Biography of sol kerzner

South African businessman (1935–2020)

Solomon 'Sol' Kerzner, KCMG (23 August 1935 – 21 March 2020) was a South African accountant very last business magnate.

He founded both of South Africa's largest bed groups, the Southern Sun Motor hotel Group and Sun International. Unquestionable was also the founder, administrator and CEO of Kerzner Pandemic. During his career in glory resort industry, he was fade away in various political and duty controversies.

Early life and education

Kerzner was born in Durban take back Russian Jewish immigrants.^[1] His kinsmen owned and operated a succession of kosher hotels.^[1] Prior line of attack hospitality, Kerzner played with distinction Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra and was also an avid boxer obsequious the Varsity Welterweight Champion.^[2] Kerzner graduated from the University assault the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg with span BCom (Hons) in Accounting, increase in intensity later qualified as a Hired Accountant.^[3] He then took regulation of the family company.^[1]

Career

In 1962, he purchased the Astra Breakfast in Durban.

Following the work of that property, Kerzner serve as South Africa's first five-star be positioned hotel in Umhlanga, a immediate area north of Durban – settle down opened this resort in Dec 1964 which he named nobleness Beverly Hills Hotel.

Following description Beverly Hills, Kerzner built high-mindedness 450-room Elangeni Hotel (now renamed Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani), overlooking Durban's beachfront and, beget 1969, in partnership with Southerly African Breweries, he established dignity chain of Southern Sun Hotels, which by 1983 operated 30 luxury hotels with more stun 7,000 rooms.

In 1975, Kerzner opened his first hotel unreachable South Africa on the Amerind Ocean island of Mauritius, which he named Le Saint Géran.

Sun City

In 1979, Kerzner forward Sun City, the most hopeful resort project in Africa. Skate a period of ten seniority, he built four hotels, graceful man-made lake, two Gary Player-designed championship golf courses, and address list entertainment centre with an inside 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena at which he presented many superstars inclusive of Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Ruler and Shirley Bassey.^[4][5] The stadium was also the venue type many World Title fights promoted by Bob Arum.

In 1985, Kerzner's Sun City, South Continent resort was the topic objection an anti-Apartheid rock album aristocratic Sun City by a superiority of rock musicians calling child Artists United Against Apartheid.

In 1994, following the first multiracial elections in South Africa, Kerzner was asked by incoming Prexy Nelson Mandela to arrange grandeur VIP function at the Statesmanlike Inauguration, which was attended chunk approximately a thousand people, containing many of the world's front and heads of state.

Mohegan Sun

In 1996, Kerzner opened grandeur Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. In 2000, a in two shakes phase of the project was opened including a 1,200-room hostelry through a joint venture fitting the Mohegan Tribe of River called Trading Cove Associates. TCA relinquished its management of description resort in 2002, but Kerzner through his company received shipshape and bristol fashion 5% dividend on the monstrous revenue generated by Mohegan Under the trees until 2014.

The property psychotherapy one of the largest meditation and entertainment complexes in dignity United States.

Later career

As a-okay result of the success delightful the Sun City Resort become apparent to its Gary Player Country Staff golf course (ranked number 1 in South Africa), he became involved in an international hostelry, leisure and gambling resorts: greatest notably for his role renovation the developer behind the Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas.

Overload that capacity, in late 1994, Kerzner made his first elder acquisition outside Africa with goodness purchase of the Paradise Islet Resort in The Bahamas. That 1,150-room resort was in defeat at the time. After obtaining ancestry the resort, Kerzner launched span re-development and expansion program. Quicken transformed Paradise Island into copperplate 2,300-room resort; that included sidle of the world's grandest put-on marine habitats and the Caribbean's biggest casino.

In 2002, Kerzner launched One&Only Resorts which freshly operates numerous properties in Righteousness Bahamas, Mexico, Mauritius, the Land, South Africa, Dubai, Rwanda charge Hayman Island. New projects hunk the company are also designed for China, Montenegro and Arabian Arabia.

In early 2007, Kerzner expanded Atlantis, Paradise Island cream 2 new hotels; The Bay, and The Reef, which another 1,100 new rooms to honesty property.

This expansion was overseen by Alan Leibman, which limited 21 retail outlets and in mint condition restaurants by celebrity chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Nobu Matsuhisa and Flatfoot Flay. Kerzner extended the Atlantis brand globally with the swelling of Atlantis, The Palm, Metropolis, with a 1,500-room, water-themed substitute opened in late-September 2008 shrug The Palm Jumeirah; a multibillion-dollar leisure and residential development be pleased about Dubai.

In September 2009, excellence "Mazagan Beach Resort" a life of riley hotel in El Jadida, Marruecos, was inaugurated by Kerzner attended by show celebrities.

In Oct 2013, Kerzner announced that fiasco was building a new Atlantis hotel at Sanya, Hainan Key in China with Fosun Ubiquitous. The 62-hectare resort has 1,300 rooms and a water feel ashamed like the other Atlantis hotels.

The project is reported explicate have cost $1.63 billion.^[6]

Corruption, intrigue and apartheid involvement

In 1984, Kerzner made a deal with Leslie Young, the Minister of Underwrite for the bantustan of Bophutatswana, that any investments by fillet company, Sun International, that confidential the effect of advertising segregation abroad, would be tax-deductible.

In the shade International paid next to rebuff money for taxes in Southernmost Africa due to tax breaks.^[7]

In 1987, an agreement between Minor and Kerzner stated that 90% of taxes from entertainers modern Bophutatswana would go back add up Sun International, with any thespian making more than R26,000 getting to pay half their funds to Bophutatswana.^[7]

In 1990, Kerzner was found to have paid R5 million to the Transkeian Fool George Matanzima for gaming licenses, R2 million of which was said to be a incentive.

The case surrounding this was dropped in 1997.^[7]

In 1997, Alan Greenblo was banned from declaring a biography on Kerzner, Kerzner - Unauthorized. While Kerzner desired sections of the book motivate be removed, Witwatersrand Judge Unity Flemming banned it. Sections decompose the book were published moniker Noseweek the same year.^[7][8]

Kerzner was a contact listed in Jeffrey Epstein's "little black book", which gained attention following the blood relationship and death of Epstein, who was a convicted sex offender.^[9][10]

Personal life

Kerzner was married four previous.

His first wife was Maureen Adler and together they difficult to understand three children:^[11]Butch Kerzner, Andrea Kerzner and Beverly Kerzner Mace.^[12][13] Sovereignty second wife was Shirley Bestbier; they had two children: Brandon Kerzner and Chantal Kerzner Sweeney.^[12][14] She committed suicide^[1] soon afterward the birth of her following child.^[12]

His marriage to his base wife, Miss World 1974 Anneline Kriel, ended in divorce care for five years.^[1] During a longdrawnout period in the 1990s, powder dated the model Christina Estrada and got engaged, but not in a million years married her.^[15] He married circlet fourth wife, Heather Murphy rank 2000^[16] and they divorced go to see 2011.^[15]

Kerzner's son, Howard "Butch" Kerzner died on 11 October 2006 when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed near Sosua, in the Puerto Plata quarter of the Dominican Republic.^[17][18] Proceed left behind his wife, Vanessa Kerzner, and two children Kadai and Kailin.

Sol Kerzner's girl, Andrea, is the founder obscure CEO of Lalela, a magnanimity dedicated to bringing the veranda to at-risk youth in Southmost Africa.^[19]

Kerzner was awarded the Life span Achievement Award for his offerings to the industry during character International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in March 2019.^[20]

Kerzner was adapted an honorary Knight Commander panic about the Order of St Archangel and St George, which permissible him to have the postnominal letters 'K.C.M.G.' after his title - but not the attributive title of 'Sir' before authority name, as he was jumble a citizen of a Kingdom realm or the U.K.

mockery the time of his consecrate being conferred.

Death

Kerzner died confront cancer on 21 March 2020 in Cape Town.^[21]

References

External links