(This story has been updated with new information. )
David Simon, leader of Simon Property Group, the world’s largest retail real estate company, died on March 22 at the age of 64.
Simon died in 2024 after being diagnosed with cancer. While undergoing treatment, he remained at the helm of the company founded by his father and uncle.
Simon Property Group’s board of directors on Monday named Eli Simon, David’s eldest son, as the Indianapolis-based company’s next CEO and president, continuing the family’s strong leadership of the company. Eli Simon will also continue in his previous role as Chief Operating Officer.
The Simon family said in a statement that David was “devoted to building Simon Property Group.” To those in the industry, he is considered a hard-working executive who works long hours even when sick and is not afraid of feuding with retail industry leaders.
David began his career as a Wall Street investment banker before joining the company’s predecessor, Melvin Simon and Associates, in 1990 as Chief Financial Officer.
David Simon, CEO of Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, pictured in a 2014 IndyStar photo, died on March 22, 2026, after a battle with cancer.
Simon stayed with Simon Property Group and was appointed CEO at the age of 33, becoming one of the youngest CEOs in the country. During his three decades as CEO, Simon transformed the company from a regional real estate business into the world’s largest shopping center ownership group and the largest publicly traded retail real estate company. During that time, Simon also solidified his position as a strong leader in the real estate community.
David Simon married his wife Jackie in 1986. The two have five children. Billionaire Simon continues family philanthropy in Indianapolis tThrough the David E. and Jacqueline S. Simon Charitable Foundation, the foundation makes donations to causes such as health and youth endeavors.
“Our family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support from around the world,” the Simon family said in a statement. “He was most proud of his family, Jackie, his wife of more than 40 years, their 5 children: Eli, Rebecca, Hannah, Sam and Noah, and 7 grandchildren. We ask for privacy as we mourn our great loss.”
Memorial arrangements will be shared by the Simon family at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, UJA-Federation of New York and the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism.
The son of Melvin Simon, David was born in Indianapolis and graduated from Indiana University with a business degree and later received an MBA from Columbia University.
Simon joined his family’s real estate firm in 1990 as a young, ambitious financial guru tempered by the rigors of Wall Street. In 1993, Simon managed the company’s initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, the first time the company was publicly traded to investors. He raised nearly $1 billion in what was then the largest real estate public equity offering in history.
Soon after, Simon took over as CEO in 1995 at the age of 33. Simon has led the company through 30 years of changing retail demands and pressures, including the 2008 recession, the 2020 global pandemic, the closure of department stores such as Sears and Saks Fifth Avenue, and more recently, the impact of tariffs on the retail business – all events that impacted the industry.
Simon later became known as the King of Shopping Centers, controlling the largest number of retail centers in the world. Insiders are both admired and frightened by his tactics. Simon admits he can get testy. According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s not unheard of for him to get into arguments while shaking hands with other retail leaders to seal multimillion-dollar deals.
“You know, I’ve always been a domineering CEO,” Simon said in a rare interview with The Wall Street Journal in his New York office in 2025. “Obviously, that’s not possible for me right now. I do it occasionally.”
As the company’s global portfolio expands, Simon sees the value in luxury, upgrading existing properties into first-class experiential shopping centers, the company said. At the time of his death, Simon Property Group controlled more than 250 properties worldwide totaling more than 200 million square feet.
Simon Property Group is headquartered in downtown Indianapolis.
While the mall company remains headquartered in Indianapolis, Simon Property Group invested heavily in Keystone’s Fashion Mall to make it the region’s premier mall.
Simon led the acquisition of several companies, including DeBartolo Realty Corporation, Corporate Property Investors, Chelsea Property Group, Mills Corporation and Taubman Center, solidifying the Simon family’s position as the world’s largest shopping center owner.
Even during some difficult years for retail, Simon’s leadership of Simon Property Group showed that owning shopping centers could be extremely profitable.
On February 2, during his final earnings call as CEO, Simon expressed optimism about the retail industry, predicting that premium brands that can afford higher rates will keep the market humming.
“The bottom line is traffic is up, sales are up. Those retailers that haven’t been successful, as much as I can sit here and blame the tariffs, they’re not very productive retailers. With that in mind, we think we can replace them with higher-rent, more productive retailers,” Simon told investors.
Herb Simon, who co-founded Simon Property Group with Mel Simon, said he was saddened by his nephew’s death and reiterated his work in growing the family’s thriving real estate portfolio.
“I have been proud to watch him grow into an outstanding and transformative leader whose vision, dedication and discipline helped make Simon Property Group the world’s leading retail real estate company,” Herb Simon said in a statement. “His impact on our families, communities and the real estate industry will be felt for generations to come. He will be greatly missed.”
Alysa Guffey covers business and growth stories for IndyStar. Contact her at alysa.guffey@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Simon Property Group CEO David Simon dies of cancer
