The $84-$year$-$old Sol Kerzner died in Cape Town on Saturday, after a sometimes$-$controversial career developing some of the world$$s most spectacular resorts.

The youngest of four children, he was born in Doornfontein, Johannesburg to Lithuanian$-$born Jewish immigrants. His parents ran a store selling fruit and vegetables. A diminutive child, Kerzner was bullied at school and took up boxing as a form of defence. He would later become a welterweight champion.

He told the Financial Times that he considered his $$sharp left hook$$ one of his three best features $($along with humility and creativity$).$ After he matriculated from Damelin College, he wanted to work on cars, but his father, Morris, encouraged him to go to university. He graduated with a B$.$Com Honours in accounting from the University of the Witwatersrand, and qualified as a chartered accountant while working at an accounting practice. In $1953,$ his father bought the Minora, a kosher hotel in Durban. Kerzner moved down to help, and a

couple of years later, they bought another Durban hotel, the Palace. In $1962,$ he purchased his own hotel, the Astra, in Durban and by the age of $29,$ he opened the Beverly Hills, which became the country's first five$-$star hotel. Its development was reportedly financed by clients and colleagues from the accountancy practice where he worked. According to one story, he used photos cut from an American holiday brochure to sell the venture to them. Next, he launched the R$7$ million Elangeni Hotel in Durban and, in $1969,$ he was approached by the then South African Breweries $($SAB$)$ to establish a chain of hotels. Within five years the Southern Sun group had more than $30$ hotels, and by the mid$-70$s$,$ he launched Le Saint G$$ran hotel in Mauritius. In $1979,$ Kerzner developed Sun City for R$35$ million in the homeland of Bophuthatswana. It had two casinos, a conference centre and an $18-$hole golf course. While it was initially developed as part of the Southern Sun group, Kerzner would retain the Sun City assets when he launched a competitor, Sun International, in $1983.$

In the next decade, he added four new hotels at Sun City, a man$-$made lake and the SuperBowl arena in $1981.$ Frank Sinatra $$ who described Kerzner as $$the best saloonkeeper in the world$$ was paid $$2$ million to open the SuperBowl, which would later also host Elton John, Cher, Cliff Richard, and Rod Stewart. But this also caused Sun City to become an infamous byword for apartheid across the world. In $1985,$ the music album Sun City was released, and featured anti$-$apartheid songs performed by Bono, Ringo Starr, Miles Davis, Peter Gabriel and Bruce Springsteen.

One of the songs, also called $$Sun City$,$ featured lyrics including $$Relocation to phony homelands $$ and $23$ million can't vote because they're black$,$ with the chorus: $$We$\text{'}$re gonna say, I Ain't gonna play Sun City$.$They were over$-$paying everybody to come down there and perform at Sun City, so I decided to use that as a symbol, and told myself if I could really tighten up the cultural boycott we could then make the next move toward the economic boycott,$$ a former member of Bruce Springsteen$$s band, Steven Van Zandt, who wrote the song, told Fast Company. In $1991,$ Kerzner opened the Lost City, a $338-$room hotel which was designed to mimic an ancient city, at Sun City. The site included a man$-$made forest $($with more than one million trees and plants$)$ and the water theme park Valley of Waves. Kerzner sold Sun City and his South African assets in the early $1990$s$.$ In $1996,$ Bantu Holomisa was kicked out of the ANC after claiming at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that former cabinet minister Stella Sigcau accepted R$50,000$ as part of a bribe of R$2$ million paid by Kerzner to Transkei ruler George Matanzima. Holomisa, who later became the leader of the United Democratic Movement $($UDM$),$ was a major$-$general in the Transkei Defence Force. Kerzner was accused of paying the bribe in exchange for gambling rights in the Transkei. Matanzima was jailed for the bribe, but corruption charges against Kerzner were dropped. Questions were also raised about how he secured gambling rights in Bophuthatswana, as well as massive tax breaks for Sun City and Lost City. He gave millions to both the ANC $$ Nelson Mandela confirmed aKerzner donation of R$2$ million $$

Reflecting on the entrepreneurial journey of Sol Kerzner, how did his personal characteristics, risk$-$taking behaviour, and ethical considerations shape his success and controversies in the South African busines landscape? Consider Kerzner's upbringing, his approach to business development, and the ethical dilemmas he faced throughout his career, including controversies surrounding Sun City and allegations of bribery, Further, how does Kerzner's story prompt you to contemplate your own entrepreneurial journey, particularly in terms of navigating challenges, making ethical decisions,and striving for success?