He was the founder of the private equity firm Warburg Pincus, running it from 1966 to 2002,[3][4][5] and later became the chairman emeritus of the company.

[9] After being educated at The Hill School,[10] he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in English in 1953.

[14] Pincus is a "pioneer of the venture capital megafund",[12] raising billions of dollars to invest in companies across industries.

[22] Pincus supported several philanthropic activities, including a $10 million donation to Columbia University, New York in 1995.

[23] In 2005, the New York Public Library renovated its main map room, principally financed and endowed by Pincus and his companion Princess Firyal of Jordan.

Following cancer surgery in 2006, Pincus was declared mentally and physically unwell, and his sons became his guardians.