Sol Kerzner

Sol Kerzner
Born	(1935-08-23)23 August 1935 Durban,Natal,Union of South Africa
Died	21 March 2020(2020-03-21)(aged 84) Cape Town,Western Cape,South Africa
Alma mater	University of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg B.Com (Accounting) B.Com (Hons) (Accounting)
Occupation(s)	Founder and Chairman ofKerzner International
Spouses	Maureen Adler Shirley Bestbier ​ (death)​ Anneline Kriel ​ ​ (m.1980;div.1985)​ Heather Murphy ​ ​ (m.2000;div.2011)​
Children	with Adler: Howard Kerzner Andrea Kerzner Beverly Kerzner Mace with Bestbier: Brandon Kerzner Chantal Kerzner Sweeney

Solomon 'Sol' Kerzner,KCMG(23 August 1935 – 21 March 2020) was a South Africanaccountantandbusiness magnate.He founded both of South Africa's largest hotel groups, theSouthern Sun Hotel GroupandSun International.He was also the founder, chairman and CEO ofKerzner International.During his career in the resort industry, he was involved in various political and business controversies.

Early life and education

Kerzner was born in Durban toRussian Jewishemigrants.His family owned and operated a chain ofkosherhotels.Prior to hospitality, Kerzner played with theJohannesburg Symphony Orchestraand was also an avid boxer becoming the VarsityWelterweightChampion.Kerzner graduated from theUniversity of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg with a BCom (Hons) in Accounting, and later qualified as aChartered Accountant.He then took control of the family company.

Career

In 1962, he purchased theAstra HotelinDurban.Following the success of that property, Kerzner built South Africa's first five-star graded hotel inUmhlanga,a town north of Durban – he opened this resort in December 1964 which he named theBeverly Hills Hotel.

Following the Beverly Hills, Kerzner built the 450-room Elangeni Hotel (now renamed Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani), overlooking Durban's beachfront and, in 1969, in partnership withSouth African Breweries,he established the chain of Southern Sun Hotels, which by 1983 operated 30 luxury hotels with more than 7,000 rooms. In 1975, Kerzner opened his first hotel outside South Africa on theIndian Oceanisland ofMauritius,which he namedLe Saint Géran.

Sun City

In 1979, Kerzner developedSun City,the most ambitious resort project in Africa. Over a period of ten years, he built four hotels, a man-made lake, twoGary Player-designed championship golf courses, and an entertainment centre with an indoor 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena at which he presented many superstars includingFrank Sinatra,Liza Minnelli,QueenandShirley Bassey.The arena was also the venue of many World Title fights promoted byBob Arum.In 1985, Kerzner's Sun City, South Africa resort was the topic of an anti-Apartheid rock album titledSun Cityby a group of rock musicians calling themselvesArtists United Against Apartheid.

In 1994, following the first multiracial elections in South Africa, Kerzner was asked by incoming PresidentNelson Mandelato arrange the VIP function at thePresidential Inauguration,which was attended by approximately a thousand people, including many of the world's leaders and heads of state.

Mohegan Sun

In 1996, Kerzner opened theMohegan Suncasino inUncasville, Connecticut.In 2000, a second phase of the project was opened including a 1,200-room hotel through a joint venture with theMohegan Tribe of Connecticutcalled Trading Cove Associates. TCA relinquished its management of the resort in 2002, but Kerzner through his company received a 5% dividend on the gross revenue generated by Mohegan Sun until 2014. The property is one of the largest gambling and entertainment complexes in the United States.

Later career

As a result of the success of theSun CityResort with its Gary Player Country Club golf course (ranked number 1 in South Africa), he became involved in an international hotel, leisure and gambling resorts: most notably for his role as the developer behind theAtlantisResort inThe Bahamas.In that capacity, in late 1994, Kerzner made his first major acquisition outside Africa with the purchase of theParadise Island Resortin The Bahamas. This 1,150-room resort was in bankruptcy at the time. After acquiring the resort, Kerzner launched a re-development and expansion program. It transformed Paradise Island into a 2,300-room resort; that included one of the world's grandest artificial marine habitats and the Caribbean's biggest casino.

In 2002, Kerzner launched One&Only Resorts which currently operates numerous properties in The Bahamas, Mexico, Mauritius, the Maldives, South Africa, Dubai, Rwanda andHayman Island.New projects by the company are also planned for China, Montenegro and Saudi Arabia.

In early 2007, Kerzner expanded Atlantis, Paradise Island with 2 new hotels; The Cove, and The Reef, which added 1,100 new rooms to the property. This expansion was overseen by Alan Leibman, which included 21 retail outlets and new restaurants by celebrity chefsJean-Georges Vongerichten,Nobu MatsuhisaandBobby Flay.Kerzner extended the Atlantis brand globally with the development ofAtlantis, The Palm,Dubai, with a 1,500-room, water-themed resort opened in late-September 2008 on ThePalm Jumeirah;a multibillion-dollar leisure and residential development in Dubai. In September 2009, the "Mazagan Beach Resort" a luxury hotel inEl Jadida,Morocco, was inaugurated by Kerzner accompanied by show celebrities.

In October 2013, Kerzner announced that he was building a new Atlantis hotel atSanya,Hainan Islandin China withFosun International.The 62-hectare resort has 1,300 rooms and a water park like the other Atlantis hotels. The project is reported to have cost $1.63 billion.

Corruption, collusion and apartheid involvement

In 1984, Kerzner made a deal with Leslie Young, the Minister of Finance for thebantustanofBophutatswana,that any investments by his company, Sun International, that had the effect of advertising apartheid abroad, would be tax-deductible. Sun International paid next to no money for taxes in South Africa due to tax breaks.

In 1987, an agreement between Young and Kerzner stated that 90% of taxes from entertainers in Bophutatswana would go back to Sun International, with any entertainer making more than R26,000 having to pay half their income to Bophutatswana.

In 1990, Kerzner was found to have paid R5 million to theTranskeianChiefGeorge Matanzimafor gaming licenses, R2 million of which was said to be a bribe. The case surrounding this was dropped in 1997.

In 1997, Alan Greenblo was banned from publishing a biography on Kerzner,Kerzner - Unauthorized.While Kerzner wanted sections of the book to be removed, Witwatersrand Judge Monas Flemming banned it. Sections of the book were published inNoseweekthe same year.

Kerzner was a contact listed inJeffrey Epstein's "little black book", which gained attention following the conviction and death of Epstein, who was a convicted sex offender.

Personal life

Kerzner was married four times. His first wife was Maureen Adler and together they had three children:Butch Kerzner,Andrea Kerzner and Beverly Kerzner Mace.His second wife was Shirley Bestbier; they had two children: Brandon Kerzner and Chantal Kerzner Sweeney.She committed suicidesoon after the birth of her second child.

His marriage to his third wife,Miss World1974Anneline Kriel,ended in divorce after five years.During a lengthy period in the 1990s, he dated the model Christina Estrada and got engaged, but never married her.He married his fourth wife, Heather Murphy in 2000and they divorced in 2011.

Kerzner's son, Howard "Butch" Kerzner died on 11 October 2006 when thehelicopterhe was traveling in crashed nearSosua,in thePuerto Plataprovince of theDominican Republic.He left behind his wife, Vanessa Kerzner, and two children Tai and Kailin. Sol Kerzner's daughter, Andrea, is the founder and CEO of Lalela, a charity dedicated to bringing the arts to at-risk youth in South Africa.

Kerzner was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the industry during the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in March 2019.

Kerzner was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of theOrder of St Michael and St George,which allowed him to have thepostnominal letters'K.C.M.G.' after his name - but not the prenominal title of 'Sir' before his name, as he was not a citizen of aCommonwealth realmor the U.K. at the time of his honor being conferred.

Death

Kerzner died ofcanceron 21 March 2020 in Cape Town.

External links

• Kerzner International