Billionaire Kerkorian, 87, is anything but retiring
LOS ANGELES — When Kirk Kerkorian sold his stake in film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for more than $2 billion last year, no one expected the 87-year old to retire to enjoy his windfall.
Kerkorian, who turns 88 next month, is known as a savvy investor who puts his money into companies that are undervalued, then pushes for change.
He was the largest shareholder at Chrysler Corp. when the automaker merged with DaimlerBenz in 1998. Now his Tracinda Corp. — named for daughters Tracy and Linda — has made an $870 million tender offer to double its investment in General Motors Corp. That would boost Tracinda’s holdings to about 9 percent and make Kerkorian one of GM’s largest shareholders.
GM shares soared more than 18 percent on Wednesday on news of Kerkorian’s plans. “Kirk has always been a long-term investor who recognizes undervalued assets,” said Deutsche Bank gambling analyst Marc Falcone.
An analyst report issued Wednesday by Calyon Securities called Kerkorian a “bottom fisher” who is sure to pressure for changes at GM.
The strategy has taken Kerkorian a long way. He bought and sold MGM three times, changed management more than once and dealt away major assets, including the studio’s soundstages and much of its film library, including such classics as “Gone With the Wind.”
He built some of the largest hotel-casinos in Las Vegas, including the MGM Grand. He sold his empire there once, then returned to buy out rival casino mogul Steve Wynn.
Through it all, he has remained publicity shy and rarely gives interviews. His three marriages all ended in divorce.
Born Kerkor Kerkorian in Fresno in 1917, he was one of four children of a fruit grower and a homemaker. At 16, he dropped out of school in Los Angeles and took up boxing. He was Pacific amateur welterweight champion but was too scrawny to turn pro. His nickname was “Rifle Right” Kerkorian.
During World War II, he worked as a civilian pilot for the British Royal Air Force, ferrying bombers from Canada to England.
He returned to California in 1945, bought a single-engine plane and started flying charters to Las Vegas. He started an airline and 15 years later, sold it to Studebaker for $1 million.
With the profit, he bought 40 acres on the Las Vegas strip and leased the land to the company that built Caesar’s Palace in 1966. The following year, he built the Hotel Internationale, then the world’s biggest hotel and now known as the Las Vegas Hilton, on another piece of land.
The hotel was a hit and in 1969, with a fortune of nearly $200 million, he bought fabled movie studio MGM. In 1981, he bought United Artists and combined the two companies.
After the studio struggled, Kerkorian sold it to Ted Turner in 1986, then bought back the MGM logo and United Artists when Turner couldn’t make the payments.
In 1990, Kerkorian sold the studio yet again to Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti — and bought it for a third time in 1996 after Parretti defaulted on his payments.
In 2000 in Las Vegas, Kerkorian orchestrated the $6.4 billion merger between MGM Grand and Mirage Resorts.