Kirk Kerkorian Net Worth

What was Kirk Kerkorian's Net Worth?

At the time of his passing in 2015, Kirk Kerkorian was an American entrepreneur, financier, and philanthropist with a net worth of $4.2 billion. Kirk Kerkorian was a genuinely exceptional person who rose from Great Depression-era destitution to become a multibillionaire industrial giant. He was most known for building the International Hotel, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and the MGM Grand, which all contributed to the development of contemporary Las Vegas. In addition, he developed and served as president and chief executive officer of the private holding firm Tracinda Corporation. Through his Lincy Foundation, Kerkorian made more than $1 billion in charitable contributions to charities in his native Armenia.

Kerkorian, often known as "the smiling cobra," is credited for helping to create Las Vegas as we know it today. He left school in the eighth grade to pursue a career as a boxer since he had no interest in receiving a formal education. Kirk served as a daring pilot with the Royal Air Force during World War II. He transported supplies over the Atlantic on routes where one out of every four aircraft would crash. After the war, Kerkorian bought a Cessna for $5,000 after saving the majority of his income. He was a general aviation pilot who first visited Las Vegas in 1944 and quickly rose to the status of a big roller at the craps tables. For $960,000, Kerkorian purchased 80 acres of land in Las Vegas across from the Flamingo.

He acquired a majority interest in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film company in 1969, and in 1973 he launched the first MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, which is now Bally's Las Vegas. In 1978, the MGM Grand Reno was added. MGM developed through time to rank as the second-largest gaming corporation in the world in terms of revenue. In 2011, Kerkorian left his position as chairman and was named the organization's first director emeritus. At the age of 98, Kirk Kerkorian passed away on June 16, 2015. His $4 billion estate was largely donated to charity.

Early Life

In Fresno, California, on June 6, 1917, Kerko "Kirk" Kerkorian was born to Armenian parents who had escaped the Armenian genocide. After the 1920–1921 Great Depression, the family relocated to Los Angeles. Under the guidance of his older brother Nish, Kerkorian dropped out of school in the eighth grade and started boxing as a hobby. He also has a Rose-named older sister.

Aviation Career

At the Happy Bottom Riding Club in the Mojave Desert, Kerkorian acquired his pilot's license just before the start of World War II. He received his commercial pilot's license after completing around six months of instruction under pioneering aviator Pancho Barnes. After that, Kerkorian joined the British Royal Air Force's Ferry Command, where he completed 33 deliveries over the course of 2.5 years and logged thousands of hours.

Kerkorian bought a Cessna after the war and became a general aviation pilot. He went to Las Vegas a lot and played some gambling. Kerkorian gave up gaming and spent $60,000 to purchase Trans International Airlines in 1947. Up until 1968, when he sold it to the Transamerica Corporation, he oversaw the airline.

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Development of Las Vegas

Kerkorian had a crucial role in the growth of Las Vegas into what it is today. He paid $960,000 for 80 acres of property there in 1962; Caesars Palace was later built on Kerkorian's land, which it had previously rented. Later, in 1967, he purchased 82 acres of property on Paradise Road in Las Vegas, where he later constructed the International Hotel with the aid of architect Martin Stern Jr. The Showroom Internationale, which featured Barbra Streisand and Elvis Presley as its first two performances, opened at what was then the biggest hotel in the world. The latter artist was extremely beneficial to the hotel, smashing daily attendance records by bringing in almost 4,200 patrons for 30 days straight.

In order to construct the first MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, which surpassed the International as the biggest hotel in the world at the time of its inauguration in 1973, Kerkorian reconnected with architect Martin Stern Jr. after purchasing MGM Studios in 1969. After a significant fire destroyed the structure in 1980, it was reopened the following year. For $594 million, Kerkorian sold Bally Manufacturing the MGM Grand in 1986. A few years later, he acquired the Marina Hotel and Casino, which in 1993 was renamed the new MGM Grand.

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MGM Studios

When Kerkorian acquired MGM Studios in 1969, it was one of his greatest purchases. James Thomas Aubrey Jr., the president he chose, shrunk the struggling studio by auctioning off a large portion of its artifacts, backlots, and international activities. By acquiring United Artists in 1981, Kerkorian was able to increase MGM's overall picture production and library. In 1986, he sold MGM to Ted Turner; ten years later, the company was returned to him by the French bank Crédit Lyonnais, who had acquired it after the previous owner Giancarlo Parretti stopped making his loan payments. By acquiring Motion Picture Corporation of America, Orion Pictures, and the Samuel Goldwyn Company, Kerkorian went on to greatly expand MGM. He sold MGM to a Sony-led group in 2005.

Auto Industry Investments

Kerkorian frequently worked in the US car sector. He tried an unsuccessful hostile takeover of the Chrysler Corporation in 1995 with former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca. In addition, Kerkorian started purchasing shares of Ford Motor Company in 2008 after earlier holding a 9.9% interest in General Motors.

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The Lincy Foundation

Kerkorian established the Lincy Foundation in 1989, through which he donated an estimated $1 billion to organizations in his native Armenia. He provided funding for important national infrastructure initiatives, including as the quake-related restoration of streets and schools. For the 2016 historical war movie "The Promise," which is about the Armenian genocide, Kerkorian again supplied financial support. In 2011, the Lincy Foundation was disbanded.

Personal Life and Death

Kerkorian has four different marriages in all. Hilda Schmidt, his first wife, and he were married in 1942; they subsequently divorced. Later, in 1954, Kerkorian wed English dancer Jean Maree Hardy; they later divorced after 30 years of marriage. Tracy and Linda, whose names are portmanteaux of Kerkorian's Tracinda Corporation and Lincy Foundation, are the two daughters born of that marriage. Lisa Bonder, a professional tennis player, was his third wife; she was 48 years his younger, and they were only wed for one month in 1999. 2014 saw the end of Kerkorian's fourth and last marriage, which lasted 57 days to Una Davis. She was about 50 years younger than him.

Nine days after turning 98, Kerkorian passed away in Beverly Hills, California, on June of 2015.

A former flame of Kirk's filed a $20 million lawsuit against his estate some years after his passing. A judge granted Vanessa Sandin $7.5 million in February 2018. According to reports, she dated Kirk for less than a year.

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