F. Ross Johnson, whose reign as chief executive of RJR Nabisco Co. became a symbol of corporate greed in the late 1980s, died of pneumonia Thursday at his home in Jupiter, Fla., a spokesman said. He was 85 years old.

Mr. Johnson’s fame spread beyond the world of business when his exploits at the food and tobacco company were recounted in the book “Barbarians at the Gate,” made into a movie with James Garner playing the CEO. Mr. Johnson’s audacious effort to take RJR private in October 1988 set off a bidding war in which Kohlberg...