Julius Anthony "Tony" Forstmann (May 22, 1938 - January 31, 2023) was an American financier. He is one of the founding partners of Forstmann-Leff & Associates, one of the first hedge funds in the United States, along with Joel B. Leff. He was an original investor in Forstmann Little and Company and he also founded Forstmann and Co., a merchant bank.

Career

Forstmann-Leff

Forstmann-Leff & Associates was founded in 1967 as a private incentive investment management organization by J. Anthony Forstmann and Joel B. Leff with the specific objective of managing money intensively for an above-average rate of return. They served as investment advisers to pension funds and were one of the original hedge funds in the US. By 1985 the firm had grown to $5 Billion under management. The firm's clients included Intel, Pfizer,

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

of Indiana, The Pension Guarantee Corp. The Ford Family, Northrop, Honeywell, Lockheed, Northwest Airlines,

Knight Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper brand ...

, Delta Air Lines, Texas Instruments, Raychem,

Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

, Commercial Credit, Primerica, MCA Universal, the City of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the State of Minnesota, the State of Maine, the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

, and the Archdiocese of New York. Forstmann-Leff & Associates achieved an average compounded yearly gain of 22 per cent on the investment partnerships. Forstmann-Leff "outperformed all of the firms monitored by Investment Manager Profiles in the Balanced Account category." Forstmann continued as managing director of Forstmann-Leff until 1991. Forstmann's brother Ted also worked at Forstmann-Leff as council until he left to found Forstmann Little & Co. with another brother Nick. Joel Leff and Tony Forstmann were part of the original investors of Forstmann Little & Co. "Forstmann-Leff Associates was one of the nation's most prosperous investment firms, with a consistent, long term performance record that is matched by few other managers" Forstmann was a founding partner and investor in Instinet, the first electronic trading platform.

Forstmann Little & Co.

Forstmann was an original investor in Forstmann Little & Company in 1975 with his two brothers, Theodore J Forstmann (Ted) and Nicholas C Forstmann (Nick). At its peak, the company was one of the largest private equity firms globally and specialized in leveraged buyouts. He remained a special limited partner until his brother's passing.

Forstmann & Co.

In 1987 he founded Forstmann & Co to create a merchant banking platform. Prior to founding Forstmann-Leff & Associates, Forstmann held various positions within the investment banking firms of G. H. Walker & Co, Wertheim, and Smith Barney & Co.

Director

Biography

Forstmann was born on May 22, 1938, in Manhattan to Dorothy (née Mercadante) and Julius Forstmann, who were of Italian and German descent, respectively. He was the firstborn of six children and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. His father had inherited Forstmann Woolen Co., from his grandfather, who was one of the richest men in the world at the time. Forstmann graduated from Greenwich Country Day School,

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

, Yale University and

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one ...

. Forstmann has six children; William Anthony Forstmann, Candida Anthony, Christina Giammalva, Baron Forstmann, Luke Forstmann, Kelly Forstmann. He is married to Cathie Shirriff Forstmann. Forstmann is currently on the Leadership Council of the Yale School of Public Health. In 1985, Forstmann started The Huggy Bear tennis tournament in Southampton, NY which evolved over 22 years into a major fund raising event for children's charities. Forstmann's brothers Ted and Nick joined forces in 1989 and the tournament ran for 22 years, raising millions of dollars for children globally. He died on January 31, 2023, at age 84 from natural causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forstmann, Julius A. 1940 births American chief executives of financial services companies American financiers Philanthropists from New York (state) Businesspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut Businesspeople from Manhattan Private equity and venture capital investors Columbia Business School alumni Yale University alumni Living people Phillips Academy alumni