Alfred Mann dies at age 90 - Pioneer in biotechnology and a major philanthropist

The Los Angeles entrepreneur and philanthropist died in Las Vegas, where he had spent the last several years of his life.

He graduated from high school at 16, served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He moved to So. Cal and earned two physics degrees from UCLA.

Many of the companies he started began in the San Fernando Valley.

Over 70 years, Mann founded 17 companies in fields ranging from defense to medical devices to pharmaceuticals. He sold many of those companies over the years, amassing a fortune that topped $2 billion in 2007.

In 2001, he sold his Northridge pump maker, MiniMed, to medical device giant Medtronic for $3.3 billion. He netted nearly $900 million on the sale.

In 1998, he donated $100-million to USC to create the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering.

To read an article on Alfred Mann from the Los Angeles Times, please click HERE.