Forstmann was born in Manhattan and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, first born of six children to Dorothy (née Mercadante) and Julius Forstmann who were of Italian and German descent, respectively. Julius had inherited Forstmann Woolen Company, from his father who was one of the richest men in the world at the time.
Forstmann graduated from Greenwich Country Day School, Phillips Academy, Yale University, and Columbia Business School.
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 United States. By 1985 the firm had grown to $5 Billion under management. The firm"s clients included Intel, Pfizer, Standard Oil of Indiana, The Pension Guarantee Corporation
The Ford Family, Northrop, Honeywell, Lockheed, Northwest Airlines, Knight Ridder, Delta Air Lincolnshire, Texas Instruments, Raychem, Studebaker, Chrysler, Commercial Cr, Primerica, Master of Computer Applications Universal, the City of New York, the State of Minnesota, the State of Maine, Holy Cross University, and the Archdiocese of New New York
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 & Company with another brother Nick.
Joel Leff and Tony Forstmann were part of the original investors of Forstmann Little & Company "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 & Company
At its peak, the company was one of the largest private equity firms globally and specialized in leveraged buyouts. He remains a limited partner and a special limited partner. Forstmann & Company In 1987 he founded Forstmann & Company to create a merchant banking platform.
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, New York 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 is the founder of Forstmann and Company, a merchant bank. Forstmann-Leff & Associates achieved an average compounded yearly gain of 22 per cent on the investment partnerships. Prior to founding Forstmann-Leff & Associates, Forstmann held various positions within the investment banking firms of G. H. Walker & Company, Wertheim, and Smith Barney & Company Forstmann & Company was founder of, or original investor in:.
