Real estate developer Sheldon Gordon, 88, died at home on Thursday, Sept. 28, in North Palm Beach, Fl.
Considered the pioneer of “entertainment retail,” his career spanned more than six decades.
Born in Chicago on Oct. 6, 1928, Gordon’s career began in high finance as a runner on the Chicago Board of Trade at the age of 15.
In 1954, he moved to San Francisco and joined Milton Myer & Company. In 1965, he moved to Los Angeles and formed a partnership with E. Phillip Lyon, which thrived for 18 years. In 1983, he started The Gordon Company.
Gordon lived in Malibu, where he could relax and enjoy horses, from 1979 to 1995. Gordon, together with his wife, Christine, and two daughters, traveled the world, before recently settling in North Palm Beach.
Gordon was the visionary behind The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. It was the first major nongaming retail and restaurant attraction in Las Vegas.
Gordon’s other successes include enlisting Wolfgang Puck to create the first celebrity chef restaurant in Las Vegas—Spago; building Pearlridge Mall in Hawaii, utilizing the first-ever shopping center monorail system; creating a merchandise bridge spanning an eight-lane highway in Cupertino; and creating the revolutionary Beverly Center in 1980 in Los Angeles—which was the first mall situated over a parking structure.
Gordon has many other credits to his name.
Gordon’s many passions included equestrian show jumping, breeding horses, golfing, skiing, enjoying the New York art scene and travel around the world with his family.
He is survived by his wife and their children, Martine and Katherine. He also has two sons from his first marriage; Craig and his wife Adrienne; and Scott and his wife, Jennifer. His adored grandchildren are Gabrielle, Ariella, Mickey, Grace, Ryan and Jake. He also has a sister, Elaine, and her children Alexandra and HL.
A private burial service was held last week, shy of Gordon’s 89th birthday. A memorial service in celebration of his life will follow later this year in North Palm Beach, Fl.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to:
- losttreefoundation.org
- holeinthewallgang.org
- NYU School of Medicine—In Memory of Sheldon M. Gordon to support bladder cancer research c/o Isa Bernstein