Billionaire mall developer Melvin Simon wanted to leave the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis $10 million, but it
could be up to his widow, Bren Simon, whether to fulfill that wish.
Pledges to St. Vincent, Indianapolis Museum of Art should be paid by trusts, foundations affiliated with Bren Simon, court
papers allege.
Mike Ciresi, who’s representing widow Bren Simon, helped win a $6 billion settlement from the tobacco industry.
Melvin Simon’s daughter, who’s seeking to remove her stepmother from overseeing a trust that holds her late father Melvin’s
fortune, says a corporate trustee is a better option than brother David Simon or family financial adviser Bruce Jacobson.
Deborah Simon is seeking
the removal of her stepmother and appointment of a corporate trustee while her lawsuit challenging changes
to the late billionaire’s will plays out. The move is the latest salvo in an escalating battle over
an estate that could be worth $2 billion.
Simon Property Group Inc. is suing Bren Simon, the widow of company founder Melvin Simon, over her effort to convert part
of her late husband’s ownership stake in the publicly traded mall giant into common shares or cash.
Bren Simon says in a new court filing that her billionaire husband Mel Simon granted her a bigger share of his fortune in
the last year of his life because of alarm over Simon Property Group’s plunging stock price and a sharp cut in its cash
dividend.
Melvin Simon’s
daughter Deborah filed court papers Thursday afternoon charging her father was coerced into approving a
new estate plan in February 2009 that dramatically increased the amount of his fortune going to her stepmother, Bren.
Mel Simon, who
died at 82 on Sept. 16, changed how America shops. He was chairman emeritus of locally
based Simon Property Group Inc., the nation’s largest owner of retail real estate.
I sat in Beth-El Zedeck Temple for the funeral services of Melvin Simon. The various speakers spoke of Mel’s desire
to create a real estate empire and his desire to give back to the community.
I happened to be in Indianapolis the week before Mel Simon passed away on Sept. 16, and talked with his secretary about visiting him briefly, because I knew he was very ill. But he was too ill to see me.
Bren Simon likely will inherit at least one-third of her billionaire husband’s fortune and potentially much more,
wealth managers speculate, based on the legal and tax issues involved in such a large estate.
Melvin Simon, who died at 82 on Sept. 16, grasped early on that creation of the nation’s interstate system would pave the way for
large, enclosed shopping centers.
Melvin Simon was a businessman and philanthropist of national prominence, but the vast real estate empire he helped build
is not his legacy here.
The passing of Mel Simon adds more uncertainty to the Indiana Pacers’ future in Indianapolis.
In the wake of Mel Simon’s death, Indiana Pacers’ future is in the firm grip of younger brother Herb, who now has sole ownership
of the team.
A Friday funeral is planned for a man who made a fortune building shopping malls across the U.S. and later became a prolific
philanthropist in his adopted hometown of Indianapolis. Melvin Simon, 82, succumbed this morning after a battle with pancreatic
cancer.
Melvin Simon, a tailor’s son who earned billions building shopping malls across the U.S. and later became a prolific
philanthropist in his adopted hometown of Indianapolis, has died. He was 82.
Most of us were taught to give thanks to those who do well and make our lives better. Some of us would like to give our hearty
thanks to Mel and Herb Simon and their families for all they’ve done in our community and statewide.
The Simon family’s role in building the city has come at a steep price for taxpayers. Simon and
its business interests in the last 20 years have collected local government incentives
worth more than $400 million, an IBJ tally of those deals shows.
