Hines was born in 1925 in Gary, Indiana. His parents moved to Gary from Nova Scotia in 1923. Hines is descended from British loyalists who fought in the Revolutionary War. In 1948, he graduated with a bachelor in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.
Career
Shortly after moving to Houston in 1948, he formed an engineering partnership and started a fledgling real estate businesson the side. In 1957 he formed Gerald D. Hines Interests, whose early projects were 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 hired Hines to construct a new downtown Houston headquarters. The Galleria; Pennzoil Place; Transco Tower ; and more than 400 other major buildings followed. He founded Hines in 1967. Today, Hines is one of the largest real estate firms in the world, according to a 2005 report by the Lipsey Company with operations throughout the U.S. and in 23 other countries. Many of his buildings were designed by well-known architects, including I. M. Pei, Philip Johnson, Cesar Pelli, Frank Gehry, and Robert A.M. Stern. Today, the Hines portfolio of projects underway, completed, acquired, and managed for third parties includes more than 1,100 properties representing approximately of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, retail, and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With controlled assets valued at approximately $25.8 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world, as stated in the press release, “Leading Sustainable Property Owner/Manager Hines Extends "Green Office" Program to It's 4,000+ Tenants." As of 2016, his net worth equaled USD $1.3 billion. Hines also served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1981-1983.
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.
Personal life
In 1952, he married Dorothy Schwarz of the Schwarz family, founders of F.A.O. Schwartz toys; they have two children: Jeff and Jennifer. In 1981, he married German-born painter, Barbara Hines, the daughter of Holocaust survivors. His cousin is inventor Gordon E. Hines.
Awards
Hines has an Urban Land Institute competition and award named in his honor: the ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition.
