After school, he worked in investment banking at Lehman Brothers becoming a partner at age 28, the youngest in the firm's history. In 1973, he was named president and head of investment banking and also head of the Investment Banking Division and Chairman of Lehman Corporation. In 1977, he moved to Boston and co-founded with Paul J. Ferri a venture capital firm, Hellman, Ferri Investment Associates, an early-stage investor in SanDisk and Apple. In 1984, he moved back to San Francisco and co-founded the buyout firm, Hellman & Friedman with Tully Friedman where he served as chairman of the firm as well as a member of the Firm's Investment and Compensation Committees. Hellman & Friedman's strategy was to buy companies heavy on intellectual acumen and light on physical assets with strong cash flows that need operational improvements. In 1995, the firm purchased Levi Strauss & Co. from 250 family shareholders and consolidated it among four men including Hellman and then-CEO Robert D. Haas. The company reduced its debt and improved its earnings.
Family history
Though his fortune was largely self-made, Hellman was the great-grandson of Isaias W. Hellman, a prominent early California banker, philanthropist, and a founding father of the University of Southern California. Isaias Hellman's sister-in-law was married to Mayer Lehman, one of the founders of Lehman Brothers. Warren Hellman's mother, the former Ruth Koshland, was the granddaughter of Jesse Koshland, and great grand-daughter of Simon Koshland, pioneer wool merchants in San Francisco. The Hellman family is not connected to the Hellmann’s mayonnaise company. Hellman was married to Patricia Christina "Chris" Sander; they had four children: Marco "Mick" Hellman; Frances Hellman; Judith Hellman; and Patricia Hellman Gibbs. His daughter, Frances Hellman, is the Dean of the Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at UC Berkeley. His funeral was held at Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco.
Other affiliations
Hellman served in the U.S. Army from 1955 through 1957. Hellman was the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Mills College from 1982-1992, and as a result of protests reversed the college's decision to go co-ed in 1990. Hellman was a Director of D.N.& E. Walter & Co. and Sugar Bowl Corporation. He was also a member of the advisory board of the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. In 2005, Hellman was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Hellman was the primary sponsor and provided funding for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. In 2011, Speedway Meadow was renamed Hellman Hollow to honor his history of philanthropy and civic involvement in San Francisco. Hellman was a donor and supporter of Jewish Vocational Services, a nonprofit organization that helps people transform their lives through work. Hellman was the Chairman of the Board of The Bay Citizen, a non-profit news organization focusing on the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Citizen was founded with a $5 million contribution from the Hellman Family Foundation. He formerly served as a Director of numerous portfolio companies, including Eller Media Company, Nasdaq Stock Market and Young & Rubicam. Hellman won the national championship in Ride and Tie racing five times.
