George Lindemann
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fossil fuel infrastructure, pipeline transportation |
| Founder | George Lyle Lindemann |
| Fate | Sold to Energy Transfer Equity in 2012 |
Key people | George Lyle Lindemann (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products | Natural gas pipeline transportation |
| Owner | George Lyle Lindemann (former) |
George Lyle Lindemann (March 26, 1936 – June 21, 2018) was an American billionaire entrepreneur, primarily recognized as the chairman and CEO of Southern Union, a company specializing in fossil fuel infrastructure and pipeline transportation. Additionally, he owned 19 Spanish-language radio stations and held the position of vice president at New York City's Metropolitan Opera Association.
In the 2018 Forbes ranking of global billionaires, Lindemann was positioned at number 703, with an estimated net worth of $3.3 billion.
In 2023, the Lindemann family consented to the restitution of 33 ancient statues taken illicitly from Cambodia, valued at around $20 million.
Career
Lindemann launched his professional journey in 1957 within his father’s cosmetics and hair care enterprise, The Nestle-LeMur. Between 1962 and 1972, he was president of Smith, Miller and Patch, a pharmaceutical firm. In 1971, he divested Permalens—his family’s eye-care business responsible for pioneering the first permanent-wear soft contact lens—to Cooper Labs for $75 million. The following year, he established Vision Cable, a cable television company which he sold in 1982 to Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. and his brother for $220 million.
He later founded Metro Mobile, a cellular phone company that he sold to Bell Atlantic in 1991 for $2.5 billion. Through this venture, Lindemann acquired Southern Union—a struggling natural gas pipeline company—in 1990 for $125 million. As CEO, he transformed Southern Union before selling it in 2012 to Energy Transfer Equity for roughly $2 billion.
Beyond these enterprises, Lindemann owned a network of 19 Spanish-language radio stations and served as president of Cellular Dynamics while acting as managing general partner of Activated Communications Limited Partnership starting in 1982. He was also a general partner at Panhandle Eastern, served on the board of HI Europe Limited, and provided counsel to Hudson Clean Energy Partners.
According to Forbes in 2018, his wealth was appraised at approximately $3.3 billion.
Real estate
Lindemann once possessed the New York City townhouse originally owned by Aristotle Onassis and subsequently by John C. Whitehead.
Early life and education
Born in New York City in 1936 to a Jewish family, Lindemann earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Art collection
George Lindemann curated an impressive array of art and artifacts, including early twentieth-century Cartier watches alongside modern art pieces. His collection featured elaborate clocks, jeweled artworks, luxury items, and Cambodian antiquities that were highlighted in Architectural Digest.
In 1989, seventy items from his collection were displayed in the exhibition “Cartier Masterworks From The George and Frayda Lindemann Collection” at Baltimore’s Walters Art Gallery. This assemblage included “half an acre of diamonds, rubies, pearls and semiprecious stones set in platinum, gold and silver,” featuring a notable topaz described as "as big as the Ritz."
That same year, the San Diego Museum of Art presented “Reflections of Elegance: Cartier Jewels from the Lindemann Collection.” Later, in 1999, the New Orleans Museum of Art published a monograph detailing this collection.
Nevertheless, experts from Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture have verified that certain Khmer artworks within Lindemann’s holdings were "definitely looted." Photographs published in a 2008 edition of Architectural Digest included pieces identified as illicitly obtained materials sold by Douglas Latchford.
Philanthropy
George Lindemann and his wife, Frayda, were benefactors of Brown University and New York University, institutions attended by their children. They established the Lindemann Family Public Service Scholarship at NYU Law, which fully finances tuition for a student dedicated to public service law careers. Additionally, George Lindemann contributed to Brown University's Political Theory Project, encouraging the exploration of a variety of political ideologies. The Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera is named in their honor. Their philanthropic efforts also extended to the Greenwich Hospital Foundation.
As long-term inhabitants of Greenwich, Connecticut, the Lindemann family—comprising Frayda, sons Adam and George Jr., and daughter Sloan Lindemann Barnett—funded renovations for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where George Lindemann received treatment, dedicating it to his physician, Dr. James A. Brunetti.
Political contributions
George Lindemann provided financial support to Republican politicians such as Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ed Royce, Denny Rehberg, and Virginia Foxx. He was also a donor to the Center for Jewish History.
Personal life
Married to Frayda B. Lindemann, who served as vice-president on the Metropolitan Opera's board, George Lindemann had three children, two of whom were involved in public controversies.
- Adam Marc Lindemann leads Lindemann Capital as president; he is also an art collector, gallery owner, columnist for the New York Observer, and a former polo champion. In 1989, he wed Elizabeth Ashley Graham; they had three daughters before divorcing. Adam later married Amalia Dayan, granddaughter of Moshe Dayan; together they have two daughters.
- Sloan Lindemann Barnett is a member of the New York University School of Law board of trustees and operates a natural health product company. She is married to Roger Barnett, CEO of Shaklee and son of Victor and Helaine M. Barnett; they have three children. Her residence in San Francisco was featured in Architectural Digest in 2021; however, images were subsequently discovered to have been digitally altered to remove purportedly looted Khmer sculptures.
- George Lindemann Jr. resides in Miami as an art collector, investor, and philanthropist. He was incarcerated following a conviction related to an insurance fraud scheme involving horse killings.
George Lindemann held the position of president on the Bass Museum of Art’s board. He lived in Palm Beach, Florida until selling his property in 2008 and also owned homes on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and in Greenwich, Connecticut. By September 2011, his net worth was estimated at $2.1 billion, ranking him 736th richest worldwide and 220th in the United States. He possessed the 180-foot schooner Adela, renowned for its success in international sailing events. Additionally, Lindemann was affiliated with the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County.