Kirk Kerkorian

Kirk Kerkorian was an Armenian-American billionaire casino developer and investor who fundamentally shaped the Las Vegas Strip. Born on June 6, 1917, in Fresno, California, he left school after the eighth grade and worked as a professional boxer before serving as a WWII transport pilot with the U.S. Army Air Forces and RAF Transport Command. After the war, he founded Trans International Airlines, a successful charter airline that he sold to fund his entry into Las Vegas real estate.

In 1962, Kerkorian purchased 80 acres on the Strip and developed the International Hotel, which opened in 1969 (later the Las Vegas Hilton, now Westgate). He acquired controlling interest in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1969 and opened the original MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in 1973, then the world’s largest hotel. After a devastating fire in 1980, he rebuilt and opened the iconic 5,005-room MGM Grand in 1993. Through MGM Grand Inc., he executed landmark acquisitions of Mirage Resorts in 2000 and Mandalay Resort Group in 2005, bringing properties such as Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, and The Mirage under one umbrella. By his death, his company controlled over half the hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip.

Kerkorian was also a significant philanthropist through the Lincy Foundation, which focused on humanitarian projects in Armenia. He died on June 15, 2015, leaving a legacy as the father of the mega-resort and one of the greatest capitalists in gaming history.