Carl Lindner Jr. | Business leader, 92
Carl Lindner Jr., 92, who learned about business in a family dairy shop and became a billionaire buying and selling companies as founding chairman of American Financial Corp., died Monday in Cincinnati of "causes incident to age," the company said in a statement.
Carl Lindner Jr., 92, who learned about business in a family dairy shop and became a billionaire buying and selling companies as founding chairman of American Financial Corp., died Monday in Cincinnati of "causes incident to age," the company said in a statement.
Although averse to publicity, Mr. Lindner made news through the years by purchasing Chiquita Brands International Inc., the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, and the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper, among other entities he brought under the control of American Financial. Others included Provident Bank, Penn Central Corp., American Financial Enterprises, Fisher Foods, Great American Insurance, and General Cable Corp.
He was a longtime resident of Cincinnati and a pillar of the city's business community.
Forbes magazine's estimates of the net worth of Mr. Lindner and his family topped out at $2.3 billion in 2006 to 2008. The magazine pegged their wealth at $1.7 billion in 2010.
He was chief executive officer of American Financial, a provider of insurance and annuities, for 45 years before turning the company over to two of his sons in 2004, retaining the role of chairman.
In 1999, he led a group that bought controlling interest in baseball's Reds from Marge Schott. American Financial had been a part owner of the team since 1981. He sold his majority stake in 2005.
- Bloomberg News