Malls
American Dream Leaves Clan Behind Mall Empire Mired in Debt
- Owners of the New Jersey property have $5 billion debt load
- Ghermezian family’s Triple Five Group has missed some payments
The Ghermezians had the American mall all figured out.
As brick-and-mortar shopping centers steadily lost market share to online competitors, the family behind three of the four biggest malls in North America built a thriving business by infusing their properties with heavy doses of entertainment -- a nod to the prevailing wisdom that younger people tend to prefer experiences to material goods.