Wall Street paid tribute to one of its most respected and admired titans after the news that James B. “Jimmy” Lee had died suddenly yesterday at the age of 62.
Jason Kelly of Bloomberg Business gathered remembrances from Wall Street heavy hitters, such as Carlyle Group co-founder and co-CEO David Rubenstein, whe recalled that Lee was, at the top of his profession… He didnt have to fly around the world to get the IPO, but he did. He was always trying.
Kelly also interviewed John Coyle, the North American manager of private equity firm Permira and who worked with Lee at JPMorgan for 13 years. Coyle said that Lee would call you up and congratulate you on a big win, or pat you on the back for a big loss.
Coyle added, He wanted everyone to be as excited as he was, about everything.
Business Insider also collected a number of remembrances, including this from Daniel Loeb, the founder of Third Point LLC: “Jimmy loved Wall Street more than anyone Ive ever known. He wasnt driven by money or deals but by his passion for people.There was no more loyal friend to be had on Wall Street, nor anyone whose wise counsel I valued more.”
“Jimmy was a terrific friend, a fierce competitor, and a very proud father,” said Goldman Sachs President/COO Gary Cohn. “He will be deeply missed.”
Andrew Ross Sorkin, editor of The New York Time DealBook and a CNBC host, remembered kind words from Lee’s boss. “In 2005, at a party honoring Mr. Lee, [Jamie] Dimon told a roomful of chief executives and buyout clients that Jimmy Lee has probably lent a trillion dollars to the people in this room. After pausing for effect, he added, and almost all of it has been paid back.
Tributes also poured in from outside of Wall Street. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and co-author of Lean In remembered Lee’s early enthusiasm for a future social media giant.
Jimmy played a critical role in Facebooks history. He believed in us long before many others did-when we were a small company with little revenue he told us and anyone else who would listen how much potential he thought Facebook had. He was a trusted counselor to me,David Ebersman, andDave Wehner. He stood by us in good times and bad, and all of Facebook joins us in mourning his loss.
