After the war ended, he returned to East Tennessee and took over the family-owned welding shop.[1] He owned 30% of the company with his two brothers, Jerome S. Glazer and Louis A. Glazer (owning 25% each) and his brother-in-law, I. B. Cohen (with a 20% share) as partners.[4] In 1955, I.B Cohen sold his share back in Glazer Steel to the three brothers with Guilford's interest increasing to 38.12% and Jerome's and Louis's share becoming 30.94% each.[4] Under his management, the business grew to become a major steel fabrication business, the Glazer Steel Corporation with production facilities in Knoxville and New Orleans. Glazer Steel fabricated bridges and other structures for Kaiser Aluminum, the government of France, and other customers around the world.[3][5]
While still the Chairman of Glazer Steel Corporation, Guilford entered the real estate development business in Knoxville. The first building that Glazer developed was Shelbourne Towers near the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, described as Knoxville's "first high-rise apartment building".[3][5] His entry into the real estate development business occurred in 1951, when the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission selected a company headed by Glazer to build a shopping centerinOak Ridge, Tennessee. A shortage of steel resulting from the Korean War delayed construction, but the center opened in 1955.[6] In 1960, Glazer moved to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where in the 1970s he developed the Del Amo Fashion Center, which was at one time the world's largest shopping mall.[5] His company was also involved in shopping center development throughout the United States. He later sold off most of his real estate holdings. The Del Amo Fashion Center was sold to the Mills Corporation in 2003.[7]
Thanks to his success, Glazer amassed a considerable fortune. His name appeared regularly on the Forbes magazine "List of 400 Richest Americans"; in 2005 his net worth was estimated at $900 million.[7]
Glazer had been married twice. His first marriage to Francoise Glazer ended in divorce in 1965;[7][9] they had two children: Emerson Glazer (born 1957) and Erika Glazer (born 1959).[1][3][5] He resided in Beverly Hills, California, with his second wife, Diane Pregerson, also of Jewish descent.[10]
^The Kansas City Times: ", 28, Gets $1,000,000 in a Divorce Suit Beverly Hills, Calif." April 14, 1965| "Guilford Glazer, 43, real estate developer, agreed to a $1,000,000 property settlement yesterday and to a divorce for his 28-year-old wife, Francoise. Alimony payments of $1,000 a month for the first five years, escalating to $2,000 a month for the following 10 years were included in the settlement announced by attorneys. The couple will share equal custody on a half-year basis of their two children, Emerson, 8, and Erika, 6. Mrs. Glazer also gets two trust funds, totaling $250,000, and property valued at $650,000 . In her divorce suit, Mrs. Glazer charged that the wealthy developer was too busy making money and neglected his family"