Kirk Kerkorian
Business career
Business career
---------------

### Aviation

Sensing the onset of [World War II](/wiki/World_War_II "World War II"), and not wanting to join the [infantry](/wiki/Infantry "Infantry"), Kerkorian learned to fly at the [Happy Bottom Riding Club](/wiki/Happy_Bottom_Riding_Club "Happy Bottom Riding Club") in the [Mojave Desert](/wiki/Mojave_Desert "Mojave Desert")—adjacent to the [United States Army Air Corps](/wiki/United_States_Army_Air_Corps "United States Army Air Corps")'s Muroc Field, now [Edwards Air Force Base](/wiki/Edwards_Air_Force_Base "Edwards Air Force Base"). In exchange for flying lessons from pioneer aviator [Pancho Barnes](/wiki/Pancho_Barnes "Pancho Barnes"), he agreed to milk and look after her cattle.

On gaining his commercial pilot's certificate in six months, Kerkorian learned that the British [Royal Air Force](/wiki/Royal_Air_Force "Royal Air Force") was ferrying Canadian\-built [de Havilland Mosquitos](/wiki/De_Havilland_Mosquito "De Havilland Mosquito") over the [North Atlantic](/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean "Atlantic Ocean") to [Scotland](/wiki/Scotland "Scotland"). The Mosquito's fuel tank carried enough fuel for , while the trip directly was . Rather than take the safer [Montreal](/wiki/Montreal "Montreal")–[Labrador](/wiki/Labrador "Labrador")–[Greenland](/wiki/Greenland "Greenland")–[Iceland](/wiki/Iceland "Iceland")–Scotland route (although, going further north could mean the wings icing, and the plane crashing), Kerkorian preferred the direct "Iceland Wave" route, which blew the planes at jet\-speed to Europe—but it was not constant, and could mean [ditching](/wiki/Ditching "Ditching"). The fee was $1,000 per flight. Although accounts claim the risk was that one in four planes failed to make it,Torgerson, Dial "Kerkorian, An American Success Story" biography pub 1974 the actual rate was closer to one in *forty*. In May 1944, Kerkorian and his [Wing Commander](/wiki/Wing_Commander_%28rank%29 "Wing Commander (rank)") [John de Lacy Wooldridge](/wiki/John_Wooldridge "John Wooldridge") rode the wave and broke the old crossing record. Wooldridge got to Scotland in six hours, 46 minutes; Kerkorian, in seven hours, nine minutes. In two and a half years with [RAF Ferry Command](/wiki/RAF_Ferry_Command "RAF Ferry Command"), Kerkorian delivered 33 planes, logged thousands of hours, traveled to four continents and flew his first four\-engine plane.

After the war, having saved most of his wages, Kerkorian spent $5,000 on a [Cessna](/wiki/Cessna "Cessna"). He worked as a general aviation pilot and made his first visit to Las Vegas in 1944\. After spending much time in Las Vegas during the 1940s, Kerkorian quit gambling and in 1947 paid $60,000 for [Trans International Airlines](/wiki/Trans_International_Airlines "Trans International Airlines"), which was a small air\-charter service that flew gamblers from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. He then bid on some war surplus bombers, using money on loan from [Seagram's](/wiki/Seagram "Seagram"). Gasoline, and especially airplane fuel, was in short supply at the time, so he sold the fuel from the planes' tanks, paid off his loan, and still had the airplanes. He operated the airline until 1968 when he sold it for $104 million to the [Transamerica Corporation](/wiki/Transamerica_Corporation "Transamerica Corporation").

### Las Vegas

In 1962, Kerkorian bought  in [Las Vegas](/wiki/Las_Vegas "Las Vegas"), across the [Las Vegas Strip](/wiki/Las_Vegas_Strip "Las Vegas Strip") from the Flamingo for $960,000\. This purchase led to the building of [Caesars Palace](/wiki/Caesars_Palace "Caesars Palace"), which rented the land from Kerkorian. The rent and eventual sale of the land to Caesars in 1968 made Kerkorian $9 million ($70 million today).

In 1967, he bought  of land on Paradise Road in Las Vegas for $5 million and, with architect [Martin Stern Jr.](/wiki/Martin_Stern_Jr. "Martin Stern Jr."), built the [International Hotel](/wiki/International_Hotel_%28Las_Vegas%29 "International Hotel (Las Vegas)"), which at the time was the largest hotel in the world. The first two performers to appear at the hotel's enormous *Showroom Internationale* were [Barbra Streisand](/wiki/Barbra_Streisand "Barbra Streisand") and [Elvis Presley](/wiki/Elvis_Presley "Elvis Presley"). Presley brought in some 4,200 customers (and potential gamblers) every day for 30 days straight, breaking in the process all attendance records in the county's history. Kerkorian's International Leisure also bought the [Flamingo Hotel](/wiki/Flamingo_Las_Vegas "Flamingo Las Vegas"); eventually, both hotels were sold to the [Hilton Hotels Corporation](/wiki/Hilton_Hotels_Corporation "Hilton Hotels Corporation") and were renamed the [Las Vegas Hilton](/wiki/LVH_%E2%80%93_Las_Vegas_Hotel_%26_Casino "LVH – Las Vegas Hotel & Casino") and the [Flamingo Hilton](/wiki/Flamingo_Hilton "Flamingo Hilton"), respectively.

After he purchased the [Metro\-Goldwyn\-Mayer](/wiki/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer") movie studio in 1969, Kerkorian (with architect Martin Stern Jr.) opened the original [MGM Grand Hotel and Casino](/wiki/MGM_Grand_Hotel_and_Casino "MGM Grand Hotel and Casino"), larger than the [Empire State Building](/wiki/Empire_State_Building "Empire State Building") and the largest hotel in the world at the time it was finished. On November 21, 1980, the original [MGM Grand burned in a fire](/wiki/MGM_Grand_fire "MGM Grand fire") that was one of the worst disasters in Las Vegas history. The Clark County Fire Department reported 84 deaths in the fire; there were 87 deaths total, including three which occurred later as a result of injuries sustained in the fire. After only 8 months the MGM Grand reopened. Almost three months after the MGM fire, the [Las Vegas Hilton](/wiki/Las_Vegas_Hilton "Las Vegas Hilton") caught fire, killing eight people.

In 1986, Kerkorian sold the MGM Grand hotels in Las Vegas and [Reno](/wiki/Reno%2C_Nevada "Reno, Nevada") for $594 million to [Bally Manufacturing](/wiki/Bally_Manufacturing "Bally Manufacturing"). The Las Vegas property was subsequently renamed [Bally's](/wiki/Bally%27s_Las_Vegas "Bally's Las Vegas"). Spun off from [Metro\-Goldwyn\-Mayer](/wiki/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer"), [MGM Resorts International](/wiki/MGM_Resorts_International "MGM Resorts International") owns and operates several properties, including the current [MGM Grand](/wiki/MGM_Grand_Las_Vegas "MGM Grand Las Vegas"), the [Bellagio](/wiki/Bellagio_%28hotel_and_casino%29 "Bellagio (hotel and casino)"), the [New York\-New York](/wiki/New_York-New_York_Hotel_%26_Casino "New York-New York Hotel & Casino"), [Mandalay Bay](/wiki/Mandalay_Bay_Resort_and_Casino "Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino"), [The Luxor](/wiki/Luxor_Las_Vegas "Luxor Las Vegas"), [Excalibur](/wiki/Excalibur_Hotel_and_Casino "Excalibur Hotel and Casino"), [Park MGM](/wiki/Monte_Carlo_Resort_and_Casino "Monte Carlo Resort and Casino"), the [Cosmopolitan](/wiki/Cosmopolitan_of_Las_Vegas "Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas") and the [CityCenter](/wiki/CityCenter "CityCenter") complex in Las Vegas.

MGM sold its [Treasure Island Hotel and Casino](/wiki/Treasure_Island_Hotel_and_Casino "Treasure Island Hotel and Casino") property to billionaire and former [New Frontier](/wiki/New_Frontier_Hotel_and_Casino "New Frontier Hotel and Casino") owner [Phil Ruffin](/wiki/Phil_Ruffin "Phil Ruffin") for $750 million.

### MGM

In 1969, Kerkorian appointed [James Thomas Aubrey Jr.](/wiki/James_T._Aubrey "James T. Aubrey") as president of MGM. Aubrey downsized the struggling MGM and sold off massive amounts of historical memorabilia, including [Dorothy's](/wiki/Dorothy_Gale "Dorothy Gale") [ruby slippers](/wiki/Ruby_slippers "Ruby slippers") from the 1939 film *[The Wizard of Oz](/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_%281939_film%29 "The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)")*, the majority of the studio's backlots in Culver City and overseas operations such as the British MGM studio at Borehamwood. Kerkorian sold MGM's distribution system in 1973, and gradually distanced himself from the daily operation of the studio. He also owned minority interest in [Columbia Pictures](/wiki/Columbia_Pictures "Columbia Pictures") but his holdings were thwarted by the [Justice Department](/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Justice "United States Department of Justice") who filed an [antitrust](/wiki/Antitrust "Antitrust") suit due to his owning stock in two studios. In 1979, Kerkorian issued a statement claiming that MGM was now primarily a hotel company; however, he also managed to expand the overall film library and production system with the purchase of [United Artists](/wiki/United_Artists "United Artists") from [Transamerica](/wiki/Transamerica_Corporation "Transamerica Corporation") in 1981, becoming MGM/UA Entertainment Company. In March 1986, he sold MGM to [Ted Turner](/wiki/Ted_Turner "Ted Turner").Prince, Stephen (2000\) *A New Pot of Gold: Hollywood Under the Electronic Rainbow, 1980–1989* (pp. 14–16, 71–74\). [University of California Press](/wiki/University_of_California_Press "University of California Press"), [Berkeley](/wiki/Berkeley%2C_California "Berkeley, California")/[Los Angeles, California](/wiki/Los_Angeles%2C_California "Los Angeles, California").  After the purchase was made, Turner sold the United Artists subsidiary back to Kerkorian.Parsons, Patrick. *Blue Skies: A History of Cable Television.* Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press, 2008\. ; Stefoff, Rebecca. *Ted Turner, Television's Triumphant Tiger.* Ada, Okla.: Garrett Educational Corp., 1991\. Bart, Peter. *Fade Out: The Calamitous Final Days of MGM.* New York: Morrow, 1990\. 

Turner kept ownership of MGM from March 25 to August 26, 1986\. He racked up huge debts and Turner simply could not afford to keep the studio under those circumstances. To recoup his investment, Turner sold the production/distribution assets and trademarks of MGM (including its post\-April 1986 libraries) to United Artists while retaining the pre\-May 1986 MGM library, [Associated Artists Productions](/wiki/Associated_Artists_Productions "Associated Artists Productions") (the pre\-1950 [Warner Bros. Pictures](/wiki/Warner_Bros._Pictures "Warner Bros. Pictures") library and [Fleischer Studios](/wiki/Fleischer_Studios "Fleischer Studios")/[Famous Studios](/wiki/Famous_Studios "Famous Studios") *[Popeye](/wiki/Popeye_the_Sailor_%28film_series%29 "Popeye the Sailor (film series)")* cartoons) and [RKO Radio Pictures](/wiki/RKO_Pictures "RKO Pictures") libraries, as well as *[Gilligan's Island](/wiki/Gilligan%27s_Island "Gilligan's Island")* and its animated spin\-offs *[The New Adventures of Gilligan](/wiki/The_New_Adventures_of_Gilligan "The New Adventures of Gilligan")* and *[Gilligan's Planet](/wiki/Gilligan%27s_Planet "Gilligan's Planet")*. The [MGM studio complex](/wiki/Sony_Pictures_Studios "Sony Pictures Studios") was sold to [Lorimar\-Telepictures](/wiki/Lorimar-Telepictures "Lorimar-Telepictures"), which was later acquired by Warner Bros.; in 1990, the lot was sold to [Sony](/wiki/Sony "Sony") Corporation's [Columbia Pictures Entertainment](/wiki/Sony_Pictures_Entertainment "Sony Pictures Entertainment") in exchange for the half of Warner's lot that it had rented since 1972\. Also in 1990, the MGM film company was purchased by Italian financier [Giancarlo Parretti](/wiki/Giancarlo_Parretti "Giancarlo Parretti"), who then merged the former [Cannon](/wiki/The_Cannon_Group%2C_Inc. "The Cannon Group, Inc.") with the MGM purchase to create the short\-lived [MGM\-Pathé Communications](/wiki/MGM-Path%C3%A9_Communications "MGM-Pathé Communications"). Parretti defaulted on the loans he'd used to buy MGM, leaving MGM in the hands of the French bank, [Crédit Lyonnais](/wiki/Cr%C3%A9dit_Lyonnais "Crédit Lyonnais"). Crédit Lyonnais invested significant sums to revive the moribund company and eventually sold it back to Kerkorian in 1996\. Kerkorian soon expanded the company, purchasing [Orion Pictures](/wiki/Orion_Pictures "Orion Pictures"), [The Samuel Goldwyn Company](/wiki/The_Samuel_Goldwyn_Company "The Samuel Goldwyn Company") and [Motion Picture Corporation of America](/wiki/Motion_Picture_Corporation_of_America "Motion Picture Corporation of America") from [John Kluge](/wiki/John_Kluge "John Kluge")'s [Metromedia](/wiki/Metromedia "Metromedia") in 1997, and bought the pre\-April 1996 [PolyGram Filmed Entertainment](/wiki/PolyGram_Filmed_Entertainment "PolyGram Filmed Entertainment") library in 1999 from its parent [Philips](/wiki/Philips "Philips"), which was in process to sell [PolyGram](/wiki/PolyGram "PolyGram") to [Seagram](/wiki/Seagram "Seagram").

In 2005, Kerkorian sold MGM once more to a consortium led by Sony. He retained a 55% stake in MGM Mirage.

On November 22, 2006, Kerkorian's Tracinda investment corporation offered to buy 15 million shares of MGM Mirage to increase his stake in the gambling giant from 56\.3% to 61\.7%, if approved.

In May 2009, following the completion of a $1 billion stock offering by MGM Mirage, Kerkorian and Tracinda lost their majority ownership of the gaming company, dropping from 53\.8 percent to 39 percent and even after pledging to purchase 10 percent of the new stock offering they now remain minority owners.[Kerkorian Stake in MGM Mirage Shrinks](https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124268713396332161) ([Wall Street Journal](/wiki/Wall_Street_Journal "Wall Street Journal"))[MGM To Pay Back $825\.6 Million In Debt Following Stock, Note Sales](https://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200905191234DOWJONESDJONLINE000517_FORTUNE5.htm)  ([CNN](/wiki/CNN "CNN"))

### Auto industry

Kerkorian had an on\-again/off\-again relationship with the American auto industry. His involvement began in 1995 when with the assistance of retired Chrysler chairman and CEO [Lee Iacocca](/wiki/Lee_Iacocca "Lee Iacocca"), Kerkorian staged a takeover attempt of the [Chrysler Corporation](/wiki/Chrysler_Corporation "Chrysler Corporation"). Chrysler's management treated the takeover as hostile, and after a lengthy battle, Kerkorian canceled his plans and sold his Chrysler stake in 1996\. As part of the settlement, Iacocca was placed under a gag order forbidding him from discussing Chrysler in public or print for five years. Two years later, Chrysler management agreed to be acquired by German automaker [Daimler\-Benz](/wiki/Daimler-Benz "Daimler-Benz"). Kerkorian always drove an American vehicle, including a Ford Taurus and Jeep Cherokee.

Kerkorian once owned 9\.9 percent of [General Motors](/wiki/General_Motors "General Motors") (GM). According to press accounts from June 30, 2006, Kerkorian suggested that [Renault](/wiki/Renault "Renault") acquired a 20 percent stake in GM to rescue GM from itself. A letter from Tracinda to [Rick Wagoner](/wiki/Rick_Wagoner "Rick Wagoner") was released to the public, to pressure GM's executive hierarchy, but talks failed. On November 22, 2006, Kerkorian sold 14 million shares of his GM stake (it is speculated that this action was due to GM's rejection of Renault and Nissan's bids for stakes in the company as both of these bids were strongly supported by Kerkorian); the sale resulted in GM's share price falling 4\.1% from its November 20 price, although it remained above $30/share. The sale lowered Kerkorian's holding to around 7% of GM. On November 30, 2006, Tracinda said it had agreed to sell another 14 million shares of GM, cutting Kerkorian's stake to half of what it had been earlier that year. By the end of November 2006, he had sold substantially all of his remaining GM shares. After Kerkorian sold, GM lost more than 90% of its value, falling as low as $1/share by May 2009, and filed bankruptcy on June 1, 2009\.

On April 5, 2007, Kirk Kerkorian made a $4\.58 billion bid for the [Chrysler Group](/wiki/Chrysler "Chrysler"), the U.S. arm of [Daimler\-Chrysler](/wiki/DaimlerChrysler "DaimlerChrysler"). After Daimler\-Chrysler announced they were interested in selling the Chrysler division on February 14, large investors such as [Cerberus Capital Management](/wiki/Cerberus_Capital_Management "Cerberus Capital Management"), [The Blackstone Group](/wiki/The_Blackstone_Group "The Blackstone Group") and [Magna International](/wiki/Magna_International "Magna International") each announced intentions to bid on the company. Kerkorian's bid, while not expected, was not surprising given his long involvement in the U.S. automobile industry. During the bidding process, he sought the aid of his close associate [Jerome York](/wiki/Jerome_York "Jerome York") who was a former CFO at both Chrysler and [IBM](/wiki/IBM "IBM"). On May 14, 2007, 80% of the Chrysler arm of Daimler\-Chrysler was sold to Cerberus for $7\.4 billion.

Kerkorian began buying [Ford Motor Company](/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company "Ford Motor Company") stock in April 2008, and spent about $1 billion to accumulate a 6% stake in the automaker. By October 2008, the investment had lost two\-thirds of its value, and he began selling. Tracinda explained, "In light of current economic and market conditions, it sees unique value in the gaming and hospitality and oil and gas industries and has, therefore, decided to reallocate its resources and to focus on those industries."

On October 21, Tracinda sold the 7\.3 million Ford shares at an average price of $2\.43, and said it planned to cut further its existing 6\.1 percent stake in Ford, for a potential total loss of more than half a billion dollars. Kerkorian sold his remaining stake in Ford on December 29, 2008\.

### Wealth

Kerkorian's net worth in 2008 was $16 billion according to *[Forbes](/wiki/Forbes "Forbes")* magazine, making him the 41st richest person in the world and the richest person in California at that time. By 2011, Kerkorian was among those hardest hit by the stock market recession as his net worth tumbled to $3\.2 billion. In 2013, he was listed as the 412th richest person with a net worth of $3\.9 billion.[Kirk Kerkorian – Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/profile/kirk-kerkorian), Forbes.com. Retrieved January 24, 2014


What was the average price at which Tracinda sold its Ford shares?