Detroit Free Press, MI
March 5 2009

Even Kirk Kerkorian feeling recession’s pinch

By Mary Francis Masson ¢ FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER ¢ March 5, 2009

Need yet another sign that the sharp-toothed sharks of the recession
are circling just about everybody?

Even billionaire investor and investment wizard Kirk Kerkorian is
feeling the pain. His MGM Mirage Inc. is struggling with high debt and
a tough economy.

In the last year, the 91-year-old Kerkorian’s majority stake in MGM
Mirage shrank in value from $9.6 billion to about $390 million.

Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp., based in Beverly Hills, Calif., had held a
6.5% stake in Ford Motor Co. but sold the last of its shares by
Dec. 2008.

Kerkorian is best known in Detroit for his failed takeover attempt of
the old Chrysler Corp. in 1995 and his efforts to push General Motors
Corp. into an alliance with Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. in 2006.