Gerald Douglas Hines (August 15, 1925August 23, 2020) was an American real estate developer based in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. He was the founder and chairman of Hines, a privately held real estate firm with its headquarters in that city. At the time of his death, the company had assets in 25 countries.

Early life and education

Hines was born in

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

,Houston History: "Who's Who - Gerald D. Hines"
retrieved April 15, 2015 on August 15, 1925, to Gordon and Myrte (née McConnell) Hines. His parents had moved to Gary from Nova Scotia in 1923. Hines was descended from British loyalists who fought in the Revolutionary War.Digital Houston Library: "Interview with Gerald Hines" Interviewed by Paul Hobby
December 13, 2007 Following his service as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1943 to 1946, he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

in 1948. He was then employed by American Blower Corp, and was subsequently transferred to

. After working at the company for several years, he went to work for Texas Engineering.

Career

Shortly after moving to Houston in 1948, Hines formed an engineering partnership and started a fledgling real estate business on the side. He established Gerald D. Hines Interests in 1957; its early projects included warehouses and small office buildings. Edgar L. Muller was his architectural engineer in the early years in an office Hines built on Richmond Avenue. His first large-scale commercial development came in 1967 when

Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States–based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is among the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...

hired Hines to construct a new downtown Houston headquarters.

The Galleria The Galleria, stylized theGalleria and also known as the Houston Galleria, is an upscale mixed-use urban development and shopping mall located in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas, United States.Pennzoil Place Pennzoil Place is a pair of 36-story towers in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. Completed in 1975, it is Houston's most award-winning skyscraper, even being crowned "Building of the Year" by the New York Times. The project consists of t ...

, Transco Tower (now Williams Tower), and more than 900 developments would follow. The firm proceeded to branch out into Europe after the

fall of communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

there in 1989. It consequently completed projects in Spain, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Hines also served as chairman of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (informally referred to as the Dallas Fed) is one of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks that, along with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the centra ...

from 1981 to 1983. Hines was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 2001 for global leadership in engineering advancements that set the standard for innovative and efficient design in the commercial building industry. Hines subsequently passed control of the company to his son Jeffrey in 1990. A 2005 report by the Lipsey Company, recognized Hines as one of the largest real estate firms in the world, with operations throughout the U.S. and across the globe. Many of the firm's buildings were designed by well-known architects, including

I. M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect who designed modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the postmodern 550 ...

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Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...

, and Robert A.M. Stern. At the time of his death, the Hines portfolio of projects underway, completed, acquired, and managed for third parties includes more than 1,900 properties representing approximately of office, living/housing, mixed-use, industrial/logistics, hospitality, medical, retail, and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With controlled assets valued at approximately $144.1 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. As of 2016, his net worth equaled US$1.3 billion.

Philanthropy

Hines donated $7 million to the University of Houston's College of Architecture, which renamed the college the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture. He was one of the primary contributors in the construction of the Chabad Jewish Community Center in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population ...

Personal life

In 1952, he married Dorothy Schwarz (died 2017) of the Schwarz family, founders of F.A.O. Schwarz toys; they have two children: Jeff and Jennifer,Houston Chronicle: "Hines a towering influence on Houston landmarks - Hines is a towering influence on Houston landmarks From the Galleria to downtown skyscrapers, developer Gerald Hines reflects on triumphs" By Nancy Sarnoff
June 10, 2007 and divorced in 1980. In his early 50s, Hines was told by doctors that he needed heart bypass surgery.
washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 7 February 2023. Instead he became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and followed a vigorous exercise routine. He helped to fund studies conducted by

Dean Ornish Dean Michael Ornish (born July 16, 1953) is an American physician and researcher. He is the president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a clinical professor of medicine at the Univ ...

. In 1981, he married German-born painter Barbara Fritzsche, who had grown up in Australia, the daughter of

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors. Together they had two children: Serena and Trevor. Hines died on August 23, 2020, at his home in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. He had celebrated his 95th birthday just over a week before his death.

Awards

* 1979: Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

* Hines has an

Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a global nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI aims to help its members and their partners build more equitable, sustainable, heal ...

competition and award named in his honor: the ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. * 2000:

Honor Award The National Building Museum promotes excellence in architecture, engineering, construction, planning, and design. In furtherance of that mission, the Museum instituted an annual Honor Award in 1986 to recognize individuals and organizations that ...

from the

National Building Museum The National Building Museum is a museum of architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning in Northwest Washington, D.C., U.S. It was created by an act of Congress in 1980, and is a private non-profit institution. Located at ...

* 2002 Urban Land Institute J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionary Urban Development * 2004: The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award from the

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and Sustainable design, sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in ...

* 2008: the first Visionary Leadership in Real Estate Development Award, a lifetime achievement award from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

* 2009: with his wife Barbara, the Guardian of the Human Spirit Award from the

Holocaust Museum Houston The Holocaust Museum Houston is located in Houston's Museum District, in Texas. It is the fourth largest holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, Eur ...

* 2012: honorary doctorate from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

References

External links

Website
* * Hines, Gerald and Paul Hobby
Gerald Hines Oral History
Houston Oral History Project, December 13, 2007.
Interview with Gerald Hines 2013
William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library, University of Houston Digital Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Gerald D. 1925 births 2020 deaths American chief executives American people of British descent American philanthropists American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from Houston Hines Interests Limited Partnership Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering People from Gary, Indiana Purdue University College of Engineering alumni American billionaires