Brian Thompson: Top healthcare boss murdered by gunman in face mask outside New York hotel
Police in New York are hunting a gunman who shot dead a healthcare executive outside a hotel in what was a “brazen targeted attack”.
Brian Thompson, who had been the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare since April 2021, was killed outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
The gunman, who was wearing a face mask, was lying in wait for about five minutes before he approached the 50-year-old victim from behind.
Mr Thompson had been in his role for three years. Pic: UnitedHealthcare/AP
He opened fire several times, shooting him in the back and leg. He then walks towards Mr Thompson and continues to shoot.
Police said the weapon jammed during the attack, which happened at around 6.45am local time on Wednesday. But the shooter cleared the jam and started firing again.
The suspect then fled on foot before getting on a GPS-tracked e-bike and was last seen in Central Park.
Mr Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, was taken to a nearby hospital but could not be saved.
Police are still searching for the suspect and are offering a $10,000 (£7,866) reward for information. Officers also said they did not yet have a motive for the shooting.
Photos taken from CCTV footage shows a man wearing a grey backpack riding a bicycle, and another photo of the individual appearing to be pointing a gun.
An image of the individual sought in connection to the investigation of the shooting of Brian Thompson. Pic: NYPD/Reuters
Pic: NYPD/Reuters
The suspect was described as a light-skinned male, wearing a light brown or cream coloured jacket, a black face mask, black and white trainers and distinctive grey rucksack.
Police said there was another person standing next to Mr Thompson when he was attacked outside the hotel, and are in the process of identifying them.
New York City’s police commissioner Jessica Tisch said the shooting was a “brazen, targeted attack”.
“This does not appear to be a random act of violence. Every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack,” she said.
Who was Brian Thompson?
Brian Thompson was the boss of UnitedHealth’s insurance division.
He had been at the company, in various roles, for 20 years and had served in his current job since 2021.
Mr Thompson worked under group chief executive Sir Andrew Witty, the experienced British executive best known in the UK for his tenure in charge at pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline in the early 2000s.
UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare health insurance plans in the United States – policies that holders generally find cause to complain about industry-wide.
Medicare plans cover people aged 65 or older and younger people with disabilities.
America’s healthcare insurance costs rank as the most expensive in the world.
The firm also manages health insurance for companies.
Mr Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, said that he had been receiving threats.
“There had been some threats,” she said in a phone call to Sky’s US partner network, NBC News. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
“I can’t really give a thoughtful response right now. I just found this out and I’m trying to console my children,” she added.
Pic: Reuters
Police officers stand near the scene where the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
The attack happened as the company was scheduled to have its annual meeting with investors on Wednesday morning in the Hilton. Mr Thompson had arrived in New York on Monday to attend the meeting and was staying in a hotel opposite the Hilton.
It is understood Mr Thompson was in charge of organising the conference and was due to speak at the meeting.
Bullets lie on the footpath of the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Pic: AP
A member of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit takes a picture of a shell casing found at the scene. Pic: Reuters
“We’re dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members, and as a result, I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring to a close the event today,” UnitedHealth’s chief executive Sir Andrew Witty said.
The suspect was described as using a firearm with a silencer, CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with the incident.
UnitedHealthcare is the insurance arm of the healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group.
The scene after Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York. Pic: AP
Pic: Reuters
Members of the NYPD Crime Scene Unit work near evidence markers placed where shell casings were found. Pic Reuters
In a statement, it said: “Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him. We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.
“Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all who were close to him.”
There have been no arrests, and the investigation is active and ongoing.
The scene of the shooting is a short walk from tourist sites such as the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Centre. The popular Rockefeller Centre Christmas tree lighting is set to take place Wednesday evening.
Adele, the Grammy award-winning artist, has joined the list of music superstars investing in Audoo, a music technology company which helps artists to receive fairer royalty payments.
Sky News has learnt that the British musician and Adam Clayton, the U2 bassist, have injected money into Audoo as part of a £7m funding round.
The pair join Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus as shareholders in the company.
Changes to Audoo’s share register were filed at Companies House in recent days.
Audoo, which was established by former musician Ryan Edwards, is trying to address the perennial issue of public performance royalties, in order to ensure musicians are rewarded when their work is played in public venues.
Mr Edwards is reported to have been motivated to set up the company after hearing his own music played at football stadia and in bars, without any payment for it.
Estimates suggest that artists lose out on billions of dollars of unaccounted royalties each year.
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London-based Audoo uses a monitoring device – which it calls an Audio Meter – to recognise songs played in public venues, and which is said to have a 99% success rate.
It has struck what it describes as industry-first partnerships with organisations including the music licensing company PPL/PRS to track and report songs played in public performance locations such as cafes, hair salons, shops and gyms.
“At Audoo, we’re incredibly proud of the continued support we’re receiving as we work to make music royalties fairer and more transparent for artists and rights-holders around the world through our pioneering technology,” Mr Edwards told Sky News in a statement on Friday.
“We have successfully reached £7m in our latest funding round.
“This funding marks a pivotal moment for Audoo as we focus on our growth in North America and across Europe, bringing us closer to our mission of revolutionising the global royalty landscape.”
Sources said the new capital would be used partly to finance Audoo’s growth in the US.
The latest funding round takes the total amount of money raised by the company since its launch to more than $30m.
Mr Edwards has spoken of his desire to establish a major presence in Europe and the US because of their status as the world’s biggest recorded music markets.
Adele’s management company did not respond to an enquiry from Sky News.
The King’s personal fortune has shot up by £30m to put him on par with Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, while the overall number of billionaires in the UK has plummeted, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.
The 2025 list, published on Friday, shows the King’s personal wealth grew from £610m to £640m, taking him up 20 places to 258 – level with former prime minister Mr Sunak and his wife.
The number of overall UK billionaires has fallen to 156 from 165 in 2024, marking the biggest drop since the rich list began 37 years ago.
Gopi Hinduja and his family, behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, topped the list for the fourth year running with £35.3bn.
Meanwhile, founder and chairman of global chemicals company Ineos Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who became part owner of Manchester United last year, dropped from fourth place to seventh after his reported wealth went from £23.5bn to £17.05bn.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Pic: PA.
Sir Jim’s £6.47bn losses marked the biggest on the list, while Russian-born brothers Igor and Dmitry Bukhman, who built a fortune on mobile games such as Gardenscapes and Fishdom, made the biggest gains with nearly £6.2bn.
New entries included makeup mogul Charlotte Tilbury with £350m and Ellen DeGeneres, who left the US for the Cotswolds last year.
Ellen DeGeneres with wife Portia de Rossi at Wimbledon. Pic: Reuters
The Sunday Times said the list was one of its toughest to compile due to Donald Trump’s tariffs and the subsequent stock market turbulence, adding many from previous years had dropped off the list and others were no longer eligible having fled Britain after Labour’s non-dom crackdown.
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Overall, the combined wealth of those on the list stood at £772.8bn – down 3% from the last list.
Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast, Rich List compiler Rob Watts highlighted the story of Tom and Phil Beahon, who own sportswear clothing brand Castore which is now worth £1bn, as one of his favourites.
The brothers from Wirral have debuted at joint 345 on the list with an estimated wealth of £350m.
Calling their story “inspiring”, Mr Watts said: “They dreamed of being sportsmen as lads – one of them got onto the books of Tranmere Rovers and the other played cricket for Lancashire, but their sporting careers were over in their early 20s.
“And they say that failure was critical to driving them to create this £1bn sports kit business that you’ll now see being worn by the England cricket team and the England rugby team.”
England cricketer Olly Stone wearing a kit manufactured by Castore. Pic: PA
The top 20:
1. Gopi Hinduja and family – £35.3bn
2. David and Simon Reuben and family – £26.87bn
3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik – £25.73bn
4. Sir James Dyson and family – £20.8bn
5. Idan Ofer – £20.12bn
6. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family – £17.75bn
7. Sir Jim Ratcliffe – £17.05bn
8. Lakshmi Mittal and family – £15.44bn
9. John Fredriksen and family – £13.68bn
10. Igor and Dmitry Bukhman – £12.54bn
11. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing – £12.51bn
12. Michael Platt – £12.5bn
13. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho – £10.09bn
14. Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family – £9.88bn
15. Lord Bamford and family – £9.45bn
16. Denise, John and Peter Coates – £9.44bn
17. Carrie and Francois Perrodo and family – £9.3bn
18. Barnaby and Merlin Swire and family – £9.25bn
19. Marit, Lisbet, Sigrid and Hans Rausing – £9.09bn
20. Alex Gerko – £8.75bn
One of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges has suffered a cyber attack that could cost it $400m (£301m).
Hackers breached account data of a “small subset” of its customers and then tricked them into sending funds, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Coinbase received an email from an unknown threat actor on 11 May, claiming to have information about some customer accounts as well as internal documents.
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The hackers did not gain access to login credentials or passwords, but data including names, addresses and emails were stolen, Coinbase said.
The hackers had paid multiple employees and contractors working in support roles outside the US to collect the information. Everyone involved has been fired, it said.
Coinbase will reimburse all customers who were tricked into sending funds to the attackers – and estimates costs surrounding the hack will total between $180m (£135m) and $400m.
The exchange refused to pay a $20m (£15m) ransom to the hackers and is working with law enforcement agencies. It has also established a $20m reward for information on the attackers.
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‘Cybercrime costing world $9.2 trillion’
Coinbase is also opening a new US support hub and taking other measures to prevent cyber attacks, it said.
This development comes just days before Coinbase is set to join the S&P 500 index – in what is expected to be a landmark moment for crypto.
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UK economy grows more than expected
Security remains a challenge for the industry and in February, Dubai-based Bybit disclosed a hack which saw around $1.5bn (£1.19bn) of digital tokens stolen – widely dubbed the biggest crypto heist of all time.
“As our nascent industry grows rapidly, it draws the eye of bad actors, who are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the scope of their attacks,” said Nick Jones, founder of crypto firm Zumo.
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