MGM MIRAGE owner named richest in LV

Monday, Feb. 25, 2002 | 11:06 a.m.

Kirk Kerkorian, the majority shareholder of Las Vegas-based casino giant MGM MIRAGE, was named the richest man in Las Vegas in the March edition of Worth magazine.

The magazine listed the wealthiest residents of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Kerkorian, who also owns the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio, divides his time between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

"In Las Vegas ... a high-roller is known as a whale," the magazine's article said. "By this definition, Kirk Kerkorian is Moby Dick."

"Kerkorian keeps a low civic profile in the flashy city he helped fashion," the article said. "He makes donations -- modest by the standards of a man with an estimated $5 billion fortune -- through his Lincy Foundation and allows a charity to use his casinos' facilities every year, but he rarely steps out in public. When he does pop up in public, it's often at a prizefight or at the tables, where the city's ultimate gambler is known to pick up the dice and roll some craps."

Also appearing on the list was Colleen Maloof, named the wealthiest person in Albuquerque with a family fortune estimated at more than $1 billion. The Maloof family is the majority shareholder of the $265 million Palms hotel-casino near the Las Vegas Strip.