Called the “Sun King” in his native country, Kerzner’s golden touch has made him one of South Africa’s wealthiest entrepreneurs.
Likened to Donald Trump, Kerzner knows how to use celebrities and glamor to publicize openings and expansions in this global hotel and casino empire, mixing business with pleasure.
He owns luxury hotels and casinos in Mauritius, the Bahamas, Mexico, the U.S. and Dubai — and is planning to open many more.
Kerzner says: “I am not mad about shmoozing. I’ve made some very good friends. But you know to me it’s really a business.”
But along with the glamor has come much controversy.
Kerzner conceived and built Sun City in South Africa. Music concerts in the city’s Superbowl broke a cultural boycott against the apartheid government, angering those in the anti-apartheid movement and spawning a 1980s protest called “We won’t play at Sun City.”
With Sun City long sold, Kerzner’s empire is now founded on his Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
It is grand, bold and kitsch, but hugely successful, in spite of the depressed tourist industry post September 11, 2001. Now he plans a $600 million dollar expansion.
Kerzner’s son, Butch, who is President of Kerzner International, says Atlantis is successful because it is varied: “Not just a hotel, not just gaming operations, not just a theme park, not just world’s largest marine habitat. It’s about pulling all these things together in a pretty neat way.”
Three packs a day
The Kerzners’ whole lifestyle is extravagant. Even Sol Kerzner’s intake of coffee, cigarettes and whisky has been on a legendary scale.
“I used to smoke three packs a day, until 1993 when I had a heart attack,” he says. “Now I play with these worry beads instead of cigarettes.
“I still enjoy a Black Label and am able to continue having a drink here and there.”
Kerzner knows his reputation precedes him — from allegations of bribery to stories of wild boardroom antics. But this has not stopped his drive to expand his empire.
In Britain, his company is looking to shake up the traditionally stuffy British gaming industry, creating more flamboyant, American-style casinos.
And it is rolling out more luxury hotels worldwide under the “One and Only” brand.
Robyn Curnow, CNN
