1. Organization

Simon Property Group, Inc. is a Delaware corporation that operates as a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, or REIT, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Internal Revenue Code. REITs will generally not be liable for U.S. federal corporate income taxes as long as they distribute not less than 100% of their REIT taxable income. Simon Property Group, L.P. is our majority-owned Delaware partnership subsidiary that owns all of our real estate properties and other assets. Unless stated otherwise or the context otherwise requires, references to "Simon" mean Simon Property Group, Inc. and references to the "Operating Partnership" mean Simon Property Group, L.P. References to "we," "us" and "our" mean collectively Simon, the Operating Partnership and those entities/subsidiaries owned or controlled by Simon and/or the Operating Partnership. Unless otherwise indicated, these notes to consolidated financial statements apply to both Simon and the Operating Partnership. According to the Operating Partnership's partnership agreement, the Operating Partnership is required to pay all expenses of Simon.

We own, develop and manage premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations, which consist primarily of malls, Premium Outlets®, and The Mills®. As of December 31, 2018, we owned or held an interest in 206 income‑producing properties in the United States, which consisted of 107 malls, 69 Premium Outlets, 14 Mills, four lifestyle centers, and 12 other retail properties in 37 states and Puerto Rico. Internationally, as of December 31, 2018, we had ownership interests in nine Premium Outlets in Japan, four Premium Outlets in South Korea, three Premium Outlets in Canada, two Premium Outlets in Malaysia and one Premium Outlet in Mexico. We also own an interest in eight Designer Outlet properties in Europe and one Designer Outlet property in Canada. Of the eight properties in Europe, two are located in Italy, two are located in the Netherlands and one each is located in Austria, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. As of December 31, 2018, we also owned a 21.3% equity stake in Klépierre SA, or Klépierre, a publicly traded, Paris‑based real estate company which owns, or has an interest in, shopping centers located in 16 countries in Europe.

We generate the majority of our revenues from leases with retail, dining, entertainment and other tenants, including:

base minimum rents,

overage and percentage rents based on tenants’ sales volume, and

recoverable expenditures such as property operating, real estate taxes, repair and maintenance, and advertising and promotional expenditures.

Revenues of our management company, after intercompany eliminations, consist primarily of management fees that are typically based upon the revenues of the property being managed.

We also grow by generating supplemental revenues from the following activities:

establishing our properties as leading market resource providers for retailers and other businesses and consumer‑focused corporate alliances, including payment systems (such as handling fees relating to the sales of bank‑issued prepaid cards), national marketing alliances, static and digital media initiatives, business development, sponsorship, and events,

offering property operating services to our tenants and others, including waste handling and facility services, and the provision of energy services,

selling or leasing land adjacent to our properties, commonly referred to as “outlots” or “outparcels,” and

generating interest income on cash deposits and investments in loans, including those made to related entities.