Richard Rainwater | Investment manager, 71

Richard Rainwater, 71, the son of a North Texas grocer who went on to amass a fortune as an investment manager before becoming a billionaire investor and philanthropist in his own right, has died, according to his charitable foundation.

A statement issued by the Rainwater Charitable Foundation said Rainwater died Sunday morning at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, after a long battle with a rare neurological disease.

He had been battling progressive supranuclear palsy since 2009 and had pumped millions into a campaign to find a cure.

Among Mr. Rainwater's career achievements was conducting billionaire investor Sid Bass' acquisition of a major stake in the Walt Disney Co. and partnering with future President George W. Bush in the 1989 purchase of the Texas Rangers baseball team. - AP