Reds’ former majority owner Carl Lindner Jr. dies at 92

Financier Carl Lindner Jr., who used his experience running the family dairy store to build a business empire whose reach included baseball, banks and bananas, died Monday night. He was 92.

A person close to Lindner’s family but not authorized to speak until a statement had been issued confirmed his death. Lindner had been taken to the hospital gravely ill on Monday morning.

Lindner became controlling partner and chief executive officer 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.