Martin Bucksbaum (July 31, 1920 – July 7, 1995) was an American business executive. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of GGP Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers.

Early life

Bucksbaum was born July 31, 1920. His father, Louis Bucksbaum, owned three grocery stores in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

. He had two brothers,

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

and Maurice. Bucksbaum served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Career

With his brothers Matthew and Maurice, Bucksbaum took a $1.2 million loan to develop Town & Country in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

in 1953. At the time, it was one of the first malls in the United States. In 1954, the three brothers co-founded General Growth Properties, now known as GGP Inc. Bucksbaum served as its chairman and chief executive officer. By 1995, the company owned 21 malls in the US. In Iowa, the malls that Bucksbaum helped develop were located in small towns like Waterloo, Bettendorf,

Council Bluffs Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is loc ...

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local governm ...

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

, Cedar Falls, Keokuk, West Burlington, Muscatine as well as cities like

Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, ...

and Des Moines. Bucksbaum served on the board of directors of the Offitbank. He was a member of the

International Council of Shopping Centers The International Council of Shopping Centers, doing business as ICSC, is the global trade association of what it calls the "Marketplaces Industry" (i.e., shopping centers, shopping malls, and all other retail real estate). Founded in 1957, it fe ...

and a governor of the

National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts Nareit is a Washington, D.C.-based association representing a large and diverse industry that includes equity real estate investment trusts (REITs), mortgage REITs (mREITs), REITs traded on major stock exchanges, public non-listed REITs, and pri ...

Personal life, death and legacy

Bucksbaum married

Melva Venezky Melva Jane Bucksbaum (née Venezky; April 5, 1933 – August 16, 2015) was an American art collector, curator, and patron of the arts. Early life Bucksbaum was born in Washington, D.C. on April 5, 1933, to William Venezky and Millie Ruth Venezk ...

. They had two sons, Gene and Glenn, and a daughter, Mary. They resided in Des Moines, Iowa. Bucksbaum served on the board of governors of

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

as well as the national committee of the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

. He was a member of the Marshalltown Masonic Lodge. Bucksbaum died of a heart attack on July 7, 1995, in Des Moines, Iowa, at 74. His funeral was held at Temple B'Nai Jeshurun, and he was buried in the Jewish Glendale Cemetery. Shortly after his death, Bucksbaum was succeeded as chairman and CEO of GPP by his brother Matthew Bucksbaum.

References

1920 births 1995 deaths People from Marshalltown, Iowa United States Army personnel of World War II Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa American company founders American chief executives American chairpersons of corporations American corporate directors Brookfield Properties people Drake University people American Freemasons 20th-century American Jews Bucksbaum family {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub