George Lindemann

In 1957, Lindemann began his career with his father's business, a cosmetics and hair care company called The Nestle-LeMur.{{cite web |title=George Lyle Lindemann Sr. biography |url=http://www.wealthx.com/articles/2015/george-lyle-lindemann-sr/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103165826/http://www.wealthx.com/articles/2015/george-lyle-lindemann-sr/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-01-03 |website=WealthX |date=3 January 2017}} From 1962 to 1972, Lindemann was the president of Smith, Miller and Patch, a pharmaceutical company. 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/george-lindemann/|title=Forbes profile: George Lindemann & family|website=Forbes|access-date=14 March 2018}} 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.

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

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

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

George Lindemann was a previous owner{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Kathryn |title=Aristotle Onassis's Former NYC Townhouse Hits Market for Almost $30M |url=https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/aristotle-onassis-s-former-nyc-townhouse-hits-market-for-almost-30m-59751 |website=Mansion Global |date=11 April 2017 |access-date=13 November 2020}} of Aristotle Onassis's New York City townhouse, which was later owned by John C. Whitehead.

George Lindemann was born to a Jewish family[http://www.forbes.co.il/news/new.aspx?0r9VQ=HMIK Forbes Israel: Jewish Billionaires – Profile of George Lindemann] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425011702/http://www.forbes.co.il/news/new.aspx?0r9VQ=HMIK |date=2013-04-25 }} April 14, 2013 (in Hebrew) in 1936 in New York City. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

George Lindemann was a collector of artwork and artifacts. This includes early 20th century Cartier timepieces and modern art. Several pieces from his collection,{{cite web |last1=Thurman |first1=Judith |title=Timeless Beauties |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/lindemann-slideshow-052007 |website=Architectural Digest |date=May 2007 |access-date=13 November 2020}} 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{{cite news |last1=Reif |first1=Rita |title=Antiques; Clocks and Jewels from The Golden Age of Cartier |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/17/arts/antiques-clocks-and-jewels-from-the-golden-age-of-cartier.html |website=New York Times |date=17 September 1989 |access-date=13 November 2020}} in the exhibit “Cartier masterworks From The George and Frayda Lindemann Collection” at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore in 1989. The collection totaled{{cite news |last1=Burchard |first1=Hank |title=Diamonds in The Trough |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/09/01/diamonds-in-the-trough/4a22a601-f823-4fbb-b9f2-9c885ffe6a41/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=13 November 2020}} “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{{cite web |last1=Ollman |first1=Leah |title=Museum Again Sparkles With Superficiality |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-29-ca-1062-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=29 December 1989 |access-date=13 November 2020}} 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."{{Cite news|last1=Whoriskey|first1=Peter|last2=Politzer|first2=Malia|last3=Reuter|first3=Delphine|last4=Woodman|first4=Spencer|title=Global hunt for looted treasures leads to offshore trusts|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/met-museum-cambodian-antiquities-latchford/|access-date=2022-01-15|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en}} Photographs of his collection included in a 2008 issue of Architectural Digest were identified as looted material sold by Douglas Latchford.{{Cite news |date=2022-08-15 |title=A luxury magazine photo hid relics Cambodia says could be stolen |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/15/lindemann-cambodian-investigation-architectural-digest/ |access-date=2022-08-16 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}}

George Lindemann and his wife Frayda were donors to both Brown and NYU where their children attended.{{cite web |title=Lindemann Family Public Service Scholarship |url=https://www.law.nyu.edu/financialaid/jdscholarships/rootscholarship/lindemann |website=NYU Law |access-date=13 November 2020}} 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{{cite web |title=Political Theory Project |url=https://www.brown.edu/academics/political-theory-project/about/text-style-reference |website=Brown |access-date=13 November 2020}} 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.[https://www.metopera.org/About/Who-We-Are/Lindemann-Young-Artist-Development-Program/ Lindemann Young Artist Development Program], Metropolitan Opera{{cite news |author=BWW News Desk |title=Five Talents Join Metropolitan Opera's Young Artists Development Program |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/Five-Talents-Join-Metropolitan-Operas-Young-Artists-Development-Program-20170713 |work=Broadway World |date=July 13, 2017 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Met Opera exec sells Sherry Netherland co-op |url=https://therealdeal.com/2019/02/05/vp-of-met-opera-sells-sherry-netherland-co-op/ |work=The Real Deal New York |date=5 February 2019}} The Lindemann family also donated to the Greenwich Hospital Foundation.{{cite news |title=Greenwich Hospital Receives Generous Gift in Honor of Dr. James Brunetti |url=https://greenwichfreepress.com/health/greenwich-hospital-receives-generous-gift-in-honor-of-dr-james-brunetti-130959/ |work=Greenwich Free Press |date=November 2, 2019}}

The Lindemann family are longtime residents of Greenwich, Connecticut. After George Lindemann died, his wife Frayda, sons Adam Lindemann and George Jr., and daughter Sloan Lindemann Barnett donated{{cite web |title=Greenwich Hospital, Lindemann Family ICU Ribbon Cutting Honoring Dr. James Brunetti |url=https://fairfieldcountylook.com/parties/greenwich-hospital-lindemann-family-gift-and-ribbon-cutting-to-honor-dr-james-brunetti/ |website=Fairfield County Look |access-date=13 November 2020}} to refurbish the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where George Lindemann received care. They named the ICU in honor{{cite web |title=Greenwich Hospital Receives Generous Gift in Honor of Dr. James Brunetti |url=https://greenwichfreepress.com/health/greenwich-hospital-receives-generous-gift-in-honor-of-dr-james-brunetti-130959/ |website=Greenwich Free Press |date=2 November 2019 |access-date=13 November 2020}} of his doctor there, Greenwich physician James A. Brunetti, DO.

File:The Lindemann Performing Arts Center at Brown University.jpg]]

He made donations to Republican candidates, such as Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ed Royce, Denny Rehberg, and Virginia Foxx.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/section/politics|title=Politics - U.S. Political News, Opinion and Analysis|website=HuffPost|access-date=24 February 2018}} He was a supporter of the Center for Jewish History.[http://www.cjh.org/cjh_today/2006_fw.pdf Center for Jewish History Bulletin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227005512/http://www.cjh.org/cjh_today/2006_fw.pdf |date=2013-02-27 }}, Fall/Winter 2006

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

• Adam Marc Lindemann, president of Lindemann Capital, is an art collector, gallerist, columnist for the New York Observer, and a former champion polo player. In 1989, he married Elizabeth Ashley Graham.[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/16/style/elizabeth-graham-graduate-student-is-married-to-adam-marc-lindemann.html The New York Times: "Elizabeth Graham, Graduate Student, Is Married to Adam Marc Lindemann"], October 16, 1989 Her maternal grandfather is Charles R. Denny, former chairman of the FCC. 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. She is married to Roger Barnett, CEO of Shaklee, and a son of Victor Barnett and Helaine M. Barnett. They have three children.[http://www.law.nyu.edu/alumni/almo/pastalmos/2009-10ALMOs/sloanlindemannbarnettdecember/index.htm New York University Law Alumni of the Month December 2009: Sloan Lindemann Barnett '93], retrieved May 3, 2013 Photographs of her San Francisco house appeared in the January 2021 issue of Architectural Digest.{{Cite web |date=2020-12-08 |title=Inside a Historic San Francisco Mansion Where Art and Design Reign Free |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/inside-a-historic-san-francisco-mansion-where-art-and-design-reign-free |access-date=2022-08-16 |website=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}} After publication it emerged that they had been digitally altered to remove images of allegedly looted Khmer sculptures.{{Cite news |date=2022-08-15 |title=A luxury magazine photo hid relics Cambodians says we're looted.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/08/15/lindemann-cambodian-investigation-architectural-digest/ |access-date=2022-08-16 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}}[https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/lindemann-cambodia-relics-altered-photo-magazine/ Magazine spread of ‘most beautiful house in America’ conceals allegedly stolen Cambodian relics], August 15, 2022, ICIJ
• George Lindemann Jr. is an art collector, investor, philanthropist in Miami. He served time in prison after being convicted by a jury for insurance fraud which involved the killing of horses.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/us/maggy-hurchala-florida-mining.html|title=The Florida Activist Is 78. The Legal Judgment Against Her Is $4 Million.|last=Mazzei|first=Patricia|date=2019-09-08|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-09-08|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/19/us/3-year-term-in-90-killing-of-prize-horse.html|title=3-Year Term In '90 Killing Of Prize Horse|date=January 19, 1996|work=New York Times|access-date=2019-09-08}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Janjigian |first1=Robert |title="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 |url=https://www.corcoran.com/nyc/PressMention/Display/6811 |work=Corcoran |date=April 8, 2008}} He had other homes on the Upper East Side and in Greenwich, Connecticut. 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. He owned a 180-foot schooner, Adela, which has won international sailing competitions. Lindemann was a member of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County.[http://jewishpalmbeach.org/images/2011HR_FLIP.pdf Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County Honor Roll] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913105523/http://jewishpalmbeach.org/images/2011HR_FLIP.pdf |date=2012-09-13 }} 2011

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Category:1936 births

Category:2018 deaths

Category:American chief executives

Category:American billionaires

Category:20th-century American Jews

Category:Wharton School alumni

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Category:Businesspeople from Palm Beach, Florida

Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:21st-century American Jews