Financier Carl Lindner dies at 92

Carl Lindner Jr., a publicity-shy Cincinnati financier known for a shrewdness that forged a business empire, was praised Tuesday for his willingness to help worthy causes and for never forgetting his roots.

Lindner, whose wide range of businesses over the years included baseball, insurance and banks, died Monday at age 92.

Lindner was surrounded by his wife, sons and other family members when he died of causes related to age, his Cincinnati-based company, American Financial Group Inc., said in a statement Tuesday.

Lindner was chairman of American Financial Group, a publicly traded financial holding company now reporting more than $30 billion in assets. In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated Lindner's personal wealth at $1.75 billion, placing him among the 400 richest Americans.

Lindner doled out millions of dollars to both political parties and to issue campaigns and hosted lavish fundraisers at his Ohio and Florida homes -- including one for presidential candidate George H.W. Bush at his home in 1988.

Lindner became controlling partner and chief executive of the Cincinnati Reds in a 1999 deal that ended Marge Schott's rocky 15-year reign as owner. In contrast to her grandstanding, Lindner stayed mostly in the background -- save for a lasting memory in 2000 when he picked up Ken Griffey Jr. at the airport in his Rolls-Royce following the blockbuster trade.

Some business critics considered him a ruthless takeover artist. He made millions in the 1970s and 1980s by investing, then retreating, from companies.