A Look Back At Major Automotive Investor, Kirk Kerkorian

Kirk Kerkorian, a major automotive industry investor, recently died at the age of 98. His interest in the American auto industry has been the source of much intrigue. Kerkorian’s auto industry investments included previous stakes in GM, Ford and Chrysler.

Kerkorian ran the Tracinda Corporation, an investment company based out of Beverley Hills, California. He was also the largest investor in the MGM Resorts International when he died. He was a self-made man who actually dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and was an up-and-coming boxer, earning the nickname “Rifle-right Kerkorian.” Speaking of not being born into wealth, Kerkorian told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “When you’re a self-made man you start very early in life. You get a drive that’s a little different, maybe a little stronger, than somebody who inherited.“

In the automotive industry Kerkorian made headlines as he attempted to snatch up Chrysler – twice. In 1995, Kerkorian owned a 10 percent stake in Chrysler. Working with Lee Iacocca, a one-time chairman of the organization, Kerkorian made a hostile offer to purchase Chrysler for $22.8 billion. In the end, Kerkorian wasn’t able to buy Chrysler in 1995, however, that 10 percent stake that he had in the company paid off to the tune of $2.7 billion. The second part of Kerkorian’s attempted buying history with Chrysler occurred in 2007, when the self-made investor made a $4.6 billion bid to purchase Chrysler. At the time, the “big-three” automaker was DaimlerChrysler. However, Kerkorian lost out in his bid to Cerberus Capital Management.

Kerkorian also showed a “flash in the pan” interest in the Ford Motor Company. Back in 2008, the mogul investor became a 6.5 percent shareholder of Ford at a cost of over $1 billion. This investment made Kerkorian the largest outside shareholder of the organization. However, his faith in Ford changed very quickly. Before 2009, less than a year into his investment, Kerkorian sold off all of his shares of Ford. He reportedly didn’t believe that the blue oval automaker would make a turnaround. That investment pullout cost him $600 million.

Finally, Kerkorian was also interested in General Motors. Interested enough that in 2005, he purchased nearly 10 percent of GM shares. Kerkorian worked with GM though his GM board member and adviser, Jerry York. Though York, Kerkorian pushed for a partnership agreement with Renault-Nissan. However, the Nissan-GM talks fell apart after several months. By the end of 2006, Kerkorian had sold his GM stock and his adviser; Jerry York, left his seat on GM’s board.

Few men can say that they’ve been or at least tried to be a part of all three major U.S. automakers like Kerkorian tried to be, or was. Which part of Kerkorian’s investments in the auto sector stands out as the most to you? Do you think that any person will ever be as notable involved in all three major automakers as Kerkorian was with GM, Ford and Chrysler?