Nicholas Curt "Nick" Forstmann (January 15, 1947 – February 2, 2001) was one of the founding partners of

Forstmann Little & Company Forstmann, Little & Company was a private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts (LBOs). At its peak in the late 1990s, Forstmann Little was among the largest private equity firms globally. Ultimately, the firm would suffer from the burs ...

, a

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including lev ...

. After attending

The Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Lawrenceville is a member of the Eight Scho ...

, Forstmann graduated from Georgetown University in 1969, and began working at the

Morgan Guaranty Trust Company J.P. Morgan & Co. is a commercial and investment banking institution founded by J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banking institutions in th ...

. In 1975, Forstmann joined Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a company with which he would later develop a rivalry. He founded Forstmann Little with his older brother, Ted, and

Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...

, in 1978. Forstmann's second brother, J. Anthony Forstmann, founded ForstmannLeff. Forstmann served on the advisory boards of Georgetown University and Marymount College. He also served as the

vice chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of 1996

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

ial candidate

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and a professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bu ...

's '' Empower America'', a

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ...

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

. He also played a leading role in Forstmann Little's bid to acquire RJR Nabisco. Forstmann was featured in the book about the bidding war, '' Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco'', and was portrayed in the subsequent film by actor Joseph Kell. Forstmann helped form the Inner-City Scholarship Fund of the Archdiocese of New York. He died in 2001 of small-cell

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malignan ...

, aged 54.

References

Private equity and venture capital investors 1947 births 2001 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) McDonough School of Business alumni Businesspeople from New York City 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1940s-stub