Ted Forstmann

Teddy Forstmann was a man of many parts. He was a shrewd, successful pioneer of leveraged buyouts with the heart of a social worker. Teddy, who died Nov. 20 at 71, was a champion of the marketplace. During the takeover fight for RJR Nabisco, he coined the phrase “barbarians at the gate” to describe takeover artists wielding junk bonds. The phrase became the title of the best-selling 1990 book about that fight. But he also believed very strongly that people who accumulate great wealth have a great obligation to the less fortunate. From the moment he started making money, he began giving it away–to the Children’s Scholarship Fund, to Bosnian relief, to South African orphanages and to an untold number of other worthy causes he didn’t publicize.

A dashing bachelor, Teddy had a succession of high-profile companions: Princess Di, Elizabeth Hurley and recently Padma Lakshmi. They were all impressive but not as impressive as his role as a single father to two young men he brought to America from an orphanage in South Africa. He was not only a father; he was a mentor, a counselor and a companion to them. As a friend, he was always engaging and generous–even if he didn’t invite my wife and me on a double date with Princess Di.

Brokaw is a special correspondent for NBC News