Guilford Glazer (July 17, 1921 – December 23, 2014) was an American
real estate developer
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...
and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
.
Early life
Glazer was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrant family
[Jewish Journal: "Guilford Glazer, leading Los Angeles philanthropist, dies at 93" by Ryan Torok]
December 24, 2014 on July 17, 1921 in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
, one of eight children born to Ida (née Bresoff) and Oscar Aaron Glazer. His father was a
welder
In a broad sense, a welder is anyone, amateur or professional, who uses welding equipment, perhaps especially one who uses such equipment fairly often. In a narrower sense, a welder is a tradesperson who specializes in fusing materials together ...
. He grew up in the
Fourth and Gill neighborhood and attended
Knoxville High School, graduating in 1938. He enrolled at
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
with the intention of becoming an engineer, but left after his father died in 1939.
In 1941, after the United States entered
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he joined the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
where he worked in ship construction.
[Betsy Pickle]
Hall of Famer's career took him from Knoxville to Beverly Hills
''Knoxville News Sentinel
The ''Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News,'' is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company.
History
The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: ''The ...
'', October 30, 2011, page 1E.
Career
After the war ended, he returned to
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 count ...
and took over the family-owned welding shop.
He owned 30% of the company with his two brothers, Jerome S. Glazer and Louis A. Glazer (owning 25% each) and his brother-in-law, I. B. Cohen (with a 20% share) as partners.
[Guilford Glazer, Appellant, v. Jerome S. Glazer and Louis A. Glazer, Appellees. Jerome S. Glazer and Louis A. Glazer, Appellants, v. Guilford Glazer, Appellee, 374 F.2d 390 (5th Cir. 1967)]
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - 374 F.2d 390 (5th Cir. 1967) - January 10, 1967 - Rehearing Denied May 2, 1967 In 1955, I.B Cohen sold his share back in Glazer Steel to the three brothers with Guilford's interest increasing to 38.12% and Jerome's and Louis's share becoming 30.94% each.
Under his management, the business grew to become a major
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
fabrication business, the Glazer Steel Corporation with production facilities in Knoxville and
. Glazer Steel fabricated bridges and other structures for
Kaiser Aluminum
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is an American aluminum producer. It is a spinoff from Kaiser Aluminum and Chemicals Corporation, which came to be when common stock was offered in Permanente Metals Corporation and Permanente Metals Corporation's ...
, the government of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and other customers around the world.
While still the Chairman of Glazer Steel Corporation, Guilford entered the real estate development business in Knoxville. The first building that Glazer developed was Shelbourne Towers near the University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
campus in Knoxville, described as Knoxville's "first high-rise apartment building".[ His entry into the ]real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
development business occurred in 1951, when the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President ...
selected a company headed by Glazer to build a shopping center
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...
. A shortage of steel resulting from the Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
delayed construction, but the center opened in 1955. In 1960, Glazer moved to the Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
metropolitan area, where in the 1970s he developed the Del Amo Fashion Center
Del Amo Fashion Center is a three-level regional shopping mall in Torrance, California, United States. It is currently managed and co-owned by Simon Property Group.
With a gross leasable area (GLA) of , it is the sixth largest shopping mall in ...
, which was at one time the world's largest shopping mall.[Pepperdine University Bulletin: "Our Donors - The Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies"]
accessed October 30, 2011 His company was also involved in shopping center development throughout the United States. He later sold off most of his real estate holdings. The Del Amo Fashion Center was sold to the Mills Corporation
The Mills Corporation was a publicly traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States, acquired on April 3, 2007 by an investment group composed of Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management. Th ...
in 2003.[
Thanks to his success, Glazer amassed a considerable fortune. His name appeared regularly on the '']Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' magazine " List of 400 Richest Americans"; in 2005 his net worth
Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net ...
was estimated at $900 million.[#384 Guilford Glazer]
Forbes.com, accessed October 30, 2011
Philanthropy
In later years, he focused on philanthropic causes, including in support of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. The business school
A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, o ...
of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...
, established in 1995 and now named the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, was named for him in 2007 following a major donation. In 2008, Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...
opened the Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute of Jewish Studies, funded by donations from the Glazers.[
]
Personal life
Glazer has been married twice. His first marriage to Francoise Glazer ended in divorce in 1965;[ they had two children: Emerson Glazer (born 1957) and Erika Glazer (born 1959).][ He resided in ]Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
, with his second wife, Diane Pregerson, also of Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
descent.Pepperdine University: "The Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies - OUR Donors"
retrieved September 17, 2014
Death
Glazer died on December 23, 2014, in Beverly Hills, California.[Matt Lopez]
Real Estate Development Pioneer, Philanthropist Guilford Glazer Dead At 93
''The Beverly Hills Courier
''The Beverly Hills Courier'' is a free weekly tabloid-sized print newspaper of circulation in Beverly Hills and the surrounding communities, and a daily web newspaper.
History
The publication was founded by March Schwartz in 1965. His staff inc ...
'', December 24, 2014 His funeral was held at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Wilshire Boulevard Temple's main building, with a sanctuary topped by a large Byzantine revival dome an ...
.
References
External links
Tel Aviv University American Friends: "Passing the Torch: Guilford Glazer"
July 3, 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glazer, Guilford
1921 births
2014 deaths
Jewish American philanthropists
People from Knoxville, Tennessee
People from Beverly Hills, California
George Washington University alumni
American real estate businesspeople
Philanthropists from California
United States Navy personnel of World War II