(Yahoo!Finance) - Julian H. Robertson, the founder of Tiger Management LLC and mentor for a generation of hedge fund managers known as “Tiger Cubs,” has died at the age of 90.
Bloomberg reported his death on Tuesday, citing his longtime spokesman, Fraser Seitel.
Robertson built Tiger Management into one of the most successful hedge fund firms, starting with $8 million in assets and growing to more than $21 billion. One expert called him one of the “true founding fathers of the modern hedge fund industry."
Along the way, he mentored a generation of some of the biggest hedge fund stars of our time, including Robert Citrone and Chase Coleman. Notably, Bill Hwang was also a "Tiger Cub" before being criminally charged with securities fraud in April of this year in connection with the far-reaching collapse of his family office, Archegos Capital Management.
‘A wonderful place to grow up’
Julian Hart Robertson, Jr. was born on June 25, 1932, in Salisbury, North Carolina, a small town located in the state’s Piedmont region.
“It was a wonderful place to grow up. I think everyone should be required to grow up in a small town,” Robertson said in his distinctly southern accent during a 2013 interview with OneWire.
He spent his high school years at boarding school at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia.
“That was the place that meant the most to me educationally. That and the U.S. Navy,” Robertson told OneWire.
He graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1955. While in college, he was a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity.
After college, he served in the Navy for two years before beginning his career on Wall Street as a stockbroker for Kidder, Peabody & Co. By 1974, Robertson was serving as CEO of Webster Management Corporation, the firm’s investment advisory subsidiary.
In 1978, Robertson departed Kidder, Peabody and traveled to New Zealand where he planned to write a novel. He would later become an owner of luxury golf resorts and a vineyard in New Zealand.
By Julia La Roche · Former Correspondent
