Jimmy Lee, Kirk Kerkorian, Ralph Roberts: Obituaries This Week

This week’s notable deaths included the vice chairman and master dealmaker at JPMorgan Chase & Co., the billionaire investor who helped shape Las Vegas, and the founder of the largest U.S. cable-TV operator. Below are summaries of these and other obituaries.

James “Jimmy” Lee, 62. Helped create the modern private-equity industry by pioneering the use of leveraged loans to fund takeovers. He worked at JPMorgan and its predecessors since the mid-1970s, eventually running its investment bank. Died June 17 after experiencing shortness of breath while on a treadmill at his home in Darien, Connecticut. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.