David Simon, titan of shopping malls, including Roosevelt Field, dies at 64

Shopping mall titan David Simon has died of cancer at age 64.

He was the chairman, president and CEO of a company he grew to become the nation’s largest owner of shopping malls, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc., whose Long Island properties are Roosevelt Field in Uniondale, Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station and Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove.

Simon died Sunday surrounded by his family, according to a statement from Simon Property Group. 

"Our family is deeply grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love and support we have received from across the globe,” the family’s statement said. “Our beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother poured his heart and soul into building Simon Property Group. He was most proud of his family, his wife of over 40 years Jackie, and their 5 children: Eli, Rebecca, Hannah, Sam and Noah, and 7 grandchildren.”

David Simon was a trailblazer who didn't care about convention, said Alexander Goldfarb, a managing director and senior research analyst at Manhattan-based investment firm Piper Sandler & Co., who covers Simon Property Group and other retail landlords.

"He saw what others didn't see. ... People thought the mall was dead. People thought physical retail was dead," Goldfarb said, adding Simon saw retail trends early.

He focused on assembling top-tier malls and understood that retail landlords can generate revenue from ancillary sources, such as promotional and advertising income, not just tenants' rent, Goldfarb said.

Last year, Simon Property Group's funds from operations were $4.66 billion, down 4.4% from $4.88 billion in the prior year. But its 2025 net income attributable to common stockholders rose to $4.62 billion, up 95% from $2.37 billion in the previous year. 

"Our results reflect solid fundamentals, strong [tenant] occupancy, accelerating shopper traffic growth, healthy and growing retail sales, positive supply and demand dynamics, all driving improvement in our cash flow," David Simon told analysts during an earnings call Feb. 2. 

He received a Bachelor of Science from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 1983 and an MBA from Columbia University's Graduate School of Business in 1985.

In 1990, he joined Simon Property Group’s predecessor, Melvin Simon & Associates, as chief financial officer, after having been a Wall Street investment banker for First Boston Corp. and then Wasserstein Perella & Co.

Melvin Simon & Associates was founded by David's father, Melvin, and Melvin's brothers Fred and Herbert in 1960. 

In 1993, at age 31, David Simon "orchestrated the company's initial public offering [as Simon Property Group] on the New York Stock Exchange — raising nearly $1 billion in what was then the largest real estate public stock offering in history,” Simon Property Group said in the statement.

He became the CEO in 1995.

“What followed was an unparalleled era of growth, innovation, and value creation. Under his leadership, Simon Property Group delivered a cumulative total shareholder return of more than 4,500% since its IPO — a record that places David among the most successful value creators in the history of public markets, in any industry,” the statement said.

Simon was behind a series of "transformative" retail real estate transactions, including acquisitions of DeBartolo Realty Corp., Corporate Property Investors, Chelsea Property Group, the Mills Corp. and Taubman Centers, according to Simon Property Group, which is a real estate investment trust.

"He bought Chelsea Property Group before people appreciated what premium outlets were," said Goldfarb, referencing Simon Property Group's 2004 purchase of the Roseland, New Jersey-based real estate investment trust and its 61 retail centers in North America and Japan, including 36 premium outlet centers, for $5.2 billion, including the assumption of debt. 

Currently, Simon Property Group owns or holds interests in more than 250 properties in North America, Europe and Asia.

At 2.3 million square feet, high-end Roosevelt Field is the largest shopping mall on Long Island and second-largest in New York State.

Simon Property Group’s board appointed David Simon’s son Eli as CEO and president, effective Monday. He will also continue as chief operating officer and director.