Carl H. Lindner Jr., a billionaire who took over the Cincinnati Reds from Marge Schott, did junk-bond deals with Michael R. Milken and used his experience running the family dairy store to build a business empire, died on Monday in Cincinnati. He was 92.

His death was announced on the Web site of his company, the American Financial Group.

Mr. Lindner, who never finished high school, was chairman of American Financial, a Cincinnati-based financial holding company that had more than $17 billion in assets. In 2009, Forbes magazine estimated his personal wealth at $1.75 billion.

He also made a name for himself by becoming one of Mr. Milken’s earliest junk-bond players. But he showed his investment savvy by correctly predicting a decline in the junk-bond market in the late 1980s.

Mr. Lindner ruled over a maze of corporations with nearly 70,000 employees worldwide. American Financial owned, or held substantial investments in, Chiquita Brands International, one of the world’s largest food producers; the Charter Company, marketer of fuel to electric utilities; and the Great American Insurance Group.