Edward Linde

Edward H. Linde (June 22, 1941 – January 10, 2010^[2]) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist in Boston, Massachusetts.^[3][4][5] Alongside Mortimer B. Zuckerman, he co-founded Boston Properties in 1970.^[3]

Edward H. Linde
Born	22 June 1941 Brooklyn, New York, US
Died	10 January 2010(2010-01-10) (aged 68) Boston, Massachusetts, US[1]
Alma mater	MIT (B.S., Civil Engineering, 1962) Harvard Business School (MBA, 1964)
Occupation	Real estate developer
Spouse	Joyce Goldfine
Children	2

Biography

Linde was born to a Jewish family^[6][7] in Brooklyn on June 22, 1941, the son of Irving and Dorothy Linde.^[8] In 1958, he moved to Boston in 1958 to attend MIT where he studied civil engineering^[3] and graduated in 1962.^[8] In 1964, he graduated from Harvard Business School and went to work for Cabot, Cabot & Forbes^[3] where he met Mortimer B. Zuckerman.^[8]

He and Zuckerman redeveloped much of East Cambridge into the area now known as Kendall Square, helping create a U.S. technology hub, with Harvard and MIT researchers mixing with firms such as Google, Microsoft, Biogen Idec, and Novartis.^[3] In Boston, Linde was responsible for properties such as the office towers at 28 State Street and One Boston Place.^[3] Perhaps his most prominent contribution to the city was the Prudential Center, where he helped transform a disjointed area into a retail mecca.^[3] In 2007, he was succeeded as company president by his son, Douglas T. Linde.^[9]

Forbes ranked him tied as the 840th richest billionaire worldwide in 2007, with a net worth of US$1.1 billion.^[10]

Philanthropy

Linde was chairman of the board of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a director of Jobs for Massachusetts, WGBH, and Boston World Partnership, and a trustee at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.^[3] The west wing of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts is named after him, his wife, and the Linde family in recognition of the more than $25 million they donated to the museum.^[3] He also was a major donor to his alma mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,^[3][5] the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, and Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston.^[11]

Personal life

In 1963, he married Joyce Goldfine (born 1943) whom he had met in college; they had two children, Douglas Linde and Karen Linde Packman.^[12][13][8]

Edward Linde died from pneumonia in 2010.^[9]

As of 2016, Joyce Linde was worth $1.5 billion.^[14]