Kirk Kerkorian

Kerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian (Armenian: Քըրք Քըրքորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian was one of the important figures in the shaping of Las Vegas and, with architect Martin Stern Jr., is described as the "father of the mega-resort". He built the world's largest hotel in Las Vegas three times: the International Hotel (opened in 1969), the original MGM Grand Hotel (1973) and the current MGM Grand (1993). He purchased the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio in 1969.

Kerkorian, who was born to Armenian immigrants, provided over $1 billion for charity in Armenia through his Lincy Foundation, which was established in 1989 and particularly focused on helping to rebuild northern Armenia after the 1988 earthquake. Kerkorian also provided money to ensure that a film based on the history of the Armenian genocide would be made. The resulting film, called The Promise, premiered in April 2017 in the United States. In 2000 Time magazine named him the 10th largest donor in the US. Kerkorian was declared an honorary citizen of Armenia. He was bestowed the title of National Hero of Armenia, the highest state award.

Kirk Kerkorian was born on June 6, 1917, in Fresno, California, to Armenian parents who escaped present-day Turkey via cattle boat during the Armenian genocide. Armenian was his first language and he "didn't learn the English language until he hit the streets." His family moved to Los Angeles following the depression of 1920–21. Dropping out of school in eighth grade, Kerkorian became a fairly skilled amateur boxer under the tutelage of his older brother Nish Kerkorian, fighting under the name "Rifle Right Kerkorian" to win the Pacific amateur welterweight championship. Kirk Kerkorian also had an older sister, Rose Kerkorian.

Sensing the onset of World War II, and not wanting to join the infantry, Kerkorian learned to fly at the Happy Bottom Riding Club in the Mojave Desert—adjacent to the United States Army Air Corps's Muroc Field, now Edwards Air Force Base. In exchange for flying lessons from pioneer aviator 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 was ferrying Canadian-built de Havilland Mosquitos over the North Atlantic to Scotland. The Mosquito's fuel tank carried enough fuel for 1,400 miles (2,300 km), while the trip directly was 2,200 miles (3,500 km). Rather than take the safer Montreal–Labrador–Greenland–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. The fee was $1,000 per flight. Although accounts claim the risk was that one in four planes failed to make it, the actual rate was closer to one in forty. In May 1944, Kerkorian and his Wing Commander John de Lacy 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, 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. He worked as a general aviation pilot and made his first visit to Las Vegas in 1944.

After World War II, Kerkorian and his sister started a partnership to trade aircraft. He made headlines when in 1946, while he was flying a DC-3 from Hawaii to the mainland, his crew issued a mayday when the ferry tank system malfunctioned and the engines quit. Luckily they were able to fix the issue and restart the engines. In 1948, his partnership bought Los Angeles Air Service (LAAS), a so-called irregular air carrier (a carrier started without formal government approval). In the 1950s, LAAS was at least as much a vehicle for aircraft trading as it was an operating airline, going significant periods without operations. Kerkorian developed a reputation as an astute aircraft trader. In 1960, Kerkorian changed the name of LAAS to Trans International Airlines (TIA) and in 1962 bought a Douglas DC-8 jet, putting it immediately to work on a military charter contract. He was the first charter operator to move to jets, which he later said "was the real breakthrough". Thereafter, TIA grew strongly, as did its profitability. In 1962, he also sold TIA to Studebaker, then seeking to diversify, with Kerkorian left in charge. Two years later, he bought TIA back from Studebaker for a similar amount, despite the airline being larger and more profitable. In 1968, he sold TIA to Transamerica Corporation, an insurance company, with his share being $104 million, his first fortune.

Kerkorian then invested in Western Airlines, building up a large stake from 1968 to 1970 and taking control of the board. He remained a major power at Western until 1976, when he sold his remaining stock back to the company. In 1987, MGM funded the launch of MGM Grand Air, an all-premium class airline that flew transcontinental routes.

Kerkorian was an "intensely private person". He almost never gave interviews and seldom appeared in public. "Kerkorian rarely attended board meetings and never gave speeches. He was shy, but was a tough negotiator. Those who knew him describe him not as a Hughesian hermit, but as a gentle, gracious, normal guy."

Kerkorian was an avid tennis player, played in tournaments, associated with other players like Lornie Kuhle, and routinely played with Alex Yemenidjian, a former MGM executive, and former owner of the Tropicana Las Vegas resort. He had a penchant for expensive clothes (especially custom-made outfits by Italian designer Brioni), but drove relatively inexpensive vehicles, such as a Pontiac Firebird, Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Ford Taurus.

Armenia issued a Kirk Kerkorian stamp in 2017. The city of Gyumri unveiled a statue of Kerkorian in 2018.