FTFC, which had acquired First Texas Savings Association in Dallas in 1982, was controlled by nursing home developer J. Livingston Kosberg.
[3] An investor in FTFC was lawyer and political power broker Robert S. Strauss, who owned 10% of the stock.
His son, real estate developer Richard Strauss, joined the board and was active in running the thrift.
)[5][6] In a controversial deal, the thrifts were sold in December 1988 to MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., (owned by Ronald Perelman) and Gerald J. Ford for $315 million, with the government spending $5.1 billion as their side of the transaction.
The transaction was one of several sales of failed Texas thrifts that took place in the last days of 1988, as the special tax breaks were due to expire on January 1, 1989.