Sol Kerzner

Solomon (Sol) Kerzner (born 23 August 1935) is a South African accountant and business magnate. Kerzner was born in Troyeville, Johannesburg, the youngest of four children to Jewish Russian immigrants. His family started a hotel chain; after Kerzner graduated with a B.Com (Accounting), B.Com (Hons) (Accounting)) from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and qualified as a Chartered Accountant, he took over the running of the group and went on to create the most successful hotel group in South Africa, Sun International. He is now the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Kerzner International and his career spans more than 45 years in the resort industry. He founded both of South Africa's largest hotel groups, Southern Sun Hotel Group and has played a pivotal role in the development of the tourism industries of South Africa, Mauritius, The Maldives, Dubai, Morocco and The Bahamas.

Background and career

Kerzner was born in Troyville, Johannesburg, South Africa, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. His parents owned and operated a chain of kosher hotels. Kerzner graduated with a degree in accounting and then took control of the family company. In 1962, he purchased the Astra Hotel in Durban. Following the success of that property, Kerzner built South Africa's first five star graded hotel in Umhlanga, a village north of Durban – he opened this resort in December 1964 which he named the Beverly Hills Hotel.