Ted Forstmann, the billionaire founding partner of Forstmann Little & Company, sports and media mogul, and seer of the 2008 financial crisis, has died at the age of 71, his office announced on Sunday. Forstmann had battled brain cancer. He was known as a Wall Street dealmaker and belatedly hailed for predicting the credit crunch of 2008 long before most pundits agreed. But ironically he was also among the very first executives to use leveraged debt to acquire companies, then sell them for immense profits. Seven years ago he bought IMG, the talent agency that represented the likes of Tiger Woods and Roger Federer, and dedicated his time as the company's chairman.
