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George Lindemann

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George Lindemann
Born
George Lyle Lindemann[1]

(1936-03-26)March 26, 1936[1]
New York City, US
DiedJune 21, 2018(2018-06-21) (aged 82)[2]
Palm Beach, Florida, US
Alma materWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
OccupationBusinessman
TitleChairman and CEO, Southern Union
SpouseFrayda B. Lindemann
Children3

George Lyle Lindemann (March 26, 1936 – June 21, 2018)[3] was an American billionaire[1] businessman known for being the chairman and chief executive officer of Southern Union, a fossil fuel infrastructure and pipeline company.[4][5][6][7] He was also the owner of 19 Spanish-language radio stations[5][7] and the vice president of the Metropolitan Opera Association in New York City.[8]

He ranked #703 on the Forbes 2018 list of the world's billionaires, with a net worth of US$3.3 billion.[9]

Career

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In 1957, Lindemann began his career with his father's business, a cosmetics and hair care company called The Nestle-LeMur.[10] From 1962 to 1972, Lindemann was the president of Smith, Miller and Patch, a pharmaceutical company.[4] 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.[11] 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.[11][5][6][7]

Shortly after, he founded a cell phone company, Metro Mobile, which he later sold to Bell Atlantic for $2.5 billion in 1991.[11][5][6][7] 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.[6] He was CEO of Southern Union, and sold it in 2012 to Energy Transfer Equity, for approximately $2.0 billion.[11][5][6][7]

Lindemann owned 19 Spanish-speaking radio stations.[5][7] He was president of Cellular Dynamics and the managing general partner of Activated Communications Limited Partnership beginning in 1982.[4] He was a general partner of Panhandle Eastern.[4] He sat on the board of directors of HI Europe Limited and on the advisory board of Hudson Clean Energy Partners.[4]

According to Forbes 2018 list of the world's billionaires, Lindemann's net worth was US$3.3 billion.[9]

Real estate

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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

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George Lindemann was born to a Jewish family[13] in 1936 in New York City.[11] He received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[11][4][7]

Art collection

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George Lindemann was a collector of artwork and artifacts. This includes early 20th century Cartier timepieces and modern art. Several pieces from his collection,[14] including ornate clocks, bejeweled art pieces, luxury objects, and stolen Cambodian artifacts have been 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.

Art experts and archaeologists working with the Cambodian Ministry of Culture have stated that some of the Khmer artworks in Lindemann's collection were "definitely looted."[18] Photographs of his collection included in a 2008 issue of Architectural Digest were identified as looted material sold by Douglas Latchford.[19]

Philanthropy

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George Lindemann and his wife Frayda were donors to both Brown and NYU where their children attended.[20] 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[21] 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.[22][23][24] The Lindemann family also donated to the Greenwich Hospital Foundation.[25]

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[26] to refurbish the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where George Lindemann received care. They named the ICU in honor[27] of his doctor there, Greenwich physician James A. Brunetti, DO.

The Lindemann Performing Arts Center

Political contributions

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He made donations to Republican candidates, such as Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ed Royce, Denny Rehberg, and Virginia Foxx.[28] He was a supporter of the Center for Jewish History.[29]

Personal life

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Lindemann was married to Frayda B. Lindemann[11] who is vice-president on the board of the Metropolitan Opera.[6] They have three children, two of whom have been the subject of public controversy.[11]

  • Adam Marc Lindemann, president of Lindemann Capital, is an art collector, gallerist, columnist for the New York Observer, and a former champion polo player.[6] In 1989, he married Elizabeth Ashley Graham.[30] Her maternal grandfather is Charles R. Denny, former chairman of the FCC.[30] 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.[6] She is married to Roger Barnett, CEO of Shaklee, and a son of Victor Barnett and Helaine M. Barnett. They have three children.[31] Photographs of her San Francisco house appeared in the January 2021 issue of Architectural Digest.[32] After publication it emerged that they had been digitally altered to remove images of allegedly looted Khmer sculptures.[33]
  • George Lindemann Jr. is an art collector, investor, philanthropist in Miami.[6] He served time in prison after being convicted by a jury for insurance fraud which involved the killing of horses.[34][6][35]

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.[36] He had other homes on the Upper East Side and in Greenwich, Connecticut.[11][5][6][7] 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.[11] He owned a 180-foot schooner, Adela, which has won international sailing competitions.[6][7] Lindemann was a member of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County.[37]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Billionaires: George Lyle LINDEMANN". Wealth-X. Archived from the original on 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2017-01-02.
  2. ^ Cohen, Ian. "Billionaire businessman George Lindemann dies". Palm Beach Daily News. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  3. ^ Hagerty, James R. (29 June 2018). "George Lindemann Made Bold Investments in Cable TV, Mobile Phones and Pipelines". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Stocks". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Robert Trigaux, "Florida boasts 10 of world's richest" in St. Petersburg Times, February 28, 2003
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Peter Latterman and Michael J. De La Merced, "Natural Gas Bidding War Puts Spotlight on a Billionaire" in The New York Times, June 28, 2011
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Wharton Magazine". Retrieved 24 February 2018.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Cohen, Ian (June 25, 2018). "Billionaire businessman George Lindemann dies". Palm Beach Daily News.
  9. ^ a b "George Lindemann & family". Forbes. March 6, 2018.
  10. ^ "George Lyle Lindemann Sr. biography". WealthX. 3 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-01-03.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Forbes profile: George Lindemann & family". Forbes. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  12. ^ Hopkins, Kathryn (11 April 2017). "Aristotle Onassis's Former NYC Townhouse Hits Market for Almost $30M". Mansion Global. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  13. ^ Forbes Israel: Jewish Billionaires – Profile of George Lindemann Archived 2013-04-25 at the Wayback Machine April 14, 2013 (in Hebrew)
  14. ^ Thurman, Judith (May 2007). "Timeless Beauties". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  15. ^ Reif, Rita (17 September 1989). "Antiques; Clocks and Jewels from The Golden Age of Cartier". New York Times. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  16. ^ Burchard, Hank. "Diamonds in The Trough". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  17. ^ Ollman, Leah (29 December 1989). "Museum Again Sparkles With Superficiality". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  18. ^ Whoriskey, Peter; Politzer, Malia; Reuter, Delphine; Woodman, Spencer. "Global hunt for looted treasures leads to offshore trusts". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  19. ^ "A luxury magazine photo hid relics Cambodia says could be stolen". Washington Post. 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  20. ^ "Lindemann Family Public Service Scholarship". NYU Law. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Political Theory Project". Brown. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  22. ^ Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Metropolitan Opera
  23. ^ BWW News Desk (July 13, 2017). "Five Talents Join Metropolitan Opera's Young Artists Development Program". Broadway World.
  24. ^ "Met Opera exec sells Sherry Netherland co-op". The Real Deal New York. 5 February 2019.
  25. ^ "Greenwich Hospital Receives Generous Gift in Honor of Dr. James Brunetti". Greenwich Free Press. November 2, 2019.
  26. ^ "Greenwich Hospital, Lindemann Family ICU Ribbon Cutting Honoring Dr. James Brunetti". Fairfield County Look. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  27. ^ "Greenwich Hospital Receives Generous Gift in Honor of Dr. James Brunetti". Greenwich Free Press. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Politics - U.S. Political News, Opinion and Analysis". HuffPost. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  29. ^ Center for Jewish History Bulletin Archived 2013-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, Fall/Winter 2006
  30. ^ a b The New York Times: "Elizabeth Graham, Graduate Student, Is Married to Adam Marc Lindemann", October 16, 1989
  31. ^ New York University Law Alumni of the Month December 2009: Sloan Lindemann Barnett '93, retrieved May 3, 2013
  32. ^ "Inside a Historic San Francisco Mansion Where Art and Design Reign Free". Architectural Digest. 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  33. ^ "A luxury magazine photo hid relics Cambodians says we're looted". Washington Post. 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  34. ^ Mazzei, Patricia (2019-09-08). "The Florida Activist Is 78. The Legal Judgment Against Her Is $4 Million". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  35. ^ "3-Year Term In '90 Killing Of Prize Horse". New York Times. January 19, 1996. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  36. ^ Janjigian, Robert (April 8, 2008). ""George, Frayda Lindemann sell Blossom Way home; price rumored to be between $70 and $80 million" - By: Robert Janjigian, Palm Beach Daily News | The Corcoran Group". Corcoran.
  37. ^ Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County Honor Roll Archived 2012-09-13 at the Wayback Machine 2011
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