Kirk Kerkorian Philanthropy
Kirk Kerkorian is a rags-to-riches American success story. The son of two Armenian immigrants, Kirk Kerkorian is a testament that the driven can succeed on vision, persistence, hard work, and calculated risk.
Kirk Kerkorian was born in California in 1917. After dropping out of school during 8th grade, he became a boxer and won the Pacific amateur welterweight belt under the moniker “Rifle Right Kerkorian.” Kirk Kerkorian became interested in aviation and during the Second World War. He opted to learn flying in order to avoid joining the infantry. After the war, Kirk Kerkorian bought his own Cessna plane and served as a commercial pilot. He spent a lot of time in Las Vegas, but quit gambling in 1947. In this same year, he bought Trans International Airlines for $60,000, a company he eventually sold to Transamerica for $104 million. Following this business success, Kirk Kerkorian invested heavily in Las Vegas, buying lands, stocks and businesses, including MGM, General Motors, and Daimler-Chrysler.
Kirk Kerkorian’s philanthropic efforts focus mainly on Armenian causes. Most of this charitable work is executed by The Lincy Foundation, which he named after his two daughters.
- Kirk Kerkorian has donated $200 million to Armenia through The Lincy Foundation. The money was allocated to help Armenia build itself through infrastructure projects beginning in 2001. This includes the repairs of highways and the reconstruction of apartment complexes that were destroyed by the devastating 1988 earthquake.
- In 1999, Kirk Kerkorian donated $15 million to the American Red Cross.
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