     edward john debartolo jr. (born november 6, 1946 in youngstown, ohio) is an american businessman, best known as the former owner of the nfl's san francisco 49ers. == career == debartolo developed shopping malls as part of his father's company, the edward j. debartolo corporation, which became one of the largest public real estate businesses in the united states â "at one point controlling over 2 billion square feet of retail real estate space nationwide." beyond his real estate background, debartolo was actively involved in franchise ownership and sports management, becoming one of the most successful owners in professional sports. his ownership of the 49ers proved especially notable. during his twenty-three years owning the team, beginning in 1977, the 49ers won five super bowls under coaches bill walsh and george seifert, super bowl xvi, super bowl xix, super bowl xxiii, super bowl xxiv, and super bowl xxix. from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, debartolo presided over a team that had the most wins within a decade in football history. == legal troubles == debartolo was involved in the corruption case of former louisiana governor edwin edwards. debartolo pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to report a felony, and received a $1 million fine and two years of probation in return for his testimony against edwards.{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1998/10/07/mn4647.dtl |title=debartolo guilty of felony / $1 million fine, 2 years of 
1946_births American_billionaires American_people_of_Italian_descent Businesspeople_in_real_estate Living_people National_Football_League_owners People_from_Youngstown,_Ohio San_Francisco_49ers_owners University_of_Notre_Dame_alumni