A Born Gambler Rolls the Dice at 88

June 9, 2005 By David Streitfeld, Times Staff Writer

Ever since Kirk Kerkorian revealed last month that he was buying a major stake in General Motors Corp., people have been speculating about his motives.
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Unlike many wealthy folk, Kerkorian does not fill his garages with lovingly shined roadsters. In a city where you are what you drive, he drives a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Before that, he drove a Taurus.
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There's only one thing whose appeal has remained constant: doing deals. For 60 years, Kerkorian has been buying and selling airplanes, airlines, movie studios and Las Vegas casinos and hotels, trading his way to what Forbes magazine estimates is a $9-billion fortune.

This week has been a big one, even for him. On Monday, Kerkorian turned 88, an age at which most moguls would be taking it real slow. [...]. Wednesday, Kerkorian disclosed that he had acquired an additional 19 million GM shares in a tender offer, boosting his stake to 7%.
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"He's a born gambler with a sixth sense for sniffing out value," says Iacocca, who joined in the ill-fated Chrysler bid. "Doing deals is what keeps him alive."

[...] {His} office, on a quiet Beverly Hills street, makes an unlikely command post. It's discreet to the point of invisibility. The suite isn't listed in the building directory and the nameplate on the locked door is blank.[...]. Inside, there's nothing to impress a visitor. [...] on the shelves are a smattering of books. Several are about Armenia [...].

Exactly a century ago, his father left Armenia for the San Joaquin Valley. [...] the country has always exerted a strong pull. Many of his closest friends and colleagues have been of Armenian descent. Since the country declared its independence in 1991, he has been its benefactor to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
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[...]Unlike folksy Warren Buffett or geeky Bill Gates, Kerkorian casts no reflection in popular culture. [...] This anonymity lets Kerkorian take his girlfriend to movies in Century City and Westwood without attracting attention.[...]. [...] he says he'd rather be out with the public, usually in a middle row.

Unlike many moguls, his ego isn't stroked by appearing in the press — this interview, which he did reluctantly but graciously, is a very rare exception. [...]. His formal education ended after the eighth grade when he left Jacob Riis, a school for delinquent boys at Sixth and Main streets in Los Angeles, and he thinks his conversation betrays it.

"I wish I could talk like Donald Trump or Steve Wynn," he says. "Hell, I'd love it."
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Kirk first wanted to be a boxer like his older brother Nish. At nearly 6 feet, he was taller than opponents in his weight class, giving his arms a longer reach. At his second fight, in Bakersfield, he flattened the other fighter with one quick shot. The press nicknamed him Rifle Right Kerkorian. In 33 bouts, he only lost four times.

[...]. What intervened was flying. [...]. During World War II, he was a ferry pilot for the Royal Air Force, earning $1,000 a month transporting planes from their Canadian factories to England. [...] In 1947, Kerkorian bought a C-47 transport in Hawaii for $12,000. [...]. In the late '40s, the entrepreneur started running what are now known as charter flights.
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In 1990, Kerkorian summoned his investment advisor, Michael Tennenbaum, to his house. It was a Sunday morning in September, and Kerkorian announced that he wanted to buy some stock: 22 million shares of Chrysler.In two years, Chrysler's value tripled.
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Tennenbaum, who now runs his own investment firm in Santa Monica, grew more respectful. "Kirk has a special talent," he says. "He can see things."
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A special talent. Foresight. A golden gut. The ability to see around corners. A sixth sense. His friends and associates differ on the label, but all agree that Kerkorian has a unique ability to make successful bets on the future.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears Here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.