Joel B. Leff, 67; Investment Firm Founder, Co-Chair

Joel B. Leff, 67, founder and co-chairman of the Wall Street investment management firm Forstmann-Leff Associates, died of cancer Tuesday at his home in New York City.

A native of the city, he attended the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School, graduating from the latter in 1961. He worked briefly for Lazard Freres, then taught advanced economic theory at Harvard.

In 1968, he started his firm with Anthony Forstmann. The company, which attracted money from union pension funds and private individuals, was managing $4 billion in 1986 when a British conglomerate, the Guinness Peat Group, bought Forstmann-Leff, but Leff later bought the firm back. In 1997, it was sold to the Refco Group, which deals in commodities and kept Leff and his management team in place.

Leff also ran Manhattan’s Oblique Gallery, where he sold Art Deco and Far Eastern antiques and paintings.