Lionel Pincus

Lionel I. Pincus
Born	Template:Birth date Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	October 10, 2009(2009-10-10) (aged 78)
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, philanthropist
Known for	Founder of Warburg Pincus

Lionel I. Pincus (March 2, 1931 – October 10, 2009) was a prominent American entrepreneur and philanthropist, widely recognized for founding the private equity firm Warburg Pincus. He steered the company from its inception in 1966 until 2002 and subsequently held the title of chairman emeritus.

Early life

Pincus was born in Philadelphia to Henry and Theresa Celia Pincus, descendants of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland. He completed his secondary education at The Hill School before earning a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania in 1953. Opting not to enter his family's retail and real estate enterprises, he pursued a Master of Business Administration at Columbia Business School, graduating in 1956.

Career

Beginning his career in 1955 at the investment banking firm Ladenburg Thalmann, Pincus became a partner by age 29. In 1964, he established Lionel I. Pincus & Co., Inc., a financial advisory firm. The following year, he joined the board of E.M. Warburg & Co., leading to a merger between the two companies in 1966. The combined entity was renamed E.M. Warburg Pincus in 1970 and later became known as Warburg Pincus LLC in 2001.

Pincus was instrumental in developing the venture capital megafund model, securing substantial investments from prestigious pension funds including those affiliated with AT&T, IBM, GE, Pacific Telesis, and GM, along with state pension funds and university endowments.

In 1970, he launched EMW Associates, one of the early venture capital funds with an initial capital of $20 million. Warburg Pincus subsequently raised progressively larger funds: a $2 billion fund in 1989, which was five times larger than comparable funds at that time; a $2.5 billion fund closed in 2000, then the largest private equity fund; and over $5.3 billion raised for its tenth fund in 2002.

Among its early investments were companies such as 20th Century Fox, Humana, and Warner (later acquired by Waste Management, Inc.). In 1984, Warburg Pincus invested in Mattel, where Pincus also took a seat on the board. By 2002, under his leadership, the firm had allocated more than $13 billion across over 450 companies spanning 29 countries.

In 1999, Warburg Pincus divested its asset management division to Credit Suisse for $650 million; this transaction also involved Credit Suisse acquiring a stake in Warburg Pincus's private equity operations.

Philanthropy

Pincus contributed generously to various charitable causes, including a $10 million gift to Columbia University in 1995, where he served on the board of trustees. In partnership with his companion Princess Firyal of Jordan in 2005, he primarily financed the $5 million refurbishment of the main map room at the New York Public Library, which was subsequently named The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division. By 2002, his donations to the Library had exceeded $5 million.

Personal

In 1967, Pincus married Suzanne Storrs, a former Miss Utah and actress. They had two sons: Henry A. Pincus (who married Ana Terzani) and Matthew S. Pincus (married to Sarah Min). Suzanne passed away in 1995 after a battle with ovarian cancer.

Later in life, his companion was Princess Firyal of Jordan. Following cancer surgery in 2006, Pincus was deemed mentally and physically incapacitated, resulting in his sons assuming guardianship. In 2008, despite objections from Princess Firyal, his residence at The Pierre hotel was listed for sale at a multimillion-dollar price.