Kerkorian owned some of the biggest and best-known Las Vegas hotels and casinos, at one time owning more than half the hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip. On his way to becoming a casino magnate, he befriended Rat Pack stars Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and other Las Vegas headliners. Three different times – in 1969, 19 – Kerkorian built the world’s biggest hotel in Las Vegas, where he first made his fortune in the 1950s and 1960s. Last month, Forbes magazine estimated Kerkorian’s wealth at $4.2bn (£2.7bn) after he took a hit on his investments in 2008, when the magazine said he was worth $16bn (£10bn). He would become an enduring American business heavyweight with a knack for placing winning bets in the corporate world. In his youth he was known as “rifle right Kerkorian” for his punching power as a small-time boxer. Kerkorian had little formal education and dropped out of school at age 16. He passed away after a brief illness, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Kerkorian, who founded MGM Resorts International and was its largest shareholder, died in Los Angeles on Monday night, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.