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George Lyle Lindemann (March 26, 1936 – June 21, 2018) was an American billionaire businessman known for being the chairman and chief executive officer of Southern Union, a fossil fuel infrastructure and pipeline company.Robert Trigaux, "Florida boasts 10 of world's richest" in St. Petersburg Times, February 28, 2003Peter Latterman and Michael J. De La Merced, "Natural Gas Bidding War Puts Spotlight on a Billionaire" in The New York Times, June 28, 2011 He was also the owner of 19 Spanish language-language and the vice president of the Metropolitan Opera Association in New York City.
He ranked #703 on the Forbes 2018 list of the world's billionaires, with a net worth of US$3.3 billion.
In 2023, the Lindeman family agreed to return 33 ancient statues which had been stolen from Cambodia, Lindeman family returns 33 long-sought ancient statues to Cambodia, Spencer Woodman, September 12, 2023, ICIJ valued at $20 million. Lindemann Family Returns $20M Worth of Looted Cambodian Artifacts, Elaine Velie, September 14, 2023, Hyperallergic
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.
Seventy objects from the collection were presented in the exhibit “Cartier masterworks From The George and Frayda Lindemann Collection” at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore in 1989. The collection totaled “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 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 Ministry of Culture have stated that some of the Khmer people artworks in Lindemann's collection were "definitely Looted art." Photographs of his collection included in a 2008 issue of Architectural Digest were identified as looted material sold by Douglas Latchford.
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 to refurbish the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where George Lindemann received care. They named the ICU in honor of his doctor there, Greenwich physician James A. Brunetti, DO.
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. 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. Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County Honor Roll 2011
Philanthropy
George Lindemann and his wife Frayda were donors to both Brown and NYU where their children attended. 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 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. Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Metropolitan Opera The Lindemann family also donated to the Greenwich Hospital Foundation.
Political contributions
He made donations to Republican candidates, such as Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ed Royce, Denny Rehberg, and Virginia Foxx. He was a supporter of the Center for Jewish History. Center for Jewish History Bulletin , Fall/Winter 2006
Personal life
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.
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