Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian died Tuesday at the age of 98, leaving behind a legacy which included the automotive industry in his twilight years.
Aside from his numerous holdings in Las Vegas casinos — including MGM Resorts International — air charter businesses, and movie studios, Kerkorian held shares among all of the Detroit Three, Bloomberg reports.
Though he once sold one of his businesses to Studebaker — only to buy it back two years later — Kerkorian’s dealings in Detroit began in 1990, when he acquired nearly 10 percent of Chrysler’s stock after being impressed by then-chairman Lee Iacocca. Five years after, he and Iacocca were rebuffed by the automaker and its then-new chairman, Bob Eaton, when the duo sought to buy the remaining 90 percent of the automaker for $22.8 billion; Daimler AG would buy Chrysler three years later.
Though he initially supported the so-called “merger of equals” — his outside analysis helped lead the two companies down the aisle, Automotive News says — he sued DaimlerChrysler for $3 billion in damages in 2000 for misleading him with said merger. Kerkorian would ultimately lose his suit in 2005, his appeal of the federal trial verdict also proving unsuccessful.
Two years later, Kerkorian sought to buy Chrysler once more, offering $4.6 billion to Daimler before being outbid by Cerberus.
Around the same time of the Cerberus bid, he bought nearly 10 percent of General Motors shares, selling them back a year later after his patience ran out with the automaker’s management when he failed to convince then-CEO Rick Wagoner to join forces with Renault-Nissan. He also lost $600 million in 2008 selling his 6.5 percent stake in Ford — citing a lack of confidence the Blue Oval could turn its fortunes around — which he had purchased for over $1 billion in the same year.
RIP and all but I wasn’t even aware he was still alive.
I didnt know he was that old to be honest.
I knew he was old in the 90s and then when he was in the news due to Ford ten years back, I figured he was older than dirt and kinda forget about him afterward. I will personally remember him most for the “merger of equals”.
He’s kinda like Ross Perot – old and wealthy, and had his name in the paper in the 90’s. He may or may not still be alive – I don’t think about it.
I didn’t even know he was sick.
Was he a smoker? Because that smoking will get ya.
Yes and the other half of the “dynamic duo” of Tracinda, Jerry York, passed away in 2010.
Death took one look at Kerkorian and said:
“Damn, dude!! I thought I was old!”
I Remember him losing that money on Ford. I also thought that when Ford stock went to 99 cents that he would buy back in but I dont think that he did.
True story. At the time I had been married about a three years when Fords stock sunk to 99 cents and I told my still new wife that I wanted to take our then 168k bucks life savings to invest in them. She quickly shot it down stating that it was her money too and that she would not give mutual consent. I explained to her that I felt that Ford was going to do well after the others went into bankruptcy and that I just had a really good feeling about them. Needless to say I didnt invest in them. Two years later Ford stock hit 15 bucks and while watching the news she looks at me and says hey didnt we invest in them . I dont need to tell you how I felt.
I calmly stated no you wouldnt agree so I didnt. She looks at me and said well you know I dont know anything about investing and you should have just done it.
That was the one time that I really had one of those rare epiphanies and had not happened since.
A friend bought GM @ 5 and Ford @ 1.20 or thereabouts. Sold Ford at 12 and lost on GM. I on the other hand bought GM…
Same here. I contemplated going all in and didn’t. I did buy some later when it was on the rise at about $3 so all was not lost.
A smarter move.
On the plus side, every money argument you guys have can be cut short with “well if you had let me buy ford when I wanted to…”
That right there is worth several thousand dollars.
LOL
Mikedt has the winning point.
But if you use that one very often, you had best have a very comfy couch.
I unloaded my GM stock a couple of years before 2008. Someone once said “As GM goes so goes the Nation.” That was true in 2008, GM sunk and the US economy tanked. We will see long term how GM will do post Government.
“As GM goes so goes the Nation.”
Back in the day… When GM had 50% or so market share, yeah. Now? Not so much.
Close to 20%, it would still be a significant loss.
GM sunk because of the economic meltdown and credit market freeze – the economy didn’t sink because GM did. GM had been sinking on it’s own for the better part of 3 decades and the economy was quite fine up until 2003ish (sans the ‘burbs of Detroit and places like Flint, Michigan. By 2003 or early 2004, the US economy was just a propped up house of cards waiting to fall in on itself. The failure of Bear-Stearns and the collapse of AIG, derivatives, CDS, and easy credit to anyone with a pulse crashed it all down.
The adage as goes GM so goes the nation no longer holds true – but agree below that a suddenly dead GM would have a significant hint on the overall US economy – but GM is no where near where it was in marketshare in say the mid 60’s when they had real concerns about antitrust regulators cutting them up into itty bitty pieces.
It was 1984 and I was scared out of my wits. Piloting the Disneyland diesel electric submarine fleet beat cooking burgers at McDonald’s any day of the week; it was a big move in the right direction as far as college jobs go. But now the fear was palpable among the cast: a big investor was going through with a hostile takeover and our beautiful theme park would be spun off, dismantled, and probably come back as housing. Kerkorian was evil! To us anyway, in those days. It never happened. RIP, Mr. Kerkorian.
“Disneyland diesel electric submarine fleet”
So Disneyland could enact a blockade of shipping lanes?
I’m going to guess he worked at the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride.
I was hoping for so much more. Maybe he could write an autobiography called “Das Mouse”?
BigOldChryslers is correct, though with an added canal and a right-of-way to the nearby Santa Ana River, naval blockades could have become part of the job. BTW, I like your proposed name for my autobiography.
Thank you, I’m good for something clever every 100,000 words or so. Actually with enough background information I could probably crank out a nice bit of fiction.
Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian died Tuesday at the age of 98, leaving behind a legacy which included the automotive industry in his twilight years.
Correction – “leaving behind a legacy which included HARASSING the automotive industry in is twilight years.”
He was like a horsefly. You can shoo him, but he comes back to the same target. Only death stops the recurrence.
Nice Chrysler/Maserati TC in the photo.
Thankfully one not in that tepid yellow color in which apparently 99% of them were ordered by the dealers. Yuck!
Huh, I have never seen one in anything but red just like the one in the picture. Not that I have seen tons of them.
I have definitely seen the cream color the most. It’s awful. I prefer them in purple, as red is too common. I believe purple was only available toward the end there.
So he helped with the Chrysler-Daimler marriage, then sued when it went south, and lost both on first case and appeal.
Then he invested in GM, to push the idea that GM and PSA should merge, and GM said, “no no no no no,” so he sold his position.
Huh, Wagoner wasn’t a completely incompetent boob after all – but still pretty darn close.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
This!
he liked Return to Greatness. never met him personally but spent a considerable amount of time with Jerry York.
A bad month for old billionaires – first David Rockefeller (99), now Kirk (98). I think the current title holder for oldest billionaire is now someone related to the Ferrero candy empire (97).
Lemon Heads!
Rockefeller kicked?
This appears to have been a hoax.
http://en.mediamass.net/people/david-rockefeller/deathhoax.html