Adolph Alfred "Al" Taubman (January 31, 1924 – April 17, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. In 2002, he was convicted for a price-fixing scheme involving the top two auction houses in the United States.

Early life and education

Taubman was born in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

, on January 31, 1924, to Jewish immigrants Fannie Ester Blustin and Philip Taubman. His parents emigrated to the United States from

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

, in northeastern Poland. His mother was his father's second cousin. Arriving up the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

by boat, Philip took a job with the Wilson Foundry Company in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

and his sister Goldye (born 1913) and older brothers Sam (born 1915) and Lester (born 1920) were born in Davenport. His father transferred to Pontiac in 1920, became a fruit farmer, then began developing commercial real estate and custom homes and built the first synagogue in Pontiac. Taubman's parents lost everything in the Depression of the 1930s, and Taubman had to find work to help support the family at age nine. He is a graduate of Pontiac Central High School, and enrolled at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

just prior to the United States' entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during his freshman year, served with the

Thirteenth Air Force The Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force (13 EAF) is a provisional numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam on the island of Oahu, ...

as a mapmaker in the Pacific Theater during the war, and returned under the

GI Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, but the te ...

to the University of Michigan to continue his studies after the end of World War II. Taubman studied architecture at the

, where he was a member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and

Lawrence Technological University Lawrence Technological University (Lawrence Tech, LTU) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university moved ...

, but graduated from neither.

Career

Shopping mall development

Taubman incorporated Taubman Centers, Inc. in 1973. Thirteen years later, in 1986, the company relocated its headquarters to

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is ...

. He was a designer and is credited with popularizing the modern indoor shopping mall. His developments such as the Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey continue to be ranked among the most profitable shopping centers in the country as of 2007. He made a fortune which ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine estimated at $3.1 billion and was on the list of

Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is ...

Richest Americans for two decades. In October 2003, his real estate firm Taubman Centers survived a hostile takeover bid by the

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

and Westfield America. On February 10, 2020, it was announced that Simon Property Group had entered into a deal to acquire competing Taubman Centers for $52.50 a share, in a deal valued at $3.6 billion.

Sotheby's

Taubman bought ailing British auction house

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in 1983, acting as a

white knight A white knight is a mythological figure and literary stock character. They are portrayed alongside a black knight as diametric opposites. A white knight usually represents a heroic warrior fighting against evil, with the role in medieval literatu ...

when the company was threatened by an unwelcome

hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (law), company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast t ...

by Marshall Cogan and Stephen Swid of General Felt. He revived the fortunes of Sotheby's, which had been slumping in the 1980s, and took the company

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

in 1988. His family divested controlling interest in Sotheby's by September 2005.

Other business

Taubman lead a group that bought the Irvine Company in 1977 and sold his stake to Donald Bren in 1983. Taubman bought

A&W Restaurants A&W Restaurants, Inc. (also known as Allen & Wright Restaurants) is an American fast food restaurant chain distinguished by its Hamburger, "Burger Family" combos, draft root beer and root beer floats. A&W's origins date back to 1919 when Roy ...

in 1982,History
@ A&W Rootbeer and sold it to Sagittarius Acquisitions in December 1994. From 1983 to 1984, Taubman was the majority owner of the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in Metro Detroit. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home gam ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. Although the Panthers acquired a fairly loyal following and won the first USFL title in 1983, the USFL's decision to move from the spring to the fall led Taubman to merge his team with the

Oakland Invaders The Oakland Invaders were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1983 through 1985. Based in Oakland, California, they played at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. The team can t ...

for the 1985 season, with himself as majority owner of the Invaders. That team folded along with the rest of the USFL after the 1985 season. In 1993, he invested in Athena Group, which developed residential and office properties in the U.S.,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. During the mid-1990s, he also acted as a consultant for commercial real estate projects in Russia, on developments such as Arbat Center, Balchug Plaza,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Logistics Park, Four Winds Plaza, and Leninsky Prospekt in Azerbaijan.

Antitrust conviction

In the early 2000s, a four-year investigation into alleged price-fixing masterminded by Taubman between

and chairman Sir Anthony Tennant's rival auction house

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

led to a confession by Sotheby's CEO Diana Brooks of an elaborate price fixing scheme with her counterpart at Christie's, Christopher Davidge. At the time, Christie's and Sotheby's controlled 90% of the world's market for fine furniture, fine art and exquisite jewelry. In a plea bargain arrangement, prosecutors offered to keep Brooks out of prison if she agreed to implicate Taubman. She did, and Taubman was later convicted of price fixing in a jury trial. He was fined $7.5 million (USD) and imprisoned for ten months in 2002 for antitrust violations. Taubman was released in 2003, and continued to insist on his innocence.

Personal life

Taubman was married twice. In 1948, Taubman married his college sweetheart, Reva Kolodney. In 1977, they divorced after 29 years of marriage.Threshold Resistance: The Extraordinary Career of a Luxury Retailing Pioneer By A. Alfred Taubman
retrieved August 10, 2012 They had three children: * Gayle Taubman Kalisman (b. 1951) is co-chair of the Taubman Institute and a

alumnus. * Robert S. Taubman (b. 1953) serves as chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Taubman Company. * William S. Taubman (b. 1958) serves as chief operating officer of the Taubman Company. In 1982, he married Judith Mazor Rounick (b. 1943 as Jehudit Mazor), the daughter of a paste jewelry importer-exporter and a former

Miss Israel Miss Israel (also referred to as , , ) was a national beauty pageant in Israel. The pageant was founded in 1950, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. History In the late 1920s, a "Esther, Queen Esther Beauty Pageant" was held in Tel Avi ...

in 1962. Judy grew up in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and had two children from a previous marriage to clothing manufacturer Herbert Rounick: Christopher Rounick and Tiffany Rounick Dubin, who was formerly married to real estate developer Louis Dubin. Judith's brother is Boaz Mazor, who is the sales director for Oscar de la Renta.San Francisco Gate: A day in the life of ... Boaz Mazor" by Carolyne Zinko
August 22, 2004

Death

Taubman died on April 17, 2015, of a heart attack at the age of 91 in

Philanthropy

Taubman donated large sums to the

and many buildings there are named after him, including the A. Alfred Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building, the Taubman Health Sciences Library and Taubman Health Care Center. A school within the university is also named for him: the

Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning The A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, also known as Taubman College, is the school of architecture and urban planning and one of the nineteen schools of the University of Michigan located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Taub ...

. Taubman was also a major sponsor of disease research: a late donation, a gift of $5 million to support the University of Michigan's Dr. Eva Feldman's and Dr. Yehoash Raphael's research, was aimed at the development of new treatments for

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and lo ...

and deafness, respectively. In 2011, Taubman donated $56 million to medical research. These donations brought his lifetime giving to Michigan to a total of $141 million. Biomedical_Science_Research_2010

He also donated to the Taubman Center for Public Policy at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, and The Taubman Center for State and Local Government at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. The A. Alfred Taubman Student Services Center at Lawrence Technological University was completed in 2006, and ground was broken in September 2015 for the A. Alfred Taubman Engineering, Architecture, and Life Sciences Complex at Lawrence Tech. Taubman had also taught a class at LTU focusing on his retail real estate development experience. The A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education at the College for Creative Studies was completed in 2009, in which Taubman contributed $15 million to the $145 million budget for restoration and remodeling of what once was the General Motors Argonaut Building.Howes, Daniel. Taubman was chairman of the National Realty Committee (NRC) (later The Real Estate Roundtable) (RER) during 1967–1977. He was also a member of the Urban Land Institute, and held positions on the Board of Governors, the Steering Committee for Shopping Centers, and the Commercial and Retail Development Council."A. Alfred Taubman papers: 1942-2014"
Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Accessed February 25, 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taubman, A. Alfred 1924 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews American art collectors American billionaires American businesspeople convicted of crimes American businesspeople in retailing American philanthropists American businesspeople in real estate American people with disabilities American white-collar criminals Businesspeople from Detroit Jewish art collectors Jews from Michigan Lawrence Technological University alumni People from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan People from Pontiac, Michigan People with dyslexia Sotheby's people Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning alumni United States Football League executives