David Bonderman, a founder of the giant investment firm TPG, who helped transform private equity into a multitrillion-dollar industry that reshaped corporate America, died on Dec. 11. He was 82.

Mr. Bonderman, a lawyer, took various legal paths over his career — law professor, civil rights lawyer, corporate lawyer — before becoming a financier. That led him to create what is now TPG, a $239 billion behemoth that buys companies, invests in start-ups, makes loans and more. Although he stepped down from day-to-day management at TPG about a decade ago, he retained the title nonexecutive chairman.

Finance was not the only field in which he made a mark. He became involved in historic preservation, playing a key role in the survival of Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. He donated to wilderness conservation efforts, including the Wilderness Society and the World Wildlife Fund.