Edward J DeBartolo

Helped create the suburban shopping mall and used his success to invest in horse racing and professional sports teams, including the San Francisco 49ers. Was the second of six children of Anthony Paonessa and Rose Villani; immigrants from Italy. Earned a degree in civil engineering at the University of Notre Dame and continued for the next ten years working with his stepfather. When the Second World War came Eddy found himself serving in the Army Corps of Engineers. It was in 1944 that DeBartolo married Marie Montani and incorporated his own company, the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation. After the War ended, Americans started moving to the suburbs. DeBartolo was the first to recognize the need for stores in the suburbs and began building shopping plazas with his brother Frank who was the company’s architect.