Who Was Brian Thompson?

Brian Thompson was little known outside the American health insurance industry when he was shot and killed in the early morning hours in Midtown Manhattan in 2024. Suddenly, his corporate biography became international news: Mr. Thompson's promotion in 2021 to chief executive of UnitedHealthcare followed more than 20 years of climbing the ranks at the company, one of America's largest health insurers. Under Mr. Thompson's leadership, UnitedHealthcare experienced surging profits, with earnings from operations topping $16 billion in 2023, an increase from $12 billion in 2021. In 2024, Mr. Thompson received $10.2 million in compensation, including $1 million in base pay augmented by cash and stock grants. He was responsible for enormous growth in the company's insurance arm, which sells private health plans under Medicare Advantage, a program that through federal funding covers around 70 million Americans, mainly those 65 and older. Mr. Thompson quietly steered the division through inquiries and criticism from congressional lawmakers and federal regulators who accused it of systematically denying authorization for health care procedures and treatments. He was one of at least four executives named in a lawsuit that accused UnitedHealth Group, UnitedHealthcare's parent company, of hiding a Justice Department antitrust investigation from shareholders while insiders sold stock — including $15 million of Mr. Thompson's personal shares. Mr. Thompson was walking into a Midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group's annual investor day on Dec. 4, 2024, when a masked gunman shot him three times in the back and fled on a Citi Bike. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.