14 DAY TRIAL // Robert McKeon's death was ruled as a suicide by the coroner on the case, noting “asphyxia due to neck compression” as the official cause of death, the Daily Mail reports.
The reasons for which one of America's most respected private equity executives has decided to terminate his life are not known at this time.
Robert McKeon was only 58, and one could say he had everything regular folks dream about. This well-known Wall Street figure managed the $2billion (€1.5 billion) Veritas Capital fund. He lived in Darien, Connecticut, in a $5 million (€3,8 million) mansion built in 1929, with his wife and children. His home was set on three acres and had five bedrooms and six bathrooms.
He came from a humble beginning, having lived in the Bronx, where his father delivered cakes for a living. Studying hard brought him a scholarship at Fordham University and from there he went on to attend Harvard Business School.
After college, he took a job at the First Boston investment bank and, by 1988, he was already head of private equity at Wasserstein Perella & Co. Later on, he was named chairman at the company famous for turning around cosmetics brand Maybelline.
In 1992, when McKeon was still in his 30s, he co-founded the Veritas fund. He was known for taking over companies there were at the point of going under and turning them around.
Veritas has been linked with some pretty controversial deals, acquiring stakes in companies like Lockheed Martin, DynCorp and Raytheon, all private military and defense contractors. DynCorp was even linked to a sex trafficking scandal in the ‘90s.
Executives at Veritas were not keen to release any information about the death of their colleague. They recently released a statement in which they present their condolences to the grieving family.
“Bob was an extraordinary person, a consummate professional, and a cherished friend and colleague. […] We are all deeply saddened by this tragic loss and have his family in our thoughts,” they stated.