Billionaire businessman Kirk Kerkorian, the son of Armenian immigrants, who tried unsuccessfully to buy Chrysler, died Monday night at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 98.
Ed Koch of the Las Vegas Sun wrote that Kerkorian:
Spent a lifetime outdoing himself, whether it was being the biggest studio boss in Hollywood or one of America’s leading automaker investors or by building spectacular Las Vegas resorts, each one grander than the previous.
Three times he built what was heralded as “the world’s largest hotel” — the International Hotel (now LVH) in 1969, the MGM (now Bally’s) in 1973 and the MGM Grand in 1993, earning him the endearing title of “the father of the Las Vegas megaresort.”
Even when it came to giving away much of his vast fortune, Kerkorian did things bigger and better than most, creating the Lincy Foundation that provided a billion dollars to rebuild earthquake devastated Armenia and tens of millions of dollars to Southern Nevada charities.
In 1995, Kerkorian owned 10 percent of Chrysler's stock and made a bid to buy the entire company and take it private. He eventually failed and Daimler-Benz bought the company. In all, he tried twice to buy the car company.
