Kerkorian founded MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) and was its largest shareholder. He built the world's biggest hotel in Las Vegas, the desert gambling capital, where he first made his fortune in the 1950s and 1960s.

He was also a player in the automobile industry, losing a battle for control of Chrysler in the 1990s before taking stakes in General Motors and Ford in the 2000s.

In May 2015, Forbes magazine estimated Kerkorian's wealth at 4.2 billion US dollars after taking a hit on his investments during the financial crisis in 2008.

He was a skilled aviator who flew dangerous missions delivering warplanes from Canada to Britain during World War Two and later opened a charter flight business serving gamblers wanting to get from Los Angeles to Las Vegas more quickly than a 10-hour drive.

He was born as Kerkor Kerkorian in Fresno, California, on 6 June 1917.