• Los Angeles Times, Monday, March 2, 2009 10:30 AM

"Part Warren Buffett and part Dolly Parton," Peter Pae writes, Lynn Tilton owns or has equity stakes in more than 70 companies worth $8 billion, including such familiar brand names such as Arizona Ice Tea, English Leather cologne, Isotoner gloves and Natura water filters. Through her New York private equity investment firm Patriarch Partners, she also owns mapmaker Rand McNally and firetruck manufacturer American LaFrance.

Although diverse, the companies had a common trait before the 49-year-old Bronx native began investing in them: They produced well-known products but were in such financial messes that they were about to go out of business. "We turn dust to diamonds," Tilton says.

In 2005, Tilton acquired MD Helicopters, a company founded by Howard Hughes, which she has personally overseen and managed. The company expects to deliver 70 new helicopters this year, up from 52 last year.

Within the aviation industry, Tilton has often been described as the "dominatrix lady" because of her penchant for black leather dresses and high-heeled shoes. Bearing a bachelor's degree from Yale and an MBA from Columbia, she acknowledges that she has used the image to her advantage, because people who meet her for the first time often underestimate her abilities.

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