Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian who made his vast fortune as a key developer in Las Vegas and casinos died in Los Angeles this week. He was 98. He had featured in the top 400 list of the wealthiest people earlier this year. Despite his wealth and being the largest shareholder in MGM Resorts International, he was known to drive very modest American manufactured cars.

He will be remembered by the auto industry for for his investments in Chrysler (tried to take it over twice but failed) but made a lot of money on those hostile moves. Kerkorian had an ally in the then Chrysler Chairman, Lee Iacocca.

More recently in Ford, an investment that he lost on when he sold the largest largest shareholding held by a so-called outsider. 

He once attempted to forge a global alliance between General Motors (when he held 10 per cent of their shares) and Nissan-Renault, but that didn’t work out and he sold his shareholding. He also unsuccessfully sued DaimlerChrysler in 2000 in a high profile and acrimonious case.

He played a big role in influencing the sale of Saab by GM and their closure of Hummer, suggestions that he had made long before the carmaker giant filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009.

He was known by close confidants as having a great sense of value in big deals – possibly even a very calculated gambler with a strong focus on the future. He was described as decent, warm and caring character. He was an innovator, a financier, a leader and a great man with integrity.