Here's how David Simon built a $60B empire...
From a small family business:
Melvin Simon founded a modest Indiana strip-center developer with his brother in 1960, which would evolve into Simon Property Group.
Deal-focused, Wall Street training:
Melvin encouraged his son David to “go learn from the masters,” so David went to Columbia and then worked on Wall Street under M&A titans.
Fast-tracked leadership:
David became CFO at 29, orchestrated Simon Property Group’s record-breaking $1 billion IPO at 32 and ascended to CEO by 34.
Inventing the mega-merger:
Revolutionized retail real estate in 1996 by orchestrating a $1.5 billion merger with DeBartolo Realty, the industry’s first major mall REIT merger, setting the stage for over $40 billion of acquisitions since then.
Outlet mall dominance:
Spent over $9 billion strategically acquiring Chelsea Premium Outlets and Mills Corp., making Simon the unrivaled leader in the global outlet mall segment.
17-year acquisition saga:
In 2003, Simon launched an aggressive, hostile takeover attempt for rival Taubman Centers, finally completing the acquisition in 2020, securing an $800 million pandemic-driven discount after nearly two decades.
Doubled down on big tenants:
Made unconventional investments in troubled retail chains, including JCPenney, Forever 21, and Aéropostale, to protect Simon’s malls from vacancies.
The quiet billionaire:
Despite being an industry titan, David Simon famously avoids the spotlight, responding to a reality-TV invitation: “Absolutely, positively, unequivocally—no.”
Betting against the “death of malls”:
During the 2009 recession, Simon boldly asserted that malls would recover. He aggressively invested when others retreated and was proven emphatically correct.
Predicting retail’s shakeout:
Correctly anticipated the accelerated decline of weaker malls, ensuring Simon’s portfolio of high-quality properties thrived as the market consolidated.
Creating smarter malls:
Championed data-driven malls years before mainstream adoption, pioneering real-time, mobile-focused customer experiences and location-based promotions.
The dominant retail landlord:
Simon Property Group is the largest and most influential retail landlord in the world with interests in 200+ properties and 183 million square feet globally, 96% leased with $733/sf in sales and $60B+ in market capitalization.
David, we know you hate attention, but you're a great example for younger folks navigating our industry. ...particularly those who come from real estate families and need to know hard work usually pays off and that there are multiple paths to the top.
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