshoe Loves Anacott Steel' from the hit film 'Wall Street'. 

The claim references the secret body language code used by character Gordon Gekko throughout the blockbuster hit. 

Despite his ruthless reputation, the billionaire was also described by the source as 'one of the most generous, and kindest people I ever met.' 

Throughout his career, he invested more than $15 billion in hundreds of transactions. 

In 2010, a fund controlled by Lee was sued by a trustee seeking to recoup money defrauded by notorious Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff. 

He was also known as a respected art collector and was connected with New York's elite powerbrokers, including Bill and Hillary Clinton. 

Lee reportedly let the couple stay in his mansion in East Hampton, New York following Hillary's unsuccessful 2008 presidential run. His Hamptons home was known as one of the most prominent in the area. 

As a philanthropist and trustee, the billionaire served on the boards of many organizations, including the Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art, Brandeis University, Harvard University and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. 

Lee was married twice - first to Barbara Fish Lee, in 1968. They had two children, Zach and Robbie, before divorcing in 1995.

He married his second wife Ann Tenenbaum of Savannah, Georgia in 1997 and they had three children: Jesse, Nathan, and Rosalie. He was also survived by two grandchildren.

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