Jack Dreyfus, the so-called Lion on Wall Street, died March 27 at New York Hospital, the asset management firm that he founded said on Friday.

He was 95. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Dreyfus was considered an American investment innovator whose career spanned from mutual fund management to medical research and the writing of two autobiographies.

This remarkable individual was a legend in the creation and marketing of mutual funds and a humanitarian with a heart of gold, The Dreyfus Corporation said in a statement.

We are eternally grateful to our founding father for his legacy of innovation and integrity. Our hearts go out to Jack's family and friends.

Dreyfus was the top mutual fund manager of his time, measured by returns, and the fund's lion symbol was widely known. When he retired in his late 50s, Dreyfus was among the wealthiest in the United States.

He founded Dreyfus & Co, the Dreyfus Fund, and, after leaving Wall Street, the Dreyfus Health Foundation, which researched an epilepsy drug called Dilantin, or phenytoin, which Dreyfus said cured him of a severe bout of depression.

The Alabama native went on to write A Remarkable Medicine Has Been Overlooked, and later, The Lion on Wall Street. Dreyfus also excelled at amateur golf, tennis, and horse racing, as well as the card game gin rummy.

He is survived by a son.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Gary Hill)

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