[2] Patricof grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City,[3] the son of parents who had immigrated from Russia to the United States.

Currently, Apax has $75 billion under management with stakes in 120 companies that over the years included AOL, Office Depot, Audible, and Apple Computer.

[3] In recognition of his early efforts in founding the first venture capital firm in France, Patricof was awarded the Légion d'honneur by its president in 2020.

[11][12] In 2019, Patricof founded Primetime Partners with Abby Levy, the former Senior Vice President of SoulCycle, to invest in early-stage start-ups that bring products and services to the 25 percent of the population over 60.

In its review, The Wall Street Journal noted that Patricof wrote about his failures as well as his success, notably passing on an early opportunity to invest in a coffee shop named Starbucks.

[14] Patricof began investing in the theater in 1959 when he backed first-time Director Peter Bogdanovic in the Off Broadway production of Clifford Odette's, The Big Knife.

Most recently he invested in the musical revival of the Billy Wilder film, Some Like it Hot, Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt, and Lin Manuel Miranda's Hamilton.

[15] His musical productions include a folk concert at Town Hall in New York City in 1962 starring Oscar Brand and Jean Ritchie.

[23] On December 20, 2022, Patricof's nomination to serve on President Joseph Biden's Board of the Securities Investments Protection Corporation was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

After the death of his wife, Susan, Patricof joined the board of the Finance Committee of Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem where she had been chair for 40 years.