The Lindner family's rise to prominence began with Carl Lindner Sr. opening a dairy processing plant in
Norwood, Ohio in 1940. The business,
United Dairy Farmers, had expanded to thirty stores by 1960, and the family bought the
American Financial Group with their savings. By the mid-1960s, Carl Sr.'s sons were running the family's businesses:
Carl Jr. was running American Financial Group, Robert was running United Dairy Farmers, and Richard was running the
Thriftway Food Drug grocery chain, which later joined with
Winn-Dixie. In 1975, Cincinnati-based American Financial Group, one of billionaire Carl Lindner Jr.'s companies, bought into
United Fruit Company. In August 1984, Lindner took control of the company and renamed it
Chiquita Brands International. In 1989, the Lindner family founded and funded the
Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. In 1999, Carl Jr. bought controlling ownership in the
Cincinnati Reds, which he held until selling to
Robert Castellini in 2005. event in 2018 In 2015,
Carl III became majority owner and chief executive owner of the newly formed soccer club
FC Cincinnati. On November 14, 2025, Christopher Lindner, son of
Carl III, was shot and killed by police officers of West Union Police Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol in
Adams County, Ohio. The killing followed a car chase and Lindner emerging from a residence with a gun. == References ==