c-span is better to buy your cable or satellite provider. >> began blurs a biography of a businessman, investor and philanthropist who said that includes las vegas casinos in the auto industry. he discussed his book at the public library. this is one hour. >> thank you for being here today congratulations you been a pleasure to work with over the past year and half. we're thrilled to have the author of the gambler never remember six or eight months ago i was working on the book and i saw a preorder for your book and i was thrilled.

that's what started the process of the book today and it shows an inspirational story of someone who is penniless and had a tremendous impact over lives. >> bill spent over 36 years as an investigative reporter. reported about the colombian drug lords that burke became an 80 episode -- and he served as a story consultant from a show called marcos on netflix. we don't condone the behavior that's depicted in it. he also investigated other stories including exxon valdez oil spill. the marcos regime in the philippines and al qaeda leading up to 9/11.

lucky he chose to explore this life. the medullary start in life anything is possible i read the book in three days. i encourage you to buy a copy. a portion will go to the library. let's think laura as well. bill come up and make a presentation. i will do a q&a with him and also we keep it clean question cards passed out too. there will ask questions from the audience. thankful that c-span is here

today. thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you for the invitation to be here today. it's fun to talk about tell you little bit about how the project began. it wasn't because i knew kirk, did not know him at all.

every armenian here knows kirk better than i knew him the day got a call from my publisher. she had just read the obituary in the new york times and she was flabbergasted, a veteran book publisher in new york she found out that this incredible life for someone she never heard of. she wanted to know if there is a book in this man's life. as it should never heard of them is because that's what he wanted it. is a private man who is not a celebrity businessman hit all the money in the world he would have paid it to be anonymous. he wanted to be at the movie theaters and be like the rest of

us. he wanted to jog on the streets of beverly hills he wanted to have the life of an ordinary american. little more background, once i got the phone call one of the first people i contacted he was the first person i contacted was an armenian. kirk was 98 when he died. he outlived his family and most of his friends. he was private so he did not leave a trail of public records. he did not sit talk about

himself. fortunately for me and the readers he invited me to come sit down with him and that was the beginning of my research into kirk's life. [applause] kirk's background in mind had some interesting similarities. my family came to america. i am the son of an immigrant. just as kirk was. both of our fathers started out as farmers in fresno. both of our fathers came over to this country as immigrant refugees.

my dad came on a ship in the 1920s and there's two babies on the ship. one was grandpa with my dad to be near there was -- this family was very part of the largest contingent on the boat mostly armenian's on this refugee ship. because of that i consider myself something of a cousin of armenians anyway. >> it turns out that kirk's father immigrant my father the immigrant, were also arrived

without any skills. they were farmers and budding entrepreneurs. kirk's father arrived to obliterate nonskilled but he had big dreams of making millions. he turned farming into a business. he bought a lot of farms and was completely overextended with loans and got into trouble. he was chasing the american dream. my dad was an entrepreneur who chased the american dream unfortunately kurt's experience with the as he was a five or

6-year-old when he was evicted from the family farm. that's when kirk moved to the big city of los angeles and had to learn english in school and had to move because they cannot afford the rent. they get enough together to move into the house but didn't have enough to pay the second. there were always a step ahead. he was new to the new kid in school. he suffered from being behind it studies the in cheyenne a new kid. then he had to deal with bulli bullies.

this difficult beginning mated impact on his life was the beginnings of failure and difficulty and insecurity it taught him many things. first he learned to work. even as a boy he had to get out and sell newspapers and turn the pennies he made over to the families. it became an important sense of income generation. later he can make himself appear older to get a job working during the depression. and he dug up trails chop

russian heavy labor. those for approximately $25 a month. it was mostly sent back to his family. this was also a time when he learned things were not as important as family so this is where he learned what values matter. and what was interesting is he traced his life in these kinds of values so man his handshake was a contract when he made a promise to bank there was a promise he kept he learned that

loyalty was something you did not demand, it's something you earned. one explained that one thing one loyalty that kirk commanded of his people was earned because he said kirk always took the risks and always shared the credit. seems like a small thing but when you work for someone is taking those risks ensuring the credit is a powerful incentive to be loyal and work harder. one other thing it gave him a

certain comfort with chaos and risk. he didn't have things. what happens when you move a lot you don't accumulate things, you're moving all the time. you learn to rely on family and friends as your treasures. you don't put them in your pocket for part of your life. for kirk this lack of things made him comfortable with not having things. he was a modest man. even as a billionaire he was driving a ford taurus he wasn't in the limousine and mercedes, he was a man of modest taste.

some of the comfort also shows up in his gambling and investments. kirk said that there are two things, the greatest thrill in life was winning a big bet. in the second biggest thrill was losing a big bet. the thrill of risk was part of him. he could actually face a big showdown whether a casino are on wall street. and relish the uncertainty of it. this goes back to his childhood

and that was what was the worst it could happen he would have nothing again. one point late in his life he confided that it would be nice to just lose it all and start over. he loved what he did. there came a time i came close to happening. but that attitude was part of him. he was very competitive and that's part of going back to the life he had to adapt to as a young man a difficult financial situations. . .

and eventually they had come to a draw and go off and become good friends. even the ones were those negotiations were very difficult to and the guy across the table would be dining and whining together so kirk didn't carry grudges unlike some other

billionaires with famous addresses. he didn't carry grudges, didn't like to fire people. he was a man who never defaulted on a loan. he was shy and humble and insisted his name not be on anything. in the skyline of las vegas that he completely redesigned by virtue of his investment into building you want find even a parking spot with his name on it. one of the things as a kid that

competitiveness showed up when he decided to take on boxing and he became a rather talented young boxer. in fact he got a nickname after his second or third fight. one of his greatest treasures earned a nickname in the ring and it gave him great joy. you may have seen some pictures up here, but it's something somebody on the outside like us could look and also cnn's courage. one of the remarkable things i discovered in my research was his war record. i had never heard of the royal air force three command -- ferry

command, which was a unit of mostly american and canadian pilots to operate out of canada during world war ii and fresh out of the factory fighters and bombers from canada over the north atlantic to scotland so they were taking the route. it didn't have any navigational equipment along the way so they had to fly by night and then navigate by the stars. in school, he was a smart enough kid because he moved all the time he was always behind and he was learning english. she hated math and geography of all things said here he is lighting over the ocean navigating by the stars where

his mathematical skills for his life it wasn't just as a concept or a theory that it was as life and death. so he adapted very well. but this command was two or 3,000 pilots during the course of the war and it was so treacherous because the equipment was potentially faulty and that root had severe weath weather. most of them frankly just disappeared because their equipment didn't make it across

the atlantic. his good fortune was also his skill. he took the most dangerous planes that i think the record would show he took more of the dangerous planes than anyone else. he was his own chips on the table. he did play a lot of poker with the other pilots and it was according to legend the top poker face the most inscrutable poker face.

his favorite gambling was on the table there again people watching couldn't tell whether he was winning or losing the. for those of you too young to know who perr kerry is, i'm sor, but he was a very cool crooner and kurt was that cool gambler. after the war he came back with cash in his pocket paid well as a contract pilot and he immediately invested that money in his first business, which was a little aviation school in montebello. but it isn't last long it wasn't exciting enough for him so he put together a little more money and got a loan and got a banker to trust him with a handshake at the beginning of a very good

relationship with bank of america and with his sisters help put together enough money to buy a little airline in the los angeles air service. so, he started flying charter services mostly to las vegas and he flew john wayne around so he was having a good time and was also going to las vegas a lot but he turned this into a business and they nurtured into making it a good thing that he made his first fortune when he took that little airline and took it public so after 20 years of running a little small businesscommittee was an overnight success it just took

20 years. -based business move was moving slowly. it didn't jump off until they heard about it and the farmers up in fresno started investing in his business and all of a sudden the stock shot up so much that the first fortune was a $60 million public offering but also turned all these farmers into wealthier people because as the old participate in the process. but he always considered that in the connection as a source of

his wealth. terry at the hotel to start the building but not enough to finish it.

they were looking for a way out of the riskiest aspects you have to read the book to see how it all came out. it is a huge inconvenience for a researcher, let me tell you. and this is one of the reasons why the roots held were so important and there were several others who contributed to my

understanding on this because otherwise i still wouldn't know as much as the rest of you. one of the parts that we haven't talked about is his generosity and that happens to be a part again they know better than most. and again, it was a major play here in this after the earthquake. that ended up being a source of support that spanned 20 years and made him one of the 15 official national heroes. the prospect of someone who's just a cousin being the writer

is especially pleased after all this time knowing who he is but the rest of us it's still at least being shared with a broad audience. we've only been out now about three weeks and we are in the third printing and it is a best seller. so thank you. [applause]

i'm sure you have some questions and i love telling stories, i've got a million of them. thank you. looking at how private kirk was as a researcher obviously come and been especially the chief

legal adviser said no one is going to help you. so we are not discouraged because you got here today let us walk through the journey of what are some of those? it's more like an investigator project in a standard, but as it turns out, when you start looking for details, they are out there. he had done and oral history in las vegas that was on tv in the library. he had done it years ago and it

just wasn't advertised anywhere. we found it and got to sit there and listen to a bit voice of his and his life and background. i wish i had been the interviewer on the other end of it but what was there was wonderful. and the command was the subject of a documentary done by pbs in boston. the producer of that his father was among the pilots and provided me with the outtake of the whole interview, so i was able to get more detail. kirk was interviewed for that and provided background. and then there were a lot of people close to him who treasured his legacy that they

wanted to share it. the people in the estate spent their lives and career and couldn't get out of that mold. but most of the people that knew him were so devoted and grateful for what he was and what he did but they wanted to share it. it was keeping him alive and i think that is the fact. the book and the picture on the wall, this is a way to keep his legacy alive and to keep the lessons of humility and integrity expanded and show them to the world. i'm delighted by the success of the project began because of so many people.

>> many of us here in los angeles is a quick trip to las vegas so we go there often. one of the things that was striking about the book as i had no idea how many different properties he touched, talking about the city center, mgm grande, involved in so many properties. when you look at the skyline but do you think his legacy is on las vegas? >> he is the one that recognized that the place was big enough for the giant hotels and casinos and a place for families as well as partiers. in fact when someone asked him why are you buying hotels and

movie studios and casinos he said these were all part of what he called the leisure industry. after world war ii, he assaulted the economy wasaw thatthe econod people would have more time that the development of las vegas would benefit from a the spending money that would be flowing and people would have time to go there so that's why he built an. when he built the biggest hotel in the world in las vegas in his first time out, the international hotel, there was another billionaire in town. howard hughes had a similar

interest as aviators and the owners got howard was working against him and said to his people las vegas isn't big enough for the two of us. kirk had the opposite view. the best thing that could happen is for everyone to compete again. here is his competitive he wanted the best hotel to be built next to his. he relished the competition and the good fight and anyone having dealings with anyone that had good ideas.

his business at writers wanted hithe bikerswanted to include ao competition called and he wouldn't do it. he said the best thing that could have been which of course he did and everybody benefited. las vegas is a success because of good ideas but he was the real mastermind. >> you've also talked about the fire and say that was originally his baby. 87 people died and was the first hotel fire. maybe talk about his reaction to that.

what were th are the business es like in this story? >> he didn't want to have the insurance adjustments take forever, he wanted to move quickly to help them recover as best they could and so he ended up being in patients with the companies and they were not selling the claim fast enough so he sent his people to settle the claims and said these people who

are victimized are our custome customers. we are not their enemy, we are on their side so he wanted to make whole to the extent that it could be done with money so that was more than the insurance companies willing to do. after that the insurance companies refused to pay off their claims so he sued the insurance companies but he did this by making sure the victims were all taken care of and then he assumed the risk of a litigation to be recovered.

they have paid too much, too fast and he had a certain niche and he played those cards right to the end and the insurance companies forbid, that it is a tribute that he would take the risk at the trouble to make sure the people that need the most were taken care of. here's one of my favorite stories. >> you mentioned the book being on its third print. many consider him a hero. they talk about how they saw his heritage, and we will go from their.

>> he was definitely a proud arminian. there are a lot of action among the different groups and sometimes they don't get along as well, but after the earthquake, by stepping in and helping to set up the airlift that rivals the berlin airlift in the different groups and charities that can be put together, but what did have the greatest dissatisfaction as they worked together and at this he felt was a serious accomplishment. he didn't take credit for that

because he was modest. he was a catalyst and productivity in arminian. they took into account the only time he actually went and it was a very emotional trip for him, and i recommended that chapter also. >> you mentioned the earthquake in 88. it seems there was a catalyst for setting the stage for the latter parts of his life. how did he view philanthropy and how did that change over time? >> prior to the earthquake, he was an extremely generous

philanthropist but you didn't know it because there's got to be some people here old enough to remember a tv show called the millionaire but it was a show where every week the secret millionaire gave a million and they never explained where the money came from. kirk was like that. he gave generously everywhere with the caveat you can't tell anybody i gave this to you otherwise you will never get another dime. so even after the earthquake before the airlift began he gave money to the causes to the groups that were hoping that recovery but it was with the same caveat don't tell anybody but then he took some heat in the media for not stepping up

and helping. they were giving away more than a billion dollars over the next 20 years. the records have become public documents, so that was different. it just continued a pattern that had always been generous. >> one of the amazing things you talk about is the relationships he built. he was very private he was around famous people in a lot of

cases actor cary grant was one of his best friend is. how could he view friendships and how did they develop over time? >> he valued his friends as treasurers and showed it in many ways. but to this moment he loves ki kirk. they met when he was a waiter in las vegas but they have a common interest in boxing and tennis. mike agassi so they became good

friends and some of that friendship is monitored through the story in the book. he was working at the mgm grand. he was an employee at the hotel and was out of work. he privately developed tvs code delivered his paycheck every month and had the vice president of finance deliver a monthly salary of a. the loyalty worked both ways and it's little known that the middle name is kirk is one of the most famous in the world and his middle name wasn't an

accident as a symbol of love and friendship. >> we have >> we have a couple of questions in the audience about the relationship with his family. i think you said you did not interview the family that maybe you can talk about the relationship between him and his kid. you do a great job of covering the path, but maybe some of the basic family items. >> he was married four times, but his second wife they were married for almost 30 years and together they had a daughter and adopted another daughter who grew up as sisters. by all accounts, he was an old-fashioned father, but they went on family trips and in fact

he went horseback riding with his daughters in palm springs in las vegas. they went on cruises to alaska a couple of times with cary grant and his daughter. he wasn't known as a family man so much. it's complicated but it's all in the book so i won't try to explain it here.

many of us would like to make that type of move in our life so what does it ithat visiting buse it so successful. they made a calculated risks and always valued having some kind of a backup plan. he was big on plan b. and c., so it's part of why if things were not going quite right. but she had a hard time losing sometimes. the chrysler deal he tried to take over chrysler.

he had the money to do it but it was resisted to his surprise i might say. after fighting for that field for over several months, he finally had to surrender and concede defeat and he put in his pocket something like $2.7 billion in profit so this was a bad he lost and pocketed nearly $3 billion. habitat deal worked better it would have been more like six or $7 billion profit that even in a setback it was a plan and i don't know what the secret is. if i did i wouldn't be sitting

here. >> you might end up on the forbes list. [laughter] so many stories that are in the book when you think about what surprised you the most for me it was the ted turner story but in your mind what did you like the most? >> as the author, i love every little anecdote. it may be just a couple of lines but i love it because i know it. one of my favorite stories in the book is when he tried to lose a million dollars just to give a gift of generosity comes within opening-night gift to a new casino in the south of france and he went over to lose

some money. so his idea was i will give them a million dollars but the way he wanted to do it was any said he had to ask permission because it was way past any limit but they agreed to do it and it gave him a little orange chip just for that moment it would be worth $1 million for the purpose of this debt. one role when it or lose it. he went around to all of these tables and he looked at the action of each one and decided this one over here and i think it was number three, it's in the book. [laughter] she decided to do that at that

table over there because it had a big crowd. everybody was having a great time and there was a woman rolling the dice was really hot anand i mean that's like the die were hot. [laughter] said he decided he was going to put the orange chip on this role so she throws up one more time and if they bounce all over the place hitting the bumpers and salt and whefelt and when it stt seven he won. so again he's trying to lose a million dollars and he wins a million dollars. he kept it by the way that's just the way the dice roll. he also gowe also got a questiom curious about them is there a screen adaptation of the book --

[applause] >> i think the story is a wonderful story that is very cinematic and i hope you find it that way even in writing. but thwith the range of tales ad adventures in the military and the adventures in business and the adventures with women it's a story that is carried all the way through the end i think it is such an inspiring story i hope he gets a wider and wider sharing. so here's to you, fingers crossed.

>> i encourage you to pick up a copy of the book. even though you never met him you developed a kind of relationship with him after studying him for the two years you spent on this book what did you think of him and how did that change over time and i'm just curious how you think about it today versus when you started when you didn't know as much about it's been. >> what struck me is how inspiring his story is. the rags to riches is only part of it. it's thrilling. it's an amazing story, but the way he did it was by keeping his word. there's another story that

demonstrates and captures his ethics in a way that mattered to me. he bought the desert inn after howard hughes died he ended up with some of his properties. he was selling and i forgot what year this one is. alex was his main business associate and was in charge of taking the desert and from different suitors and one that came up with the best deal was a japanese investment group and they worked out a deal and agreed to a dollar amount and terms and he was very happy and proud of the result. it was an amount kirk would approve.

anyway, they got on the phone and celebrated until the next day when another outfit shows up all of a sudden unannounced and offers something twice as good. now, alex wasn't sure of himself at this point so he thought he better call him and let him know we got a much better deal now what do we do about it. so he calls and kirk says did you agree to the terms and he says well yeah i guess i did. then why are you calling me and he had not. [laughter] this is a man who turned down a doubled over because they'd already promised it. what can you say about that but

i'll. >> on behalf of our organization and the library, thank you so much. [applause]

the c-span bus is traveling the country on our 50 capitals to her. he recently stoppewe recently sn sacramento california asking folks what's the most important issue in their state. >> right now affordable housing are the two issues critically important for the state. we are losing jobs because we can't afford to have people live here economic development is suffering so affordable housing is critical and the homeless population has just exploded in california. cities are trying to do their best to fix this problem. the federal government is cutting back so we are looking for the state to step up. >> currently i'm worried about the taxes for the gap past this

fall. i am concerned some of the money from the high-speed rail is going to taxpayers not having to pay for the problems going on with high-speed rail. >> as a first generation college student it is important for me, immigration policies to get access to higher education to everyone here in the united states. >> the issue important to me is better and benefits. it seems like being veterans i feel like we are entitled to a number of benefits that need to be very eroded by budget cuts in washington. >> we need counselors and middle schools and education debate coach elementary schools because all the problems we'r we are hag with mental illness and was a

gun issues. i think this bill should be passed in the state of california they try to pass it. it's called 1644 and they didn't pass it because the governor said he wasn't going to support it this time. it was too expensive so i would like to see that happen and i think we will solve their problems for teachers and schools. >> voices from the states on c-span. >> susan marquis is vice president of innovation at the rand corporation and is the author of i am not a tractor about a group of florida farmworkers who organized to improve their working conditio conditions. some of the leaders involved in the movement discussed their work at the aspen institute in washington,