In 2002, Mitchell sold his energy company to Devon Energy for $3.5 billion, but he remained the major shareholder. Then, he turned to real estate becoming a developer of The Woodlands, a huge community based in the north of Houston that has accommodated more than 97,000 people. Moreover, he and his wife Cynthia had been a part of the revitalization of their hometown of Galveston, and Mitchell had also given about $24 million in renovations of his hotels that were damaged of Hurricane Ike in 2008. Being a great philanthropist, together with his wife, they had founded the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation that had donated over $400 million in grants to different programs, institutions and causes. George P. Mitchell died at the age of 94 on July 26, 2013 at his home in Galveston, Texas.
