Thomas Lee

Thomas H. Lee is an American businessperson, financier and investor and is credited with being one of the early pioneers in private equity and specifically leveraged buyouts. Thomas H. Lee Partners, the firm he founded in 1974, is among the oldest and largest private equity firms globally.

Thomas Lee is best known for orchestrating the sale of Snapple for $1.7 billion in 1994, two years after he bought it, at a return of 32 times equity.

Today Lee is president of private equity firm Lee Equity Partners, which typically invests $50 million to $150 million.

Among his current investments are Summit Behavioral Healthcare, fertility-care provider Prelude Fertility and Taco Bell operator K-Mac Holdings.

The art dealer’s son owns works by artists like Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock and is a trustee of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art.