Julian Robertson, founder of Tiger Management and the mentor to a generation of 'Tiger Cub' hedge fund managers, has died at the age of 90.

Fraser Seiten, a longtime spokesperson for the billionaire investor, said on Tuesday that Robertson passed away at his home in New York from "cardiac complications".

Roberston founded Tiger Management in 1980 with $8.8 million and grew the business to around $22 billion by mid-1998 with average annual returns of 32%. He shuttered the firm's six funds in 2000 after assets dwindled to $6 billion over an 18 month period following a losing bet on the yen.

By then Tiger Management had inspired dozens of former employees to set up their own funds with the roll call of the so-called Tiger Cubs including Andreas Halvorsen (Viking Global Investors), Stephen Mandel (Lone Pine Capital), Lee Ainslie (Maverick Capital), and Cash Coleman (Tiger Global Management).