Thomas H. Lee Biography
Thomas H. Lee (March 27, 1944 – February 23, 2023) was a businessman, banker, and investor from the United States who is credited as being one of the early pioneers in the field of private equity, particularly leveraged buyouts. On February 23, 2023, he died. Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL), the business he founded in 1974, is now among the oldest and most renowned private equity firms in the world. He founded the private equity company Lee Equity Partners after leaving Thomas H. Lee Partners in 2006, where he continued to work up until his death. He was this company’s managing partner. According to Forbes, his estimated net worth at the time of his death was $2 billion.
Early career
Lee was the son of Jewish businessmen Herbert C. Lee (formerly Leibowitz) and Mildred “Micki” Schiff Lee. He was born into a Jewish family in 1944. His father-in-law, Robert Schiff, founded the Shoe Company of America, where his grandpa worked. Subsequently, his grandpa held the positions of chairman of the Clark International Corporation and the Shoe Corporation of Canada. His brothers, Richard S. and Jonathan O. Lee, both died before him. Lee started his career as an analyst in the institutional research division of L.F. Rothschild in New York City immediately after receiving his degree from Harvard College in 1965. Lee attended Harvard College and Belmont Hill School for his studies. The following year, Lee got work at the First National Bank of Boston, where he stayed for eight years in total before becoming vice president in 1973.
According to rumors, Lee began his career in investments with a $150,000 inheritance.
Wife
Lee has experienced two unions. He filed for divorce from his first wife, Barbara Fish Lee, in 1995 after revealing that he had an affair with a woman who was later charged with extortion. As a result, they got divorced. Lee’s second spouse, Ann Tenenbaum, is from Savannah, Georgia. Lee is a father of five children. In addition to being an avid art collector, Lee was a friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton. After Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful presidential campaign, it was said that she and her husband Bill Clinton spent a few days at Bill’s seaside home in East Hampton, New York, in June 2008. She was now able to spend time with Bill away from the prying eyes of the public.
How Much Was Thomas H. Lee Worth? His estimated $2 billion net worth at the time of his death was provided by Forbes magazine.
Cause Of Death
On February 23, 2023, 78-year-old Lee was discovered dead in his Manhattan office from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
