Thomas H. Lee, a US billionaire financier who helped pioneer the debt-fuelled corporate acquisition known as a leveraged buyout, has been found dead, local media reported Friday.

The development was also confirmed by the family spokesperson. He was 78.

“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,” a statement read. “Our hearts are broken.”

The statement from the family did not elaborate on a cause of death or place, but New York Post reported that he died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Manhattan office.

Moreover, The Daily Beast citing its sources reported that the police have found a handgun at the scene and a man with a gunshot to the head.

He is survived by his wife, Ann Tenenbaum, and his five children.

Who was Thomas H. Lee?

Lee was the founder and chairman of Lee Equity, which he formed in 2006, and previously served as chairman and CEO of Thomas H. Lee Partners, which he founded in 1974.

Apart from that he was also known for acquiring beverage company Snapple in 1992 and selling it two years later to Quaker Oats for $1.7bn.

His net worth at the time of his death was estimated to be around $2 billion, according to Forbes’ billionaires’ index.

Moreover, Lee was also known as a prominent philanthropist, having donated $22 million to his alma mater in 1996, and served as a trustee of roughly a dozen universities and arts organizations, including New York City’s Lincoln Center and Museum of Modern Art.