A Alfred Taubman

Alfred Taubman is an American billionaire who is known for his wide-ranging career from retail real estate and managing an auction house to owning a fast-food chain and a football team.

Early Struggle of Alfred Taubman

Born in 1924 in a Jewish family, Adolph Alfred Taubman had a difficult childhood in Detroit. His parents, Philip and Fannie Taubman, were German Jews who had immigrated to America from East Poland. His father worked in a foundry industry and then became a fruit farmer. Slowly, he started building houses and commercial buildings. When the Great Depression hit America in 1929, the Taubman family lost everything.

In that turbulent phase, Alfred Taubman, who was nine at that time, was compelled to work. At the age of eleven, he worked at Sims Department Store after school every day. He later went to the University of Michigan and stopped halfway, since he enlisted in the military service during World War II.

When Alfred Taubman came back from the war, he studied art and architecture. He transferred to the Lawrence Technological University and during the day, worked at the Charles N. Agree architectural firm.

Alfred Taubman Enters Real Estate Business

During the post-war period, Taubman realized that it was the right time for establishing a retail real estate development company. He founded the Taubman Centers Inc. in 1950 for developing retail environments for shopping. Alfred Taubman is credited with the development of modern shopping malls. With its headquarters at Michigan, the company began trading in the New York Stock Exchange 1992.

Since then, Taubman Centers Inc. has developed many world-class malls all over the country concentrating especially in the Eastern States. Apart from New York and Michigan, Taubman Centers Inc. also has an international office at Hong Kong.

Alfred’s son, Robert Taubman, is the current Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the company. He joined the company in 1976.

Alfred Taubman Acquires Sotheby’s

In 1983, Sotheby’s, the auction house’s fortunes were sagging when Alfred Taubman took over the company and gave it a new life. By the 90s, Sotheby’s had become a bustling center for buying unique objects and artifacts. But by 2005, Taubman’s family had withdrawn their controlling interests over Sotheby’s by divesting.

Alfred Taubman’s Problematic Phase

In the early 2000s, Alfred Taubman landed in trouble when the CEO of Sotheby’s, Diana Brooks falsely accused him for price-fixing at the auction house. The court believed Brooks and Alfred Taubman was convicted and imprisoned for ten months in 2002. He also paid a whopping $7.5 million as fine.

Alfred Taubman – Other Activities

Taubman’s philanthropic activities are very diverse. The A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan and the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School are only two of the institutions he has established. He has won several awards and honors from the University of Michigan.

Taubman also owned and revolutionized A&W, a fast-food chain which specializes in root beer, the creamy beverage. He is also the author of a book – Threshold Resistance which provides an insight into his life and career.

Alfred Taubman - About His Life and Career

Alfred Taubman - Threshold Resistance

Alfred Taubman - On Forbes