Lee S. Ainslie III (born 1964) is an American businessman who founded the hedge fund firm Maverick Capital. He is also a board member of the Robin Hood Foundation and owns a minority stake in the Washington Commanders of the National Football League.

Early life and education

Ainslie's father was headmaster of Episcopal High School, a private school in Alexandria, Virginia, from which Ainslie graduated. Ainslie holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan–Flagler Business School.

Career

Prior to founding Maverick Capital in 1993, Ainslie worked at Tiger Management, where he and other former employees had been nicknamed "Tiger Cubs" in the hedge fund industry. Ainslie helped form Maverick Capital in 1993 at the invitation of billionaire Sam Wyly. Maverick Capital was reported to have $9 billion under management in 2013. Ainslie has been profiled in books such as Hedge Hunters, by Katherine Burton, New Investment Superstars by Lois Peltz. and The Big Win by Stephen Weiss. Ainslie supported Mitt Romney in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. He is on the board of directors of the Robin Hood Foundation. In 2023, Ainslie was a part of an investment group led by Josh Harris that purchased the Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League, for $6.05 billion. The deal was the highest price ever paid for a sports team.

Personal life

He and his wife Elizabeth have two sons.