"[2] Rainwater was a mentor and early backer of investors including Eddie Lampert, Roger Staubach, and David Bonderman.
He grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and investors, and was exposed to the world of business and finance at an early age.
Rainwater's father, Sam, was a successful businessman and investor, who owned a number of companies in the Fort Worth area.
[7] In 1962, he was initiated as a member of the Tau chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin and in 1966, he graduated with a degree in mathematics.
Rainwater then sought a more methodical investment strategy by studying investors including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, and David Dodd.
In the 1980s, he acquired a stake in the Bass family's oil and gas company, which he later sold for a significant profit.
He also invested in a number of other energy companies, including Pennzoil and Diamond Offshore Drilling, and generated significant returns for his investors.
[7] In addition to his investments in the oil and gas industry, Rainwater was also involved in real estate.
He was instrumental in the development of the Las Colinas neighborhood in Irving, Texas, and helped to transform the area into a thriving business district.
He was also involved in the development of other real estate projects, including the Harbor Pointe office complex in Dallas and the Lincoln Plaza.
[13] In December 1991, 2 months after his divorce was finalized, Rainwater married financier Darla Moore and moved to Manhattan.
[11] By the time he died, Rainwater had donated more than $380 million to organizations working for the benefit of higher education, at-risk children, and research associated with neurodegeneration.