William S. 'Bill' Price III is an American businessman, investor, and winemaker renowned for his foundational role in the private equity sector. Born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Hawaii, he attended Punahou School before earning a bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 1981. His early career began as a corporate securities lawyer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles from 1981 to 1985. He then joined Bain & Company in 1985, rising to partner and co-head of the financial services practice by 1991. Following a brief stint as Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Planning at GE Capital, Price co-founded TPG Capital (originally Texas Pacific Group) in 1992 with David Bonderman and Jim Coulter. As a managing partner, he helped build TPG into a global powerhouse, investing in diverse companies such as Continental Airlines, J.Crew, Burger King, and Petco, before transitioning to Partner Emeritus around 2005.

After stepping back from TPG, Price shifted focus to the wine industry, leveraging his passion for viticulture. He founded and serves as Chief Executive Officer of Classic Wines, LLC, and is proprietor of Price Family Vineyards, LLC, which includes investments in prestigious Sonoma County vineyards such as Durell Vineyard, Gap's Crown Vineyard, Walala Vineyard, Kistler Vineyards, Three Sticks Wines, and Lutum. He currently chairs Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery and previously served as chairman of Kosta Browne Winery from 2009 to 2015. Price's business acumen extends to other ventures, including affiliations with Star Mountain Capital as a partner and undisclosed business ties.

A committed philanthropist, Price has been a trustee at Gladstone Institutes since 2016, initially serving on the Gladstone Foundation Board, contributing to biomedical research initiatives. He resides in Sonoma, California, is married with three children, and has engaged in political activities, including supporting Senator Kyrsten Sinema's 2020 campaign. Throughout his career, Price has been quoted in media outlets like Bloomberg and featured in Private Equity International, underscoring his influence in finance, entrepreneurship, and winemaking.