Thomas Lee

A US billionaire financier who helped pioneer the debt-fuelled corporate acquisition known as a leveraged buyout has been found dead, his family says. In a statement, Thomas H Lee’s family said they were “extremely saddened” by the 78-year-old’s death. The New York Post reports that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Manhattan office. The NYPD told the BBC an unnamed 78-year-old man had been found dead on Thursday morning at 767 Fifth Avenue. The address is where the offices of Thomas H Lee Capital LLC are listed. According to Forbes, Mr Lee was worth $2bn (£1.6bn) at…