Ted Forstmann, Early Leverage Buyout Financier, Dies: Originator Of Phrase "Barbarians at the Gate."

From The New York Times, "Theodore Forstmann, Private Equity Pioneer, Is Dead at 71" by Andrew Ross Sorkin:

Theodore J. Forstmann, a colorful financier and philanthropist who helped pioneer leveraged buyouts, died on Sunday at the age of 71.

The cause was brain cancer, his spokesman said. Mr. Forstmann, who lived in Manhattan had been diagnosed with a malignant glioma earlier this year.

Mr. Forstmann was among the very first executives to use debt to acquire companies, fix them and then sell them for millions – and sometimes billions – of dollars in profits.

Bloomberg obituary, "Ted Forstmann, LBO Pioneer Who Sounded Alarm on Junk Bonds, Dies at Age 71" by Laurence Arnold.