Ted Forstmann: Sportsman, Philanthropist and Ladies' Man, Dies at 71

Theodore J. Forstmann, better known as Ted Forstmann, the co-founder of private equity firm Forstmann Little & Company and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Management Group (IMG) died on Sunday, of brain cancer. The 71-year-old private equity investor and philanthropist had been battling the illness for six months.

Fortsmann, under the Forstmann Little banner, completed leveraged buyouts of Dr. Pepper, Yankee Candle, Community Health Systems and General Instrument.

Born in 1940, Fortsmann was not only a businessman but also a tennis player, a golfer and a hockey player. He was the goalie for Yale University's hockey team and also had a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature before deciding to attend Columbia University Law School.

In addition, apart from headlining the business sector, Forstmann was famous in the media's celebrity columns and gossip sections, for his linkups with models and celebrities. He was romantically linked with Indian model Padma Lakshmi and was earlier rumored to be seeing the late Princess Diana. He was also linked, at some point in time, to Tracy Richman, Elizbeth Hurley and Allison Giannini.

In recent years, he attracted scandals after being hit by a lawsuit alleging he bet on college sports and tennis, while representing coaches and players through the International Management Group.

Forstmann is survived by his two sons - Siya and Everest; his brothers - Anthony and John; and sisters - Marina Forstmann Day and Elissa Forstmann Moran. He never actually married anyone though; he became Siya and Everest's legal guardian in the 1990s, after meeting them at an orphanage in South Africa.