Bren Simon (with Melvin)
March 5, 2001 Bren and Melvin Simon know how to throw a party. Last year, according to the Indianapolis Star, the couple hosted a bash with a "Survivor" theme at their 26,000-square-foot home in Carmel, Indiana, complete with Australian Outback costumes and roasted alligator. Earlier in the year, the Simons did their best to help the Democrats survive by hosting a fundraising luncheon at their 40,000-square-foot estate in Manalapan, Florida. The event, which featured President Clinton as speaker, raised $450,000 for the Democratic National Committee. Only a month before, the Simons hosted a $1,000-per-person dinner to raise money for Hillary's Senate campaign. The Simons opened their own checkbooks as well, moving toward the top of the Mother Jones 400 this year from their 1998 rank of No. 205. The Clinton years were good to the couple, helping to make the Simon Property Group the nation's largest mall owner in the United States. The company, founded by Melvin and his brothers in 1960, owns several large malls in Florida, as well as the sprawling 500-store Mall of America in Minneapolis. Melvin and his brother Herbert also own the Indiana Pacers. Bren Simon is president of MBS Associates, a property management group that ranked as the fifth-largest political donor in Indiana last year. An MBS bio refers to Bren as "a renaissance woman." Indeed, on federal election records, Bren refers to herself variously as owner, president, interior designer, homemaker, volunteer, philanthropist, and political consultant. -- Brett Coker | | |
