The heartbreaking suicide note left by a tycoon father of six before he jumped to his death on Tuesday morning has been revealed.
J. Michael Cline, 64, co-founder of the movie ticketing company Fandango, jumped from the Kimberly Hotel and landed on a third-floor patio.
Cline appeared confused as he left a note in a 20th-floor room at the luxury Midtown Manhattan hotel.
“I’m so sorry. I can’t explain the pain of being so wrong. I love you all,” Cline wrote before jumping.
The suicide occurred just days after he underwent gallbladder surgery.
J. Michael Cline, 64, co-founder of the movie ticketing company Fandango, jumped from the Kimberly Hotel and landed on a third-floor patio Tuesday morning.
Cline’s body was removed from a hotel courtyard and taken by the New York medical examiner.
Cline is seen participating in a discussion with business students at Fordham University.
Cline’s business, which he founded in 2000, had struggled during the pandemic that forced movie theaters to close or comply with restrictions on the number of spectators allowed for nearly two years.
Cline was also a “serial entrepreneur” and managing partner at startup funding firm Accretive..
Cline’s wealth allowed him to own several multi-million dollar homes in the Hamptons, Long Island, New York, Greenwich, Connecticut, and Palm Beach, Florida.
One of the homes includes a $20.75 million lakefront mansion he purchased during the pandemic in December 2020, the outlet reports. Palm Beach Daily News.
Fandango had struggled in recent years after moviegoing was essentially nonexistent during the pandemic.
The company tried to pivot to streaming but reported profit losses in 2023.
Cline was described as a “serial entrepreneur” in a Fordham University profile.
Cline also served on the board of directors of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Cline, who had been married to his wife Pamela for nearly 30 years, graduated from Cornell University and earned an MBA from Harvard University.
Art Levitt, who co-founded Fandango with Cline, remembered him as brilliant, creative and loyal, and someone who would endure even in “difficult” times.
He described his former business partner as “something of an adventurer.”
Levitt said he “saw an opportunity in the market” with Fandango and asked Levitt to run the company.
Cline, who was married to his wife Pamela for nearly 30 years, graduated from Cornell University and earned an MBA from Harvard University.
His career began in the early 1980s when he started a hand-warming business importing items from Japan.
“The business failed,” he wrote on his LinkedIn page when describing the company ‘Penguin Warmers’.
“I had no idea what I was doing. Seriously,” she wrote.
Cline jumped from the 20th floor of the hotel and landed in a courtyard on the third floor.
A body bag containing Cline is seen being carried to the sidewalk on Tuesday.
The New York medical examiner rushed to the scene Tuesday morning.
The luxury hotel is located on East 50th Street, near Lexington Avenue.
In a profile of Fordham UniversityHe was described as a “serial entrepreneur” and someone who “helped inspire students.”
Cline also sat as the chief executive of Juxtapose, another firm that specializes in funding startups launching a range of technology businesses in areas ranging from healthcare and wellness to property management.
He was also a philanthropist, having most recently served as chairman of the board of directors of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact Samaritans NYC at 212-673-3000 or Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386.
For confidential assistance, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or click here.
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