{"id":1004792708,"date":"2026-03-23T07:03:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004792708"},"modified":"2026-03-24T02:11:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T10:11:57","slug":"david-simon-dies-at-64-after-cancer-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/david-simon-dies-at-64-after-cancer-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"David Simon Dies at 64 After Cancer Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a0f4fab30128&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"alignright size-large is-resized wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"620\" data-attachment-id=\"1004298911\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cpes-2018-retail-property-executive-of-the-year\/david-simon-retail\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2019\/02\/David-Simon-Retail.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"800,620\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"David Simon-Retail\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;David Simon&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2019\/02\/David-Simon-Retail.jpg?w=800\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2019\/02\/David-Simon-Retail.jpg?w=800\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1004298911\" style=\"width:400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2019\/02\/David-Simon-Retail.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2019\/02\/David-Simon-Retail.jpg?resize=300,233 300w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2019\/02\/David-Simon-Retail.jpg?resize=768,595 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">David Simon became CEO of Simon Property Group at the age of 33. <em>Image courtesy of Simon Property Group<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>David Simon, who turned a small, family-owned firm into the Simon Property Group retail powerhouse, died on March 22 at the age of 64 following a fight with cancer. His son, Eli Simon, will step into the role of CEO and continue to serve as the company\u2019s chief operating officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David Simon joined Melvin Simon &amp; Associates, the firm\u2019s preceding organization, in 1990 as chief financial officer. Three years later, he facilitated that company\u2019s initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was then named CEO in 1995 at the age of 33. Since then, Simon Property Group has delivered a total shareholder return of more than 4,500 percent, the company said in a statement. Today, the retail owner controls or has a stake in more than 250 properties comprising more than 200 million square feet across North America, Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simon was honored multiple times by <em>Commercial Property Executive\u2019s <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/cpe-announces-the-2019-executives-of-the-year\/\">Executive of the Year<\/a> program, most recently receiving an honorable mention in the Retail Property Executive category in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During his tenure as CEO, Simon focused on growing the REIT\u2019s portfolio while investing in keeping assets updated and modern. This year, Simon Property Group is expected to complete a multimillion-dollar renovation of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/simon-eyes-long-island-shopping-mall-revamp\/\">Smith Haven Mall<\/a>,&nbsp;a 1.2 million-square-foot shopping mall in Lake Grove, N.Y., on Long Island. The firm has managed the shopping center since 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to appointing Eli Simon as CEO, the Simon Property Group Board of Directors also appointed Larry&nbsp;Glasscock to serve as non-executive chairman of the board. According to Bisnow, Glasscock has served on the Simon board since 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simon is survived by his wife of more than 40 years, Jackie, and their five children, Eli, Rebecca, Hannah, Sam and Noah, in addition to seven grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The executive built the family business into the retail sector\u2019s most powerful REIT. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3810,"featured_media":1004298911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21808,21742,21744,21749],"tags":[33301],"class_list":["post-1004792708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-latest","category-people","category-retail","tag-simon-property-group-inc"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v24.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>David Simon Dies at 64 After Cancer Battle - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"David Simon, the longtime leader of Simon Property Group, died after a fight with cancer. 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