 Lipton lived with his wife Diana and two sons Jonah and Jacob.He was a self-confessed "religious atheist"; he held that he could follow the customs and culture of a Jewish lifestyle, and use the teachings of Judaism to help him tackle moral problems in life, without simultaneously believing in the metaphysics of such a religion (such as the existence of God).On 25 November 2007, Lipton suffered a fatal heart attack after playing a game of squash.