Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, who made his mark in the casino, auto, and movie industries and at one point was the richest man in Los Angeles, died Monday at his home in Beverly Hills from age-related issues. He was 98.
Kerkorian was born Kerkor Kerkorian in Fresno, California, on June 6, 1917, the youngest child of Armenian immigrants. He left school in the eighth grade and briefly was an amateur boxer. He discovered a love of flying, and during World War II served as a pilot, flying warplanes from Canada to Britain. After the war, he visited the fledgling town of Las Vegas, and made his first big deal there in 1962 when he purchased the land where Caesars Palace would one day stand.
Kerkorian ended up building what was billed as the largest hotel in the world three times, and acquired properties like the Bellagio and the Mirage. He purchased MGM Studios three times, and accumulated large pieces of Chrysler Corp. and General Motors when they were on the decline, selling after they recovered. "He was the most brilliant person I've ever run across, and so respectful of everyone," Anthony Mandekic, chief executive of Kerkorian's company, Tricanda Corp., told the Los Angeles Times. "He gave everything he could, right to the end." Survivors include daughters Linda Ross Hilton Kemper and Tracy Kerkorian and three grandchildren.
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