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'{{Short description|South African businessman (1935–2020)}} {{advert|date=August 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Sol Kerzner | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1935|8|23}} | birth_place = [[Durban]], South Africa | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|3|21|1935|8|23|df=y}} | death_place = [[Cape Town]], South Africa | occupation = Founder and Chairman of Kerzner International | networth = | nationality= South African | alma_mater = [[University of the Witwatersrand]], [[Johannesburg]] B.Com (Accounting), B.Com (Hons) (Accounting) | website = {{URL|http://www.kerzner.com/}} | spouse = Maureen Adler<br> Shirley Bestbier (deceased)<br> [[Anneline Kriel]] (1980–1985)<br> Heather Murphy (2000–2011) | children = ''with Adler:''<br> -[[Howard Kerzner|Howard "Butch" Kerzner]]<br> -Andrea Kerzner<br> -Beverly Kerzner Mace<br> ''with Bestbier:''<br> -Brandon Kerzner<br> -Chantal Kerzner Sweeney | salary = }} '''Solomon Kerzner''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCMGh}} (23 August 1935 – 21 March 2020) was a South African [[accountant]] and [[business magnate]]. He founded both of South Africa's largest hotel groups, the [[Southern Sun Hotel Group]] and [[Sun International]]. He was also the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Kerzner 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 to [[Russian Jewish]] immigrants.<ref name="SundayTribSunSets">{{Cite news|first=Vivian |last= Attwood|authorlink= |title= Sun sets on Sol’s empire |newspaper=[[Sunday Tribune]]|date=17 January 2012 |url=http://www.iol.co.za/sunday-tribune/news/sun-sets-on-sol-s-empire-1.1214660#.Vh5fnNh01Fo |quote=Born in Durban to Russian Jewish immigrants, Kerzner learned the work ethos early}}</ref> His family owned and operated a chain of [[kosher]] hotels.<ref name="SundayTribSunSets"/> Kerzner graduated from the [[University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]] with a BCom (Hons) in Accounting, and later qualified as a [[Accountant|Chartered Accountant]].<ref>[http://janiallan.com/facetoface/ SOL KERZNER: The Miniature Minotaur] [[Jani Allan|janiallan.com]] Retrieved on 20 June 2014</ref> He then took control of the family company.<ref name="SundayTribSunSets"/> ==Career== In 1962, he purchased the Astra Hotel in [[Durban]]. Following the success of that property, Kerzner built South Africa's first five-star graded hotel in [[Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal|Umhlanga]], a village north of Durban – he opened this resort in December 1964 which he named the Beverly 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 with [[South 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 the [[Indian Ocean]] Island of [[Mauritius]], which he named ''Le Saint Géran''. === Sun City === In 1979 Kerzner developed [[Sun City, South Africa|Sun City]], the most ambitious resort project in Africa. Over a period of ten years he built four hotels, a man-made lake, two [[Gary Player]] designed championship golf courses, and an entertainment center with an indoor 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena at which he presented many superstars including [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Liza Minnelli]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]] and [[Shirley Bassey]].<ref>[https://www.netwerk24.com/Stemme/Aktueel/suiwer-sol-20200329?fbclid=IwAR21O7x6QSpNkQEbCkFMEFRCfFeKOhlSD1hQ-vJp2W1x0vvCwtBvB-tA1Jc Suiwer Sol] ''Rapport''. 29 March 2020</ref><ref>[http://janiallan.com/2020/04/02/the-xanadu-man-sol-kerzner/#more- The Xanadu Man - Sol Kerzner] janiallan.com. Retrieved on 2 April 2020</ref> The arena was also the venue of many World Title fights promoted by [[Bob Arum]]. In 1985, Kerzner's Sun City, South Africa resort was the topic of anti-Apartheid rock album titled ''[[Sun City (album)|Sun City]]'' by a group of rock musicians calling themselves [[Artists United Against Apartheid]]. In 1994, following the first multiracial elections in South Africa, Kerzner was asked by incoming President [[Nelson Mandela]] to arrange the VIP function at the Presidential 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 the hugely successful [[Mohegan Sun]] casino in [[Uncasville, Connecticut]] in the United States and in 2000 opened the second phase of the project including a 1,200-room hotel through a joint venture with the [[Mohegan|Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut]] called 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 the [[Sun City, North West|Sun City]] resort with its Gary Player Country Club golf course (ranked number 1 in South Africa) he became involved in international hotel, leisure and gambling resorts; most notably for his role as the developer behind the [[Atlantis Paradise Island|Atlantis]] Resort in the [[Bahamas]]. In that capacity in late 1994, Kerzner made his first major acquisition outside Africa through the purchase of the Paradise Island Resort in The Bahamas. This 1,150-room resort was in bankruptcy at the time. After acquiring the resort, Kerzner launched a major re-development and expansion programme which transformed Paradise Island into a 2,300-room resort that included one of the world's largest man-made marine habitats and the Caribbean's biggest casino. In 2002, Kerzner launched One&Only Resorts which currently operates eight properties in The Bahamas, Mexico, Mauritius, The Maldives, South Africa, Dubai and [[Hayman 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 which was overseen by Alan Leibman, which included 21 retail outlets and new restaurants by celebrity chefs [[Jean-Georges Vongerichten]], [[Nobu Matsuhisa]] and [[Bobby Flay]]. Kerzner extended the Atlantis brand globally with the development of [[Atlantis The Palm, Dubai]], with 1,500-room, water-themed resort opened in late-September 2008 on The [[Palm Jumeirah]]; a multibillion-dollar leisure and residential development in Dubai. In September 2009, the "Mazagan Beach Resort" a luxury hotel in [[El Jadida]], Morocco, was inaugurated by Kerzner accompanied by show celebrities. In October 2013, Kerzner announced that he was building a new Atlantis hotel at [[Sanya]], [[Hainan Island]] in China with [[Fosun 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/china-atlantis-idUSL4N0HZ2I320131010|title=UPDATE 1-China's Fosun, Sun City casino king bet on luxury Hainan resort|date=10 October 2013|work=Reuters}}</ref> == Controversies, collusion and apartheid involvement == In 1984, Kerzner made a deal with Leslie Young, the Minister of Finance for [[Bophuthatswana|Bophutatswana]], 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=May 2006|title=Apartheid Grand Corruption: Assessing the scale of crimes of profit from 1976 to 1994|url=https://opensecrets.org.za/site/wp-content/uploads/Apartheid-Grand-Corruption-2006.pdf|website=Open Secrets}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> In 1990, Kerzner was found to have paid R5 million to the [[Transkei]] Chief [[George Matanzima]] for gaming licenses, R2 million of which was said to be a bribe. The case surrounding this was dropped in 1997.<ref name=":0" /> 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 in [[Noseweek]] the same year.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Noseweek 21 - March, 1998 News you're not supposed to know|url=https://www.noseweek.co.za/archive/21/March-1998|access-date=2020-06-11|website=www.noseweek.co.za}}</ref> Kerzner was a contact listed in [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s "little black book", which gained attention following the conviction and death of Epstein, who was a convicted sex offender.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cook|first=John|title=Jeffrey Epstein's Little Black Book REDACTED|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1508273-jeffrey-epsteins-little-black-book-redacted.html|page=35|publisher=Gawker.com|date=23 January 2015|access-date=2020-08-19|website=www.documentcloud.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bryant|first=Nick|title=Here Is Pedophile Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's Little Black Book|url=https://www.gawker.com/here-is-pedophile-billionaire-jeffrey-epsteins-little-b-1681383992|date=23 January 2015|access-date=3 November 2021|website=Gawker.com}}</ref> == Personal life== Kerzner was married four times. His first wife was Maureen Adler and together they had three children:<ref name="IndCashIn">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-great-casino-cash-in-the-sun-king-and-his-shady-past-434560.html The Independent: "The great casino cash-in: the Sun King (and his shady past)" by Paul Vallely] 1 February 2007</ref> [[Butch Kerzner]], Andrea Kerzner and Beverly Kerzner Mace.<ref name="EvenLucky">[https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/lucky-heather-kerzner-6750074.html Evening Standard: "Lucky Heather Kerzner" by Lydia Slater] 27 November 2009</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/08/style/evening-hours-wildlife-watching.html new York Times: "Evening Hours; Wildlife Watching"] May 8, 1994</ref> His second wife was Shirley Bestbier; they had two children: Brandon Kerzner and Chantal Kerzner Sweeney.<ref name="EvenLucky" /><ref>[http://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-sunday-telegraph/20070415/282462819482183 The Sunday Telegraph: "Man With A Mission"] 15 April 2007</ref> She later committed suicide<ref name="SundayTribSunSets" /> soon after the birth of her second child.<ref name="EvenLucky" /> His marriage to his third wife, [[Miss World]] 1974 [[Anneline Kriel]], ended in divorce after five years.<ref name=SundayTribSunSets /> During a lengthy period in the 1990s, he dated the model [[Christina Estrada]] and got engaged, but never married her.<ref name=EvenBusBef>[https://www.standard.co.uk/news/sol-kerzner-put-business-before-our-marriage-says-wife-6449543.html Evening Standard: "Sol Kerzner put business before our marriage, says wife" by Simon Freeman] 3 October 2011</ref> He married his fourth wife, Heather Murphy in 2000<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/|archive-url=https://swap.stanford.edu/20081217070228/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-12-17|title=News|date=2016-03-15|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2017-11-21|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref> and they divorced in 2011.<ref name=EvenBusBef /> Kerzner's son, Howard "Butch" Kerzner died on 11 October 2006 when the [[helicopter]] he was travelling in crashed near [[Sosua]], in the [[Puerto Plata Province|Puerto Plata]] province of the [[Dominican Republic]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/13/obituaries/13kerzner.html?_r=0 New York Times: "Howard Brett Kerzner, 42, Dies; Led Global Resort Developer" By Jenny Anderson] 13 October 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.bahamasb2b.com/news/wmview.php?ArtID=9263 Bahamas Tribune: "Butch Kerzner Killed - Butch Kerzner, who with his father Sol created the Atlantis dream for the Bahamas, was killed yesterday in a helicopter crash in the Dominican Republic" by John Marquis] 12 October 2006</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.elle.co.za/elle-meets-andrea-kerzner-of-lalela/ Elle South Africa: "ELLE MEETS ANDREA KERZNER OF LALELA - ELLE chats with Andrea Kerzner, founder and CEO of Lalela, an organisation that is using the arts curriculum to bring about meaningful change in the lives of at-risk youth" by Dimeji Alara] May 9, 2016</ref> Kerzner was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the industry during the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in March 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hotelmanagement.net/own/sol-kerzner-to-receive-ihif-lifetime-achievement-award|title=Lifetime achievement award|last=Newman|first=Emily|date=February 14, 2019|access-date=September 30, 2019}}</ref> ==Death== Kerzner died of [[cancer]] on 21 March 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jele |first1=Nhlanhla |title=South African hotel tycoon Sol Kerzner has died |url=https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/south-african-hotel-tycoon-sol-kerzner-has-died-20200321 |access-date=21 March 2020 |agency=News24}}</ref> ==References== {{wikiquote}} {{reflist}} == External links == * [http://www.kerzner.com/ Kerzner website]{{Authority control}} * [http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/maharani-to-return-to-durban-with-r220m-hotel-upgrade-1.1496107 Independent Online] * [http://www.tsogosunhotels.com/hotels/elangeni-and-maharani/pages/overview.aspx Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani] {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerzner, Sol}} [[Category:1935 births]] [[Category:2020 deaths]] [[Category:Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]] [[Category:People from Johannesburg]] [[Category:South African businesspeople]] [[Category:South African Jews]] [[Category:White South African people]] [[Category:South African people of Russian-Jewish descent]] [[Category:University of the Witwatersrand alumni]] [[Category:Deaths from cancer in South Africa]]'