MGM Resorts founder Kerkor ‘Kirk’ Kerkorian died on Monday, prompting a wave of tributes to a man credited with helping to shape the modern Las Vegas.

Kerkorian became one of the world’s richest men despite having left school in the eighth grade. During World War II, Kerkorian got a job flying Mosquito fighter-bombers from factories in Canada to England, for which he was paid the then astronomical sum of $1k per flight.

Following the war, Kerkorian launched a charter air service to ferry gamblers from California to Las Vegas. That company ultimately became Trans International Airlines, which Kerkorian sold in 1968 for $104m, giving him the capital to develop land he’d purchased in Vegas.

Renowned for his shrewd business sense, one of Kerkorian’s most profitable early deals was his 1962 purchase of 80 acres on the Las Vegas Strip for $960k. In 1966, the land became the site of Caesars Palace, which paid Kerkorian $2m in annual rent before buying the land for $5m in 1968.