BIO: Kirk Kerkorian
October 7, 2006
AGE: 89. TITLE: Self-made billionaire. Cochairman, president and CEO of Tracinda Corp., a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based company named for his daughters, Tracy and Linda. Tracinda is the majority owner of casino and hotel operator MGM Mirage.
NET WORTH: $9 billion
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Born in Fresno, Calif., to Armenian immigrants. Flew planes across Atlantic during World War II. First fortune: Sold Trans International Airlines for $104-million profit in the 1960s, invested proceeds in Las Vegas; acquired Flamingo Hotel in 1967. Has been in the hotel and casino business ever since. His MGM Mirage owns more than half the hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip.
EDUCATION: High school diploma.
HOMETOWN: Los Angeles.
PERSONAL: Two children, three divorces.
Source: Forbes.com, Hoovers Inc. and Free Press research