Mogul and
Mentsh
A. Alfred Taubman
speaking at a
dinner meeting
in the 1960s.
A legacy of accomplishment
and abundant generosity.
Ronelle Grier
Contributing Writer
A
. Alfred Taubman was an extraor-
dinary entrepreneur whose
remarkable vision and excep-
tional business acumen revolutionized the
realm of retail shopping.
He was also a passionate Zionist and
staunch supporter of Jewish life and causes
in Israel and throughout the world.
Locally, he was a dedicated community
benefactor whose generosity changed lives
and transformed organizations throughout
Metro Detroit and beyond.
He was a champion of education and
the pursuit of knowledge and, above all, a
8
April 23 • 2015
devoted husband, father and grandfather.
On Friday evening, April 17, Mr.
Taubman died of a heart attack in his
Bloomfield Hills home at age 91.
Mr. Taubman was vital and active up
until his heart attack, traveling to Puerto
Rico last month to celebrate the grand
opening of his company's newest prop-
erty, the Mall of San Juan, and speaking
at the groundbreaking ceremony for the
University of Michigan Taubman College of
Architecture and Urban Planning in Ann
Arbor just two days before he died.
Mr. Taubman was the visionary behind
Taubman Centers Inc., which he founded in
1950 under the Taubman Company name.
His innovative retail concepts changed con-
sumers' habits nationwide as the shopping
mall became what Forbes magazine referred
to as "America's modern town square:'
Today, Taubman Centers is one of the
leading shopping mall development and
ownership companies in the country, with
19 regional shopping centers nationwide.
The company is run by his sons Robert
"Bobby" S. Taubman, who is the firm's
chairman, president and CEO, and William
"Bill" S. Taubman, its chief operating officer.
"He loved and embraced life with a smile
on his face said local businessman and
close friend Sidney Forbes. "He deeply
loved his family and was very proud of his
sons' leadership in the business7
Born in 1924 to German-Jewish immi-
grants Philip and Fannie Taubman, he grew
up in Pontiac and later served as an Army
Air Corps mapmaker during World War
II. He attended the University of Michigan,
studying art and architecture, and later took
night classes at Lawrence Technological
University in Southfield while working as a
draftsman at a local architectural firm dur-
ing the day.
His real estate interests expanded beyond
shopping malls to include a consortium to
purchase the Irvine Ranch in California, the
revitalization of the A&W restaurant fran-
chise and the development of the Riverfront
Towers Apartments in Detroit, built with
his longtime friend and frequent business
partner, Max Fisher. He also dipped his