By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW YORK, USA (Worthy News) – The head of America’s biggest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, has been killed in an apparently “targeted attack” following an early morning shooting outside an investor meeting in New York, police say.
UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, 50, was shot outside the Hilton Hotel early Wednesday, where the company’s investor conference was being held. Police said Thompson had been rushed to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The shooting reportedly began during Thompson’a arrival, as the alleged attacker was waiting for him and shot the executive from about 20 feet (7 meters) away before fleeing on foot.
Thompson had a gunshot wound to the chest and was taken to Mount Sinai West in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead, police and other sources said.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said no immediate arrests were made and that the investigation was ongoing.
The NYPD described the suspect as “a White man wearing a cream-colored coat, black and white sneakers, a gray backpack, and a black face mask.”
No possible motives for the apparent assassination were immediately announced.
FINANCIAL WORLD SHOCKED
His murder shocked the financial world as the 20-year veteran of UnitedHealth, Thompson, was one of the company’s most senior executives.
The company’s investor presentations were underway as news began to spread of the shooting, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Ryan Langston, an analyst in the audience, said people have started getting phone notifications.
Then Andrew Witty, the chief executive of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, addressed the audience.
“We’re dealing with a very serious medical situation,” Witty said, according to people who were in the audience.
Langston said the room “quickly turned very somber, very quiet.” He added, “People, including myself, were calling their families. I let them know I was OK.”
Thompson went by the nickname “BT” and regularly presented the firm at investor events and on earnings calls, according to people knowing him well.
MASSIVE UNIT
The insurance unit he oversaw as due to bring in $280 billion in revenue this year and is the country’s largest health insurer, according to estimates.
In 2021, he became the chief executive officer of the UnitedHealthcare insurance division after working in finance positions across the business.
A certified public accountant,
Thompson graduated from the University of Iowa with a business degree in 1997. He worked at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) before joining UnitedHealth.
Thompson’s sister-in-law, Elena Reveiz, said she was still processing the news of his death. “He was a good person, and I am so sad,” Reveiz said.
He is survived by his wife Paulette ‘Pauley’ Thompson, 51, and their two children.
His wife is a practicing physical therapist for Park Nicollet Health Services with over 20 years of experience.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Senior Israeli and Syrian officials are set to resume high-level negotiations this week in talks mediated by the United States, marking a renewed diplomatic push after months of stalled progress, according to reports by i24NEWS and Axios.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump has been “unequivocal” that Hamas must fully disarm as a non-negotiable condition for advancing Trump’s proposed 20-point peace plan.
Tens of thousands of Christians have been celebrating Christmas and the New Year in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, defying concerns about rising Islamic extremism in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
At least 41 young men have died in South Africa from complications linked to circumcision procedures performed during annual traditional initiation rites, authorities said, reigniting debate over the practice.
As Switzerland was plunged into mourning, Swiss prosecutors said Saturday they have placed under criminal investigation the two managers of a bar where a blaze on New Year’s Day killed at least 40 people.
Indonesian authorities have intensified the search for a Spanish father and his children missing after a traditional wooden tourist boat sank near Padar Island, off the coast of eastern Indonesia, close to the world-famous Komodo National Park.
Bulgaria has formally consigned its longtime national currency, the lev, to history after entering the euro zone on New Year’s Day, becoming the 21st member of the single-currency bloc despite lingering concerns among citizens that the move could fuel higher prices.