Friedman's wife, Ann, is a graduate of Stanford University and the London School of Economics.[2] Her father, Matthew Bucksbaum, was the chairman of the board of General Growth Properties, the real estate development group that he co-founded with his brother in 1954. The Bucksbaums helped pioneer the development of shopping centers in the United States.[3] As of 2007, Forbes estimated the Bucksbaum family's assets at $4.1 billion, including about 18.6 million square meters of mall space.[4] In late 2008 the value of the heavily leveraged firm plummeted and the company was threatened with bankruptcy; Ann's brother John resigned as CEO, ending family executive control of General Growth Properties. In its February 2009 issue, Harper's Magazine (based on information from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) estimated that the value of the Bucksbaum family fortune shrank by 97 percent since December 2007. [5] The family's trust declined in value from $3.6 billion to $25 million.[6] On April 16th 2009, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after failing to reach a deal with its creditors. [7]
$3.6B to $25M. Ouch. That’s gotta hurt. Young Tom might have to really live on the NYT salary.