Lauren Leichtman

Lauren Leichtman was the first woman to become a billionaire in private equity.

In 1984, Lauren co-founded Levine Leichtman Capital Partners with her husband, Arthur Levine.

At that point, they had no outside investors.

Their first deal (IDB Communications) returned 150x.

Their model was simple: invest using a mix of debt and equity.
Take 25%, not 90%.

Let founders keep control.

Use the debt portion to generate steady cash flow, and don’t touch businesses that weren’t already profitable.

In 1994, they asked CalPERS for $100M.

They got all of it.

Since then, LLCP has raised 15 funds, managed over $18B, and exited more than 80 companies.

Including Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Wetzel’s Pretzels, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Quiznos, and FlexXray.

With an average 2.4x return on capital.

Lauren focused on governance, legal, and supporting portfolio companies.

Arthur did the sourcing and deal modeling.

In early meetings, men would wait for Arthur to walk in.

Eventually, she stopped tolerating it…

“Arthur’s not coming in. If you want our investment, talk to me.”

In 2020, the couple stepped back from day-to-day operations, handing control to new managing partners.

But they still own the firm and run a family office with their three kids.

In 2023, they bought the San Diego Wave FC for $113M.

Lauren had fallen in love with women’s soccer after the 1999 World Cup final.

Today, the team is worth $165M.

Lauren was born in LA in 1949.

Her parents divorced when she was 3.

Her mother gave up a career to raise a blended family of five stepkids.

Lauren never forgot that.

She started working at 14 (file clerk, waitress, bank teller) and paid her way through Cal State Northridge and law school.

Decades later, she’s worth $1.3B.

She’s chaired the board at Southwestern Law.

Donated $1M+ to support law students.

And funded endowed chairs in astrophysics and women’s health at UCLA.