Revealed: Kirk Kerkorian ( Updated) Net Worth 2026: Career Earnings & Assets

As one of the most talked-about figures, Kirk Kerkorian has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.

What was Kirk Kerkorian's Net Worth?

Kerkorian was integral in the development of Las Vegas as we know it today. In 1962, he bought 80 acres of land there for $960,000; this purchase was followed by the construction of Caesars Palace, which had rented Kerkorian's land. Later, in 1967, he bought 82 acres of land on Las Vegas's Paradise Road and, with the help of architect Martin Stern Jr., built the International Hotel. At the time, the largest hotel in the world, it launched the iconic Showroom Internationale, which had as its first two performersBarbra StreisandandElvisPresley. The latter performer was a massive boon to the hotel, breaking attendance records by bringing in around 4,200 customers every day for 30 consecutive days.

Rising fromGreat Depression poverty to a multi-billionaire titan of industry, Kirk Kerkorian was a truly unique figure. He was best known for helping to develop modern-day Las Vegas via the construction of the International Hotel, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and the MGM Grand. He was also president and CEO of the private holding company Tracinda Corporation, which he founded in 1976. As a philanthropist, during his life Kerkorian donated over $1 billion to causes in his ancestral Armenia through his Lincy Foundation. And then after his death, most of his $4 billion estate was left to charity.

Known by his nickname "the smiling cobra," Kerkorian is regarded as one of the key figures in shaping Las Vegas as we know it today. Not having an interest in formal education, he dropped out of school in the 8th grade to become a boxer. During World War II, Kirk was a daredevil pilot who flew for the Royal Air Force. He delivered supplies over the Atlantic on routes that would crash one out of every four planes. After the war, having saved most of his wages, Kerkorian spent $5,000 on a Cessna. He worked as a general aviation pilot and made his first visit to Las Vegas in 1944, where he became a high roller on the craps tables. In 1962, Kerkorian bought 80 acres in Las Vegas, across the Las Vegas Strip from the Flamingo, for $960,000.

Just prior to the advent of World War II, Kerkorian learned to fly at the Happy Bottom Riding Club in the Mojave Desert. After training under pioneer aviator Pancho Barnes for about six months, he earned his commercial pilot's certificate. Kerkorian went on to join the British Royal Air Force's Ferry Command, with which he delivered 33 planes and logged thousands of hours over two-and-a-half years.

Kerko "Kirk" Kerkorian was born on June 6, 1917, in Fresno, California, to Armenian parents who had fled the Armenian genocide. Following the depression of 1920-1921, the family moved to Los Angeles. There, Kerkorian dropped out of school in the eighth grade and became an amateur boxer under the mentorship of his older brother Nish. He also had an older sister named Rose.

Kirk Kerkorian was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who had a net worth of $4.2 billion at the time of his death in 2015. At his all-time peak in 2008, before the Great Recession devastated Las Vegas, Kirk Kerkorian's net worth was $16 billion, which made him therichest person in Californiaand one of the50 richest people in the world.

In 1969, he bought a controlling stake in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio, and he went on to open the original MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (now Bally's Las Vegas) in 1973. The MGM Grand Reno followed in 1978. Over the years, MGM grew to become the second-largest gaming company in the world by revenue. Kerkorian stepped down as its chairman in 2011 and became the first director emeritus. Kirk Kerkorian died on June 16, 2015, at the age of 98.

After the war, Kerkorian purchased a Cessna and worked as a general aviation pilot. He spent much of his time visiting Las Vegas, where he gambled. In 1947, Kerkorian quit gambling and paid $60,000 for Trans International Airlines. He operated the airline until 1968 when he sold it to the Transamerica Corporation.

In summary, the total wealth of Kirk Kerkorian reflects strategic moves.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.