One of the most distinguished residents of Palm Beach, Florida, is gas and media tycoon George Lindemann Sr., one of the richest men in the world according to Forbes. With a net worth estimated at $1.5 billion, George Lindemann and his family are currently ranked 512th in Forbes' list of The World's Richest People 2006.

George Lindemann, however, is more than just your usual wealthy man. On top of being a smart and able business executive and a consummate family man, he also happens to be wealthy in a lot of other aspects. A patron of the arts, an influential philantrophist, a defender of civil rights and an avid sportsman are just some of the adjectives that best describe George Lindemann, the billionaire.

Born in 1936 in New York City, Lindemann went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. This education was put to good use, which shows in the resounding success of the many diverse enterprises he has entered into through the course of his life.

In 1958, he joined the cosmetics and hair care products company of his father, which eventually diversified into pharmaceutical products. Dabbling in eye, ear, nose and throat product research, as well as early research on intraocular lenses, Lindemann is primarily responsible for the development and marketing of the first permanent-wear soft contact lens, Permalens. This is where his fortunes began to rise and eventually make him one of the wealthiest men in the world

After selling his contact lens business to Cooper Labs for $60 million in 1971, Lindemann went on to become president of Vision Cable Communications, a pioneer in the cable television industry with New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana operations. From there, he became the president and CEO of Metro Mobile Communications, Inc., the second largest SMR (specialized mobile radio) dispatch company in the United States. Eventually, he sold the Metro Mobile cell service to Bell Atlantic for $2.6 billion in 1992.

At present, George Lindemann is the chairman of the board, president and CEO of Southern Union Company, which ranks as the second largest natural gas pipeline company in the United States. He has been the chairman and CEO of the company since 1990, while his position as president didn't come until his appointment in November 2005. Lindemann and his family own about 10% of Southern Union. His family also currently holds a large stake in Verizon Communications. In addition to all this, he owns 19 Spanish-language radio stations.

An active supporter of the arts, George Lindemann sits on the board of the New Orleans Museum of Art, as well as that of the Metropolitan Club in New York City. He is also on the board of directors of the International Class A Yacht Association, Perto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy. Ever the avid sportsman, Lindemann also happens to be the proud owner of the 180-foot schooner named Adela that took the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2005 at Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy.