Casino and hotel magnate Sol Kerzner, founder of a resort hotel empire currently consisting of 27 destinations in eight countries, announced that he is retiring as chairman of Kerzner International Holdings, the company he founded 27 years ago.
Kerzner, 78, is closing out a hospitality career that spans 45 years, including the creation of gaming and management companies ranging from Sun City Resort in his home country of South Africa to properties as diverse as Atlantis at Paradise Island in the Bahamas and, for several years in the late 1990s, Resorts Atlantic City.
Kerzner, the son of poor Jewish-Russian immigrants, grew up in a Johannesburg suburb. After completing his education as a chartered accountant, he built South Africa’s first five-star property, the Beverly Hills Hotel, in 1964. In 1969, he established Southern Sun Hotels, and developed the massive Sun City property 10 years later.
Kerzner’s retirement follows the purchase of a significant stake in his company by the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
“This is a significant milestone in my life after a long and happy career in the tourism industry and I wish the company well,” Kerzner told South Africa’s Business Daily. “I am confident that with ICD’s guidance, the company will fulfill its upcoming expansions towards further growth and global reach.”
