George Lindemann

George Lyle Lindemann (March 26, 1936 – June 21, 2018)^[4] was an American billionaire^[1] businessman known for being the chairman and chief executive officer of Southern Union, a pipeline company.^[5][6][7][8] He was also the owner of 19 Spanish-language radio stations^[6][8] and the vice president of the Metropolitan Opera Association in New York City.^[9]

He ranked #703 on the Forbes 2018 list of the world's billionaires, with a net worth of US$3.3 billion.^[10]

Career[]

In 1957, Lindemann began his career with his father's business, a cosmetics and hair care company called The Nestle-LeMur.^[11] From 1962 to 1972, Lindemann was the president of Smith, Miller and Patch, a pharmaceutical company.^[5] He sold Permalens, his family's eye-care company that developed the first permanent-wear soft contact lens, to Cooper Labs for $75 million in 1971.^[3] In 1972, Lindemann founded cable TV firm Vision Cable, which he sold a decade later to Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. and his brother for $220 million.^[3][6][7][8]

Shortly after, he founded a cell phone company, Metro Mobile, which he later sold to Bell Atlantic for $2.5 billion in 1991.^[3][6][7][8] He then shifted his focus to struggling natural gas pipeline company Southern Union, which he had acquired through Metro Mobile in 1990 for $125 million.^[7] He was CEO of Southern Union, and sold it in 2012 to Energy Transfer Equity, for approximately $2.0 billion.^[3][6][7][8]

Lindemann owned 19 Spanish-speaking radio stations.^[6][8] He was president of Cellular Dynamics and the managing general partner of Activated Communications Limited Partnership beginning in 1982.^[5] He was a general partner of Panhandle Eastern.^[5] He sat on the board of directors of HI Europe Limited and on the advisory board of Hudson Clean Energy Partners.^[5]

According to Forbes 2018 list of the world's billionaires, Lindemann’s net worth was US$3.3 billion.^[10]

Real Estate[]

George Lindemann was a previous owner^[12] of Aristotle Onassis’s New York City townhouse, which was later owned by John C. Whitehead.

Early life and education[]

George Lindemann was born to a Jewish family^[13] in 1936 in New York City.^[3] He received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.^[3][5][8]

Art Collection[]

George Lindemann was a collector of early 20th century Cartier timepieces and modern art. Several pieces from his collection,^[14] which comprised ornate clocks and bejeweled art pieces, and luxury objects, were featured in Architectural Digest.

Seventy objects from the collection were presented^[15] in the exhibit “Cartier masterworks From The George and Frayda Lindemann Collection” at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore in 1989. The collection totaled^[16] “half an acre of diamonds, rubies, pearls and semiprecious stones set in platinum, gold and silver and features a topaz as big as the Ritz.”

The San Diego Museum of Art featured pieces from the collection in a 1989^[17] show entitled “Reflections of Elegance: Cartier Jewels from the Lindemann Collection”. The collection was the focus of a monograph published by the New Orleans Museum of Art in 1999.

Philanthropy and political activities[]

George Lindemann and his wife Frayda supported the creation of The Lindemann Family Public Service Scholarship^[18] at New York University Law School, which pays full tuition for one year for an NYU law student pursuing public service law. George Lindemann made a donation^[19] to support Brown University’s Political Theory Project, an effort to encourage the study of political topics from a “variety of ideological perspectives.” The Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera is named after him and his wife.^[20][21][22] The Lindemann family also donated to the Greenwich Hospital Foundation.^[23]

The Lindemann family are longtime residents of Greenwich, Connecticut. After George Lindemann died, his wife Frayda, sons Adam and George Jr., and daughter Sloan Lindemann Barnett donated^[24] to refurbish the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where George Lindemann received care. They named the ICU in honor^[25] of his doctor there, Greenwich physician James A. Brunetti, DO.

He has made donations to Republican candidates, such as Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ed Royce, Denny Rehberg, and Virginia Foxx.^[26] He is a supporter of the Center for Jewish History.^[27]

Personal life[]

Lindemann was married to Frayda B. Lindemann^[3] who is vice-president on the board of the Metropolitan Opera.^[7] They have three children:^[3]

• Adam Marc Lindemann, president of Lindemann Capital, is an art collector, gallerist, columnist for the New York Observer, and a former champion polo player.^[7] In 1989, he married Elizabeth Ashley Graham.^[28] Her maternal grandfather is Charles R. Denny, former chairman of the FCC.^[28] They had three daughters. The Lindemanns divorced, and Adam is now married to Amalia Dayan, the granddaughter of Moshe Dayan. The couple has two daughters.
• Sloan Lindemann Barnett sits on the board of trustees of the New York University School of Law and runs a natural health products business.^[7] She is married to Roger Barnett, CEO of Shaklee, and a son of Victor Barnett and Helaine M. Barnett. They have three children.^[29]
• George Lindemann Jr. is an art collector, investor, and philanthropist in Miami.^[7] He served time in prison after being convicted by a jury of insurance fraud.^[30][7][31]

Lindemann was the president of the board of directors of the Bass Museum of Art. He lived in Palm Beach, Florida, but sold the house in 2008.^[32] He has other homes on the Upper East Side and in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[3][6][7][8] As of September 2011, he was the 736th richest person in the world, and the 220th richest in the US, with an estimated wealth of US$2.1 billion.^[3] He owned a 180-foot schooner, Adela, which has won international sailing competitions.^[7][8] The Lindemanns are members of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County.^[33]

References[]