What is Frank Fertitta's Net Worth?
Frank Fertitta III is an American businessman, casino executive, sports promoter, and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $3 billion. Frank Fertitta is the current CEO of Station Casinos. He is also a founder, alongside his brother Lorenzo Fertitta, of Zuffa LLC, which is the entity that runs the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The brothers were the majority owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship Organization until the company was sold to WME-IMG for $4 billion in July 2016.
Early Life
Frank Fertitta III was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 12, 1962. Frank and his younger brother Lorenzo Fertitta are the sons of Frank Fertitta Jr and Victoria Broussard Fertitta. Frank and Victoria moved to Las Vegas from Texas in 1960. Frank became a dealer at the Stardust Casino before being promoted to management positions at the Tropicana, Sahara, and Circus Circus casinos. In 1976, Fertitta Jr. observed that none of the Las Vegas casinos catered to Las Vegas residents. Frank built The Casino, a 5,000 square foot casino which eventually was renamed Palace Station.
Frank graduated from the private Catholic prep school Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in 1980. He attended the University of Southern California and graduated with a B.A. in Business Administration in 1984.
Throughout high school and college, Frank III and Lorenzo worked for their father at a Station Casino.
(Lorenzo and Frank) Getty Images
Career
After college, Frank III was named an Officer and General Manager of Station Casinos in 1985. In 1986, he was named Director, Executive Vice President, and Chief Operating Officer. From 1989 to July 2000, he was President of Station Casinos, and from July 1992 to the present, he's been CEO of Station Casinos.
Frank III and his younger brother Lorenzo led Station Casinos to its first IPO in 1993. The IPO raised $294 million. The global financial crisis hit Las Vegas hard. In 2007, Station Casinos was taken private again in a leveraged buyout led by the company's management. Station Casinos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2009. The company emerged from bankruptcy in June 2011. The new Station Casinos left the Fertitta brothers in 100% control of the company. Under the direction of Lorenzo and his brother, Station Casinos has grown to 21 casinos.
In October 2015, Frank III and Lorenzo filed with the SEC to take Station Casinos public again through an IPO. In April 2016, new holding company Red Rock Resorts. raised $531.4 million in its IPO. In January 2017, Lorenzo Fertitta was named Vice Chairman of Red Rock Resorts, Inc.
In 2001, Frank III and Lorenzo established Zuffa, LLC, to buy the Ultimate Fighting Championship for $2 million. Lorenzo became the Chairman and CEO of UFC. The Fertittas ran the UFC until it was sold in August 2016 for $4 billion.
Fertitta Capital, a private investment firm, was launched in May 2017 with an initial seed investment of $500 million from Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.
Frank Fertitta III and his daughter. (David Becker/Getty Images)
Personal Life
Frank Fertitta III and his wife Jill live in Las Vegas with their three children.
In 2012, Frank and his wife Jill made a large donation to the University of Southern California, which resulted in the construction of a new building for the USC Marshall School of Business and helped establish the Jill and Frank Fertitta Endowed Chair in Business.
In 2016, Frank and Lorenzo each pledged $7.5 million to establish the Fertitta Veterans Program at New York University's Stern School of Business, a full-time MBA program designed to support U.S. military veterans' transition to business school.
In September 2016, the Fertitta family made a $10 million donation to UNLV to fund a 73,000-square-foot football facility that will be named The Fertitta Football Complex.
His daughter Kelley, a vice president at her father's company, got married at a lavish wedding at Red Rock Resorts in September 2018. The wedding reportedly cost Fertitta $25 million. John Mayer performed during the Friday evening rehearsal, and Bruno Mars and Seal headlined Saturday's reception party. Kelley married Tyler Chad Nemiro, a graduate of the University of Southern California, who is the director of enterprise sales at Shopify Plus.
Fertitta's daughters Kelley and Victoria attended the University of Southern California and ran a lifestyle blog called Wilson Gabrielle.
UFC Sale
In July 2016, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta sold UFC to Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG for $4 billion. The brothers own a combined 81% of UFC. They bought their stake in 2001 for $2 million.
Real Estate
In September 2017, Frank was revealed to be the secret buyer of a chic $70 million penthouse at 520 Park Avenue in Manhattan. Fertitta's new pad is a six-bedroom duplex and one of the most expensive units at 520 Park. The development is an exclusive 54-story condo tower being built at East 60th Street. Fertitta's new pad is 9,138 square feet with an additional 279 square feet of balconies/terraces.
In June 2009, Frank spent $28 million on a mansion in Laguna Beach, California. The oceanfront home is located within the exclusive, guard-gated Emerald Bay community.
