Kirk Kerkorian
Kirk Kerkorian | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 June 1917 Fresno, California, U.S. |
| Died | 15 June 2015 (aged 98) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1940s–2015 |
| Known for | Development of Las Vegas mega-resorts; acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Kerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian (; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was a prominent American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He held the positions of president and CEO at Tracinda Corporation, his privately owned holding company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian played a pivotal role in the transformation of Las Vegas and, alongside architect Martin Stern Jr., is recognized as a pioneer of the mega-resort concept. He was responsible for developing the world’s largest hotel in Las Vegas on three separate occasions: the International Hotel (1969), the original MGM Grand Hotel (1973), and the current MGM Grand (1993). Additionally, he acquired the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1969.
Of Armenian heritage, Kerkorian donated more than $1 billion to Armenia through his Lincy Foundation, which he established in 1989 to support recovery efforts following the 1988 Armenian earthquake. He also financed the production of The Promise, a motion picture depicting the Armenian genocide, which debuted in 2017. In 2000, Time magazine listed him as the tenth largest philanthropist in the United States. He was honored as an honorary citizen of Armenia and received the prestigious title of National Hero of Armenia, the highest distinction awarded by the nation.
Early years
Born on June 6, 1917, in Fresno, California, Kirk Kerkorian was the son of Armenian immigrants who fled what is now Turkey during the Armenian Genocide. Armenian was his native language. Following the economic downturn of 1920–21, his family relocated to Los Angeles. Kerkorian left school after eighth grade and developed into an accomplished amateur boxer under the guidance of his elder brother Nish Kerkorian, securing the Pacific amateur welterweight title. He also had an older sister named Rose Kerkorian.
Aviation
In anticipation of World War II, Kerkorian acquired flying skills at the Happy Bottom Riding Club near Edwards Air Force Base. Within six months, he earned his commercial pilot's license and proceeded to pilot Canadian-built de Havilland Mosquito aircraft for the British Royal Air Force ferrying command across the North Atlantic. He chose a hazardous direct flight path that compensated him $1,000 per trip. Over a span exceeding two years, he delivered 33 aircraft, accumulated thousands of flight hours, and gained experience flying four-engine planes for the first time.
After the war, Kerkorian invested $5,000 to purchase a Cessna and worked as a general aviation pilot. His initial visit to Las Vegas was in 1944; by 1947 he had acquired Trans International Airlines for $60,000—a modest charter airline transporting gamblers from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Utilizing loans from Seagram, he bought surplus military bombers, sold their fuel to repay debts, and kept ownership of the planes. Kerkorian managed Trans International until its sale in 1968 for $104 million to Transamerica Corporation.
Between 1968 and 1970, he purchased a controlling interest in Western Airlines, securing board influence before divesting his shares by 1976. In 1987, with backing from MGM, he founded MGM Grand Air, a luxury transcontinental airline offering exclusively premium service.
Las Vegas
In 1962, Kerkorian acquired 80 acres in Las Vegas opposite the Flamingo for $960,000, which paved the way for the construction of Caesars Palace, a property that leased the land from him. The rental income combined with the eventual sale in 1968 yielded Kerkorian $9 million (equivalent to $70 million today).
Five years later, in 1967, he purchased 82 acres along Paradise Road for $5 million. Collaborating with architect Martin Stern Jr., he developed the International Hotel, which at that time was the largest hotel worldwide. The hotel's Showroom Internationale hosted performances by Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley, whose appearances attracted unprecedented audiences and potential casino visitors. Kerkorian’s International Leisure also took ownership of the Flamingo Hotel; both venues were subsequently sold to Hilton Hotels Corporation and renamed Las Vegas Hilton and Flamingo Hilton respectively.
Following his acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1969, Kerkorian and Stern launched the original MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Upon completion, it surpassed the Empire State Building in size and held the title of the world’s largest hotel. Tragically, a fire at the MGM Grand in 1980 resulted in 87 fatalities. The hotel resumed operations after an eight-month closure. Soon after, a fire at the Las Vegas Hilton caused eight deaths.
In 1986, Kerkorian divested MGM Grand hotels located in Las Vegas and Reno to Bally Manufacturing for $594 million; the Las Vegas property was subsequently renamed Bally's. MGM Resorts International, which originated as a spin-off from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, currently manages several prominent Las Vegas properties including the present-day MGM Grand, Bellagio, New York-New York, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, Park MGM, Cosmopolitan, and the CityCenter complex.
MGM later sold its Treasure Island Hotel and Casino to billionaire Phil Ruffin for $750 million.
MGM
In 1969, Kerkorian appointed James Thomas Aubrey Jr. as MGM's president. Aubrey undertook significant downsizing measures at the struggling studio by liquidating vast collections of memorabilia—including Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz—as well as divesting much of MGM’s Culver City backlots and overseas assets such as the British MGM studio at Borehamwood. In 1973, Kerkorian sold MGM’s distribution network and gradually stepped back from daily management. Although he maintained a minority interest in Columbia Pictures, antitrust concerns arose due to his holdings across two studios.
By 1979, Kerkorian characterized MGM primarily as a hotel enterprise; nevertheless, he expanded its film assets by acquiring United Artists (UA) from Transamerica in 1981, creating MGM/UA Entertainment Company. In March 1986, he sold MGM to Ted Turner.
Turner held ownership of MGM from March through August 1986 but accumulated substantial debt and consequently sold off most assets to recover funds. He retained the pre-May 1986 MGM film library along with Associated Artists Productions (which included pre-1950 Warner Bros. films and Popeye cartoons), RKO Radio Pictures’ libraries, and television properties such as Gilligan's Island. The MGM studio lot was sold to Lorimar-Telepictures before being acquired by Warner Bros.; in 1990, it was traded with Sony Pictures Entertainment for half of Warner Bros.’ lot that Sony had rented since 1972.
Also in 1990, Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti purchased MGM and merged it with Cannon Group to form MGM-Pathé Communications. After Parretti defaulted on loans, French bank Crédit Lyonnais assumed control and invested heavily to restore MGM before selling it back to Kerkorian in 1996. Subsequently, Kerkorian expanded MGM’s portfolio by acquiring Orion Pictures, The Samuel Goldwyn Company, and Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA) from John Kluge’s Metromedia in 1997; additionally, he obtained the pre-April 1996 PolyGram Filmed Entertainment library from Philips in 1999.
In 2005, Kerkorian once again sold MGM to a Sony-led consortium but retained a majority stake of 55% in MGM Mirage. On November 22, 2006, his investment firm Tracinda proposed purchasing an additional 15 million shares of MGM Mirage to raise his ownership from 56.3% to 61.7%.
Following a $1 billion stock issuance by MGM Mirage in May 2009, Kerkorian and Tracinda lost majority control over the gaming company as their stake declined from 53.8% to 39%. Despite committing to acquire 10% of the new shares offered, they remained minority shareholders.
Auto industry
Kerkorian maintained a variable involvement with the U.S. automobile sector. In 1995, aided by retired Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca, he pursued a hostile bid to acquire Chrysler Corporation, but abandoned this attempt in 1996 and divested his holdings. As part of their agreement, Iacocca was prohibited from publicly discussing Chrysler for five years. Two years later, German automaker Daimler-Benz purchased Chrysler. Kerkorian consistently showed a preference for American-made vehicles, including models from Ford and Jeep.
At one point, he held a 9.9% stake in General Motors (GM) and in 2006 proposed that Renault take a 20% share to assist GM’s recovery. Through his company Tracinda, Kerkorian publicly challenged GM’s leadership via an open letter, but talks were unsuccessful. He then sold a significant portion of his GM shares in November 2006, reducing his ownership from nearly 10% to almost nothing. This sale coincided with a 4.1% decline in GM’s stock price; GM subsequently lost more than 90% of its value and filed for bankruptcy in 2009.
On April 5, 2007, Kerkorian submitted a $4.58 billion offer for the Chrysler Group following Daimler-Chrysler’s announcement to divest the company. Other contenders included Cerberus Capital Management, The Blackstone Group, and Magna International. During the bidding process, Kerkorian enlisted Jerome York, former CFO at both Chrysler and IBM. Ultimately, Cerberus secured an 80% ownership of Chrysler for $7.4 billion on May 14, 2007.
In April 2008, Kerkorian began acquiring shares in Ford Motor Company, investing approximately $1 billion to obtain a 6% stake. However, by October 2008, the value of this investment had fallen by two-thirds amid economic turmoil, leading Tracinda to exit and shift focus back to gaming, hospitality, and oil and gas sectors. On October 21, Tracinda sold 7.3 million Ford shares at an average price of $2.43 per share and completely divested its Ford holdings by December 29, 2008, resulting in losses exceeding $500 million.
Wealth
In 2008, Kerkorian’s net worth was estimated at $16 billion by Forbes, placing him as the 41st wealthiest person worldwide and the richest individual in California. By 2011, his fortune had declined sharply to $3.2 billion due to the stock market downturn. In 2013, he was ranked as the 412th richest person globally with a net worth of $3.9 billion.
Personal life
Kerkorian was known for his extreme privacy, rarely granting interviews or appearing in public settings. Recognized as a formidable negotiator, he seldom participated in board meetings or delivered speeches; however, those who knew him described him as kind and courteous.
A passionate tennis enthusiast, Kerkorian competed in various tournaments and often played alongside former MGM executive Alex Yemenidjian. Despite his affinity for luxurious custom clothing from Italian designer Brioni, he preferred driving modest cars such as a Pontiac Firebird, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Ford Taurus.
He passed away in Beverly Hills on June 15, 2015, shortly after celebrating his 98th birthday. He is interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery near Los Angeles.
Family
Kerkorian was married four times throughout his life. His first marriage to Hilda Schmidt spanned from 1942 until their divorce in 1952. His second marriage to Jean Maree Hardy lasted from 1954 to 1984 and produced two daughters, Tracy and Linda—names that inspired both Kerkorian’s holding company Tracinda Corporation and his philanthropic Lincy Foundation. Despite divorcing, they maintained a close relationship.
His brief third marriage occurred in 1999 with tennis player Lisa Bonder, who was forty-eight years younger; the union lasted only one month under a prenuptial agreement. Subsequently, Kerkorian became involved in a privacy lawsuit concerning the paternity of Bonder’s daughter; DNA testing confirmed Steve Bing as the father. Bonder’s attorney alleged that Kerkorian’s legal team hired private investigator Anthony Pellicano to wiretap phone calls during the divorce—a claim later substantiated. Pellicano also employed dental floss evidence to establish Bing’s paternity. Attorney Terry Christensen was convicted of racketeering for employing Pellicano and received a three-year prison sentence.
Kerkorian’s fourth marriage was to Una Davis in 2014; it lasted just fifty-seven days before divorce proceedings began. These proceedings were unresolved when he died on June 15, 2015.
The Lincy Foundation and Charitable Endeavors
Kirk Kerkorian demonstrated considerable generosity through The Lincy Foundation, which he named in honor of his daughters, Linda and Tracy. This foundation contributed in excess of $1 billion, including financing half the expenses for an 80-kilometer highway project in Armenia. Over a span of ten years, Kerkorian invested upwards of $200 million into Armenian infrastructure, with $60 million specifically allocated to the restoration of schools, roadways, and the refurbishment of cultural landmarks such as museums, theaters, and concert venues.
After operating for 22 years, The Lincy Foundation was dissolved in 2011, distributing its remaining $200 million to the University of California, Los Angeles. Approximately half of these funds were dedicated to advancing medical research, scholarships, and various initiatives, while the remainder established the "Dream Fund," aimed at supporting charitable activities across the United States.
Estate
The $2 billion estate left by Kerkorian was largely bequeathed to philanthropic causes and is overseen by a committee of three individuals responsible for allocating the resources within a three-year timeframe. In December 2018, the estate reached a settlement with his fourth spouse amounting to $12.5 million, alongside an additional $10 million and $50 million designated for two charitable foundations under her guidance.
Awards and Recognition
In 2017, Armenia honored Kirk Kerkorian by issuing a commemorative stamp. The following year, the city of Gyumri dedicated a statue in his memory.