A. Alfred Taubman

A. Alfred Taubman
Born	(1924-01-31) 31 January 1924 Pontiac, Michigan, U.S.
Died	17 April 2015(2015-04-17) (aged 91) Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist
Known for	Founder of Taubman Centers; former owner of Sotheby's; shopping mall development

Adolph Alfred "Al" Taubman (January 31, 1924 – April 17, 2015) was a prominent American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist.

In 2002, Taubman was found guilty of participating in a price-fixing conspiracy involving the two leading auction houses in the United States.

Early life and education

Interior of The Mall at Short Hills.

The Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, New Jersey, a development by Taubman's firm

Born in Pontiac, Michigan on January 31, 1924, Taubman was the son of Jewish immigrants Fannie Ester Blustin and Philip Taubman. His family originated from Białystok, northeastern Poland. His parents were second cousins. Philip emigrated via the Mississippi River and secured employment at Wilson Foundry Company in Davenport, Iowa. Taubman’s siblings—Goldye (b. 1913), Sam (b. 1915), and Lester (b. 1920)—were born in Davenport. Later, his father relocated to Pontiac in 1920, where he transitioned from fruit farming to developing commercial properties and custom residences, including constructing Pontiac’s first synagogue.

The Taubman family endured severe financial hardship during the Great Depression of the 1930s, compelling young Alfred to contribute to the household income by working part-time from age nine. He completed his secondary education at Pontiac Central High School. Prior to America’s involvement in World War II, he enrolled at the University of Michigan. During his freshman year, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces and served as a mapmaker with the Thirteenth Air Force in the Pacific Theater. After the war, utilizing benefits from the GI Bill, he resumed his studies at the University of Michigan.

Taubman pursued architectural studies both at the University of Michigan—where he was affiliated with the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity—and at Lawrence Technological University, though he did not obtain a degree from either institution.

Shopping mall development

In 1973, Taubman established Taubman Centers, Inc. Over a decade later, in 1986, the company shifted its main office to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Renowned as a visionary designer, he played a pivotal role in making the modern indoor shopping mall widely popular. Projects like the Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey remain among the nation’s highest-grossing retail centers as of 2007. Throughout his career, he amassed considerable wealth, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $3.1 billion, earning him a spot on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans for twenty years.

In October 2003, Taubman Centers successfully resisted a hostile takeover attempt launched by the Simon Property Group and Westfield America. Later, on February 10, 2020, it was revealed that Simon Property Group agreed to purchase Taubman Centers at $52.50 per share in a transaction valued at $3.6 billion.

Sotheby's

In 1983, Taubman acquired the struggling British auction house Sotheby's, stepping in as a white knight when the company faced an aggressive hostile takeover bid from Marshall Cogan and Stephen Swid of General Felt. He revitalized Sotheby's fortunes during its downturn in the 1980s and took the firm public with an IPO in 1988. By September 2005, his family had relinquished their controlling stake in Sotheby's.

Other business

Taubman spearheaded a consortium that purchased the Irvine Company in 1977 before divesting his interest to Donald Bren in 1983.

He acquired A&W Restaurants in 1982 and later sold it to Sagittarius Acquisitions in December 1994.

Between 1983 and 1984, Taubman was the principal owner of the Michigan Panthers, a team competing in the United States Football League. Despite cultivating a dedicated fan base and clinching the USFL championship in 1983, the league's decision to shift its schedule from spring to fall prompted Taubman to merge his franchise with the Oakland Invaders for the 1985 season, retaining majority ownership of the merged team. The franchise dissolved along with the entire USFL after that season.

In 1993, he invested in Athena Group, which specialized in developing residential and office properties across the U.S., Russia, and Azerbaijan. During the mid-1990s, he also provided consultancy services for commercial real estate ventures in Russia, contributing to projects such as Arbat Center, Balchug Plaza, Moscow Logistics Park, Four Winds Plaza, and developments along Leninsky Prospekt in Azerbaijan.

Antitrust conviction

During the early 2000s, a lengthy four-year inquiry uncovered allegations of price-fixing orchestrated by Taubman involving Sotheby's and the competing auction house Christie's, led by chairman Sir Anthony Tennant. This investigation culminated in Sotheby's CEO Diana Brooks admitting to a complex scheme of price manipulation alongside her counterpart at Christie's, Christopher Davidge. In 2011, he contributed $56 million toward medical research, bringing his total lifetime donations to the University of Michigan to $141 million.

File:Biomedical Science Research 2010.jpg

The A. Alfred Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building at the University of Michigan

His philanthropy extended beyond Michigan, including support for the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University and the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard University.

Completed in 2006, the A. Alfred Taubman Student Services Center at Lawrence Technological University stands as a testament to his generosity, while construction for the A. Alfred Taubman Engineering, Architecture, and Life Sciences Complex at Lawrence Tech began in September 2015. Taubman also shared his expertise by teaching a course on retail real estate development at LTU.

In 2009, the College for Creative Studies unveiled the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education following a $15 million donation from Taubman toward the $145 million restoration and renovation of the former General Motors Argonaut Building.

During the period from 1967 to 1977, Taubman served as chairman of the National Realty Committee (NRC), which later became known as The Real Estate Roundtable (RER). He was also actively involved with the Urban Land Institute, holding roles on its Board of Governors as well as participating in the Steering Committee for Shopping Centers and the Commercial and Retail Development Council.

Further reading

• Mason, Christopher. The Art of the Steal: Unveiling the Sotheby's-Christie's Auction House Controversy. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 2004.
• Taubman, A. Alfred. Threshold Resistance: The Remarkable Journey of a Luxury Retail Trailblazer. ThresholdResistance.com Archived April 1, 2023. New York: Collins. 2007.

See also

• Woodward & Lothrop
• May Department Stores
• Wanamaker's
• Michigan Panthers
• François Pinault
• Victor Gruen, creator of the modern enclosed shopping mall concept

External links

• A. Alfred Taubman at IMDb