Simon Property Group

In 1960 Melvin Simon and his younger brother Herbert started Melvin Simon & Associates, first focusing on smaller strip centers anchored by grocery stores and pharmacies.⁠[1]

Within five years of its founding, the company was building enclosed malls across the country.⁠[2]

In the early 1980s the company shifted toward mixed-use projects, completing its first, Two West Washington in downtown Indianapolis, in 1983. In 1992 it became managing partner of the Mall of America in Minnesota, which opened that year.⁠[2]

David Simon joined the family-owned Melvin Simon & Associates as chief financial officer in 1990 and took over as CEO in 1995, at age 33.⁠[3]

A nephew of Herbert Simon, he had been an investment banker at Wasserstein Perella & Company and First Boston Corp. from 1985 to 1990. He was a director from the company’s incorporation in 1993 and president of its predecessor from 1993 to 1996.⁠[4]

In 1993 the company went public with an $840 million share sale. As of 2013 it was still the largest IPO by a shopping-center REIT.⁠[5]

On August 9, 1996, the company, formerly Simon Property Group, Inc., acquired the national shopping center business of DeBartolo Realty Corporation for an aggregate value of $3.0 billion and was renamed Simon DeBartolo Group, Inc. Its 1996 annual report listed David Simon as CEO and Melvin and Herbert Simon as co-chairmen.⁠[6]

Stockholders approved the merger with Corporate Property Investors (CPI) on September 23, 1998, and it was completed the next day: Simon DeBartolo Group became a subsidiary of CPI, which was renamed Simon Property Group, Inc. Before the merger CPI held interests in 29 properties, 23 of them shopping centers.⁠[7]

At the close of trading on June 25, 2002, the company was added to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. It then mainly operated regional malls and community shopping centers, with interests in 251 properties in 36 U.S. states.⁠[8]

In November 2002 Simon began an effort to take over Taubman Centers, later joined by Westfield, offering $20 a share in cash. A federal judge had ruled that Taubman’s voting arrangement violated Michigan law; after Michigan changed its takeover law to put Taubman in compliance, Simon and Westfield withdrew on October 8, 2003.⁠[9]

On October 14, 2004, the company completed its acquisition of Chelsea Property Group, Inc., adding 36 Premium Outlet centers, 32 in the U.S. and four in Japan. David Simon said the company believed the transaction “will be a strong driver of growth.”⁠[10]

On March 29, 2007, a joint venture of Simon and funds managed by Farallon Capital Management completed a $25.25-per-share cash tender offer for The Mills Corporation, completing the acquisition by merger on April 3. The Mills portfolio comprised 40 assets.⁠[11]

Melvin Simon, chairman emeritus of Simon Property Group, died of pancreatic cancer on September 16, 2009, at 82. He co-owned the Indiana PacersIndiana PacersThe Indiana Pacers are an NBA basketball team playing at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The club began in the ABA in 1967 and joined the NBA in 1976.Open the full entry with his brother Herb.⁠[12]

On August 30, 2010, the company completed its transaction with Prime Outlets Acquisition Company and certain affiliated entities, valued at approximately $2.3 billion, adding 21 outlet center properties. David Simon called the Prime Outlets portfolio “an excellent strategic fit.”⁠[13]

On May 28, 2014, the company completed the spin-off of Washington Prime Group, distributing one Washington Prime share for every two Simon common shares. Washington Prime held interests in 98 retail assets, including Simon’s former strip center business, and began regular-way trading on the NYSE as WPG on May 29.⁠[14]

In February 2020 Simon agreed to pay $3.6 billion in cash for 80% of Taubman Centers Inc. In June it said it was pulling out, arguing that the pandemic had “a uniquely material and disproportionate effect on Taubman,” and sued for a declaration of its right to walk away; Taubman disagreed.⁠[15]

In November 2020 the companies settled just before trial in Oakland County (Michigan) Circuit Court, cutting the price from $52.59 to $43 a share, a $656 million reduction.⁠[16]

On December 29, 2020, the company completed the acquisition, taking an 80% ownership interest in The Taubman Realty Group Limited Partnership (TRG) in a transaction valued at approximately $3.4 billion; the Taubman family remained a 20% partner.⁠[17]

In October 2020 Simon and Brookfield Asset Management signed an asset purchase agreement with the bankrupt J.C. Penney to acquire its retail and operating assets for about $300 million in cash plus $500 million in assumed debt, while its lenders would own its real estate and distribution centers.⁠[18]

In January 2025 SPARC Group, a joint venture of Authentic Brands Group, Shein and Simon, combined with J.C. Penney in an all-equity transaction to form Catalyst Brands, owned by Simon, Brookfield Corporation, Authentic and Shein. Simon had divested or reduced its stakes in Authentic, SPARC and Eddie Bauer.⁠[19]

Herbert Simon retired from the board effective February 4, 2025. On August 6, 2025, Eli Simon was elevated from chief investment officer to chief operating officer.⁠[20]

On October 31, 2025, Simon closed on the acquisition of the remaining 12% interest in TRG that it did not own, in exchange for 5.06 million limited partnership units in Simon Property Group, L.P.⁠[21]

As of December 31, 2025, the company owned or held interests in 212 income-producing U.S. properties, including 108 malls, 70 Premium Outlets and 16 Mills, plus 42 international properties, and employed approximately 3,600 people.⁠[22]

Simon’s 2025 total revenue was $6.365 billion, compared with $5.964 billion in 2024. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $4.624 billion, or $14.17 per diluted share, including a $2.89 billion non-cash gain from remeasuring its previously held TRG interest, and Real Estate FFO rose 4.0% to $12.73 per share.⁠[23]

David Simon, chairman, CEO and president, died on March 22, 2026.⁠[20]

He died of cancer at 64, having built an empire of 250 properties across North America, Europe and Asia.⁠[3]

On March 23, 2026, the board appointed chief operating officer Eli Simon as chief executive officer and president, and Larry Glasscock as non-executive chairman. The Simon family’s statement named Eli among David Simon’s children.⁠[24]

In the second quarter of 2026, net income attributable to common stockholders was $483.1 million, or $1.49 per diluted share, and Real Estate FFO was $3.29 per share, up 7.9%. The company raised its 2026 Real Estate FFO guidance to $13.20 to $13.30 per share.⁠[25]