Sol Kerzner facts for kids

Solomon 'Sol' Kerzner (born August 23, 1935 – died March 21, 2020) was a famous South African businessman. He was known for building amazing hotels and resorts around the world. Sol Kerzner started two of South Africa's biggest hotel companies: the Southern Sun Hotel Group and Sun International. He also founded and led Kerzner International.

Early Life and Education

Sol Kerzner was born in Durban, South Africa. His family came from Russia and owned a chain of hotels. Sol went to the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He studied accounting there and became a Chartered Accountant. After finishing his studies, he took over his family's hotel business.

Building a Hotel Empire

In 1962, Sol Kerzner bought the Astra Hotel in Durban. It was a big success! This encouraged him to build South Africa's first five-star hotel. He opened this beautiful resort, called the Beverly Hills Hotel, in December 1964 in Umhlanga.

After the Beverly Hills, Kerzner built the large Elangeni Hotel in Durban. In 1969, he teamed up with South African Breweries to create Southern Sun Hotels. By 1983, this company had 30 luxury hotels with over 7,000 rooms. In 1975, Kerzner opened his first hotel outside South Africa. It was called Le Saint Géran and was located on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

Sun City: A Dream Resort

In 1979, Kerzner created his most ambitious project: Sun City. This huge resort was built in Africa. Over ten years, he built four hotels, a man-made lake, and two championship golf courses. These courses were designed by the famous golfer Gary Player.

Sun City also had a large entertainment center. This center included a 6,000-seat arena. Many famous superstars performed there, like Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Queen, and Shirley Bassey. The arena also hosted many world boxing matches.

In 1985, some musicians created an album called Sun City. This album was made by a group called Artists United Against Apartheid. It was part of a movement against the unfair system of Apartheid in South Africa.

After South Africa's first fair elections in 1994, Nelson Mandela became president. He asked Sol Kerzner to help organize a special event for his inauguration. Many world leaders attended this important celebration.

Mohegan Sun: Expanding to America

In 1996, Kerzner opened the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA. In 2000, they added a second part to the project. This included a 1,200-room hotel. Kerzner's company worked with the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut on this project. Mohegan Sun became one of the largest gambling and entertainment places in the United States.

Global Resort Adventures

Because of the success of Sun City, Sol Kerzner started building hotels and resorts all over the world. One of his most famous projects was the Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas. In 1994, Kerzner bought the Paradise Island Resort. It was struggling at the time.

Kerzner completely changed Paradise Island. He added more rooms, making it a 2,300-room resort. He also built one of the world's largest artificial marine habitats. It also had the biggest casino in the Caribbean.

In 2002, Kerzner started a new company called One&Only Resorts. This company now runs many luxury properties. You can find them in places like The Bahamas, Mexico, Mauritius, the Maldives, South Africa, and Dubai.

In 2007, Kerzner made Atlantis, Paradise Island even bigger. He added two new hotels, The Cove and The Reef. These added 1,100 more rooms. This expansion also brought new shops and restaurants by famous chefs like Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Nobu Matsuhisa.

Kerzner also built another Atlantis resort in Dubai. This one was called Atlantis The Palm, Dubai. It had 1,500 rooms and a water theme. It opened in 2008 on The Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island. In 2009, he opened the "Mazagan Beach Resort" in El Jadida, Morocco.

In 2013, Kerzner announced plans for a new Atlantis hotel in Sanya, Hainan Island in China. This resort has 1,300 rooms and a water park, just like the other Atlantis hotels. It cost about $1.63 billion to build.

Personal Life

Sol Kerzner was married four times. He had three children with his first wife, Maureen Adler: Howard Kerzner, Andrea Kerzner, and Beverly Kerzner Mace. With his second wife, Shirley Bestbier, he had two children: Brandon Kerzner and Chantal Kerzner Sweeney. His third wife was Anneline Kriel, who was Miss World in 1974. His fourth wife was Heather Murphy.

Sadly, Sol Kerzner's son, Howard "Butch" Kerzner, died in a helicopter crash in the Dominican Republic in 2006. Sol Kerzner's daughter, Andrea, started a charity called Lalela. This charity helps bring art programs to young people in South Africa who are in need.

In March 2019, Sol Kerzner received a special award. It was called the Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognized all his amazing contributions to the hotel industry. He was also given an honorary title, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. This allowed him to use the letters 'K.C.M.G.' after his name.

Death

Sol Kerzner passed away from cancer on March 21, 2020, in Cape Town, South Africa.

See also

In Spanish: Sol Kerzner para niños