[3] In 1981, Fleischman bought Studio 54 from its original owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager.

He also opened the short-lived nightclub Gaugin at the Plaza Hotel when it was owned by future U.S. President Donald Trump.

[citation needed] In 2017, Fleischman published his memoir about the famed disco he once owned, titled Inside Studio 54.

[4] In June 2022, he announced he had decided to die by assisted suicide in Switzerland, after living since 2016 with an undiagnosed medical condition that affected his ability to speak and left him in a wheelchair.

[3][5] Fleischman ended his life on July 13, 2022, with the aid of the assisted dying non-profit Dignitas.