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START
YOUR
WEEK
ON
FLEEK
Visionary And Pioneer'
Friends recall Taubman's passion
for business and helping others.
Adam Finkel
Special to the Jewish News
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2001 sag
18
April 23 • 2015
hortly before Lakes Central
Airlines ceased operations in
1968, a flight took off that Jewish
philanthropic giant and retail genius Leslie
Wexner remembers like it was yesterday. A.
Alfred Taubman, owner
of the malls where
Wexner had retail loca-
tions, called him for the
first time and told him
to get to Detroit ASAP.
Taubman, with his
clear thinking and
vision, educated Wexner,
Leslie Wexner
then 32, about store
design. An intimate
45-year friendship began. For decades,
Wexner of New Albany, Ohio, viewed his
Detroit friends Taubman and Max Fisher as
family, with Fisher as a grandfather figure,
and Taubman as a father figure. They'd
become three of the most significant Jews
in the national philanthropic landscape.
With Fisher gone and now Taubman,
Wexner described feeling like a shomer,
Hebrew for guardian, as the journey the
three friends were on — united by a shared
Jewish storyline — now has only one cap-
tain.
Despite having an international outlook
on the world, and a life and business of
global connections, Wexner said Taubman
focused mostly on impacting the city and
state he called home.
"Al focused on things at the edge said
Wexner (who developed Victoria's Secret
and The Limited into billion-dollar brands),
whether it was supporting charter schools
a quarter century ago or seeing the need to
invest in state and local government educa-
tion, which he's funded for decades.
Mandell "Bill"
Berman, a local philan-
,c
thropist who impacts
the
Jewish world on
.^..
local, national and glob-
al levels, sees Taubman
as an important figure in
the Jewish community.
The Jewish Federation
Mandell
of Metropolitan Detroit's
Berman
Fisher Meetings were
renamed for Taubman,
and brought together major donors to give
the majority of Annual Campaign dollars.
In deference to Fisher, Taubman stepped
up his commitment to be one of Jewish
Detroit's major benefactors.
Walbridge CEO John Rakolta Jr. has
known Taubman since 1983 and considers
him one of the most significant influences
in his life. He admired Taubman's love for
his sons and daughter and family; his abil-
ity to be optimistic, despite the trials and
tribulations of life; and
his intellect because he
could see things that
took others much longer
to figure out.
"He used his vast net-
work of friends, political
resources and colleagues
to accomplish things
John Rakolta
on behalf of others:'
Jr.
Rakolta said.
"He never forgot the
people, places and institutions he loved.
He said that when you look at your whole
life, and you see the resources that made
you who you are, you have an obligation
to support those until the very end. He felt
honored to stay a Michigander and to serve
others with passion; looking at power and
wealth as a tool kit to better give back to
others:"
Local businessman Sidney Forbes, pri-
mary owner of the Somerset Collection in
Troy and other upscale shopping malls, has
known Al Taubman for decades; the two
had lunch every few weeks, including on
April 10.
He remembers his friend as an incred-
ible visionary who will be remembered as a
pioneer, a very honest
man and a loyal friend.
Forbes said that early
on, Taubman decided
never to give up when
he committed to reach-
ing a goal. That was
seen in business, family
and philanthropy. His
Sidney Forbes
strongest passions were
around education, healthcare, the arts and
the city of Detroit
"He did so much good," Forbes said.
"And he was a great teacher who enjoyed
sharing his lessons with colleagues, friends
and younger students:'
Forbes remembers his friend always
laughing and finding ways to up the ante of
his philanthropic commitments.
"Throughout his entire life, Al focused
on making a difference," Forbes said.
"He constantly opened doors that could
help other people. He was a wonderful man
with a great sparkle in his eye and a great
zest for life.
"He wanted to plant a tree that would
be there for generations to come Forbes
said, "with the knowledge that the tree
would outlast him and be there for others
to appreciate':
❑