Solomon (Sol) Kerzner has died of cancer at the age of 84. The hotel and hospitality industry titan passed away on March 21 at home on the Leeukoppie Estate in Cape Town, South Africa. Founder of the Southern Sun hotel group, Sun International and Kerzner International, Kerzner notably built the Sun City resort in South Africa and Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas.

Over the course of a career that spanned six decades, he established 80-plus hotel and casino properties in more than a dozen countries and developed a reputation as an innovator and industry maverick who redefined the scale and scope of integrated destination resorts worldwide.

“Sol Kerzner was a giant in the hospitality industry and we shall not see his likeness again. His vision for Atlantis reshaped our skyline here in Nassau and redefined The Bahamas vacation for many millions. He will be sorely missed,” said Bahamas Minister of Tourism, Dionisio D’Aguilar.

The son of Russian immigrants, Kerzner was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1935. The youngest of four, the working-class boy from a rough neighbourhood, would grow up to become one of the most influential entrepreneurs in South Africa.

Having founded the country’s two largest hotel groups – Southern Sun and Sun International – Kerzner would also go on to achieve international prominence with ground-breaking resorts that helped transform the tourism industries not only of his home country but of Mauritius, The Maldives, The Bahamas, Dubai and other international destinations.

His complexity and determination was in evidence early in life when, at the age of 12, he joined the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra, and, at the same time, took up boxing – initially for reasons of self-defence in the tough Bez Valley suburb where he grew up and, later, as a serious sport. By the time he graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a degree in accountancy, Kerzner was varsity welterweight champion.

Kerzner’s career in hospitality began in 1962 when he purchased The Astra, a small inn in Durban, South Africa, quickly transforming the rundown establishment into one of the most popular hotels in the area.

Aged just 26, Kerzner became convinced that there was an opportunity for a hospitality offering in apartheid-era South Africa far ahead of anything that was available in the country at the time, leading to his breakthrough project: The Beverly Hills, Umhlanga Rocks, the first five-star hotel in all of South Africa, built on a deserted stretch of coastline north of Durban.

Kerzner went on to build the 450-room Elangeni Hotel on the Durban beachfront and then partnered with South African Breweries to establish Southern Sun Hotels, which by 1983 operated 30 luxury hotels encompassing more than 7,000 keys.

SUN CITY

Kerzner’s most monumental and controversial achievement was the creation of Sun City – the most ambitious resort project in all of Africa, located in an area north of Johannesburg where there were no roads and no infrastructure. Commencing work in 1975, over the next 10 years Kerzner built four hotels, a man-made lake, two Gary Player golf courses, and an entertainment centre with an indoor 6,000-seat arena, which played host to a world-class roster of artists including Queen, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, Shirley Bassey, as well as world title fights, and many other spectacular events. The resort operated on totally non-racial basis.

In 1994, following the first democratic elections in South Africa, Kerzner – now a celebrity in South Africa – was asked by newly elected President Nelson Mandela to arrange the VIP function for the Presidential inauguration, which was attended by most of the world’s leaders and heads of state. It was a special occasion that cemented Kerzner’s close relationship with the iconic world statesman, who said of Sol: “He makes a difference everywhere he goes. Sol, thank you for changing our world!” Kerzner enjoyed a friendship with Mandela until his passing in 2013.

ATLANTIS PARADISE ISLAND

In 1994, Kerzner made his first major acquisition outside Africa – The Paradise Island Resort in The Bahamas, where he launched a major re-development and expansion project and transformed a bankrupt property into the extravagant Atlantis Resort, a revolutionary 2,300-room property that included one of the world’s largest man-made marine habitats and the Caribbean’s biggest casino. Later expansions at Atlantis of The Cove and The Reef hotels added a further 1,100 rooms.

Alongside son Butch, Kerzner built their first casino resort in the United States – The Mohegan Sun – in 1996, a property that is still one of the largest gaming and entertainment complexes in North America.

The company went on to launch One&Only Resorts, which established award-winning luxury properties in The Bahamas, Mexico, Mauritius, The Maldives, South Africa and Dubai.

DUBAI

After the death of son Butch in a helicopter accident in 2006, Kerzner, who was by then Executive Chairman of Kerzner International, returned to the role of CEO to continue the work of the company, including expanding the Atlantis brand globally with the opening in 2009 of Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai, a US$1.5 billion, 1,500-room destination resort featuring the largest aquarium and waterpark in the Middle East, luxury retail outlets, and restaurants featuring internationally renowned celebrity chefs.

SIR SOL

In December 2010, Kerzner’s contribution to hospitality was recognized in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, with the award of the insignia Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG) and in 2014, he decided to exit Kerzner International and retired as chairman of the company.

Kerzner is survived by his children Andrea, Beverley, Brandon and Chantal and 10 grandchildren.