Herb Simon cofounded the predecessor to Simon Property Group with his brothers in 1960, helped turn a local shopping-center developer into a major public REIT and later built additional value through sports ownership. [1][2]
The real-estate fortune began with a company the brothers created
Simon Equity Partners says Herb Simon and his brothers Melvin and Fred founded Melvin Simon & Associates as a private company in 1960, establishing the business that later became Simon Property Group. [2]
The business grew from retail-property development into a much larger shopping-center platform, and Forbes identifies Herb Simon as a cofounder of the company that became one of the world's largest real-estate investment trusts. [1][2]
In 1993 the family took the company public as Simon Property Group. Simon Equity says the transaction was the largest real-estate investment trust initial public offering in U.S. history at that time. [2]
Sports ownership added another large asset outside the REIT
Herb and Melvin Simon bought the Indiana Pacers in 1983, and Forbes says Herb now owns an 80% stake in the team. The purchase created a separate long-duration asset alongside the family's real-estate holdings. [1]
Forbes also identifies Simon as owner of the WNBA's Indiana Fever, while Simon Property Group remained the core source of wealth. The financial record is therefore predominantly a founder-created real-estate fortune with later diversification. [1][2]
Sources for background
Sources reviewed Oct 2, 2026.
- Herb Simon · Forbes · Mar 10, 2026
- Herb Simon · Simon Equity Partners
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