US billionaire financier Thomas Lee dies at 78, family says

Thomas Lee, co-founder and chairman of Lee Equity Partners LLC, stands for a photograph at his office in New York, U.S., on Friday, March 8, 2019. Lee and Peter Gleysteen, founder of CIFC, have started a venture to issue collateralized loan obligations, which bundle corporate loans into bonds for sale to investors. Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg

American billionaire financier and investor Thomas Lee has died at the age of 78, his family said in a statement on Thursday, without detailing the cause of his death.

According to a New York Post report, the billionaire was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Manhattan office on Thursday morning. The report cited police sources.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the cause of death. The New York Police Department did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

"The family is extremely saddened by Tom's death," Lee's family said in a statement "Our hearts are broken. We ask that our privacy be respected and that we be allowed to grieve."

Lee was the founder and chairman of Lee Equity and had served as chairman and CEO of Thomas H. Lee Partners, according to the Lee Equity website.