A friend and an adversary: Peter Venison on writing ‘Sol’

When I last visited South Africa, a country close to my heart, and while browsing in a large bookshop in Sandton, I asked the young lady behind the desk if the store stocked anything about the late Sol Kerzner, the world-famous South African hotel entrepreneur.

“Sol who?” she asked, before proceeding to ask me to spell his name so she could search the database. What a shame, I thought, that nobody had recorded the achievements of a man who, through his career in hospitality, had brought into the country more foreign currency than most. As there seemed to be nothing in the pipeline, I decided to write my own memoir of my friend, and at times adversary, Sol Kerzner. I say “memoir” advisedly, because that is what it is — not a biography, not the result of extensive research and interviews, but my own personal recollections from the many years I knew Sol, either while I was working for or in competition with him.

Sol was a visionary, but his greatest asset was his ability to turn vision into reality. There are many great men who have grand visions, but usually they remain dreamers. Sol could dream and then, through hard work and persistence, turn his inspired visions into reality.

Sol could be a difficult man. He could be hard on those who worked for him, and there were many casualties along the way, but those who stayed were almost always proud of the achievements. Sol practically invented the modern hospitality industry in South Africa, but he also transformed it in the Caribbean and Dubai, while building the largest casino resort in the US and one of the world’s leading luxury hotel chains, the One&Only. In the words of his good friend Nelson Mandela, “Where Sol walks, things happen.”

Sol had enormous charm, a wicked sense of humour, and an eye for the ladies. He had an exceptionally colourful personal life. Married four times and engaged to be married for several years, he was known to “play the field”.

The book, however, does not dwell on his personal life — his numerous wives, girlfriends and children — except when they affect the story of his career. This is a book about Sol as I saw him — as a boss, a leader, a competitor, and even a friend. Like many other people who met and knew him, I admired him.   

Before writing the book, I had been alerted to the fate of other authors who had attempted to write Sol’s biography. All printed copies of an earlier version were required to be destroyed by court order, and even an officially engaged biographer was relieved of the task after he had completed 80,000 words. I therefore decided to approach the administrator of the family estate to float the idea of a new biography with his heirs. I offered to submit drafts of the book to the family and the administrator for review, fact-checking and input, all of which I gratefully received on a regular basis. The result is my take on one of the most colourful characters in the South African hospitality industry.

And what a man he was! In the words of one of his most trusted advisers, “Sol was someone who possessed a rare combination of creative genius, uncanny financial acuity and astonishing energy, which powered every business he touched. He was always trailblazing, always in pursuit of bigger, better, new and more exacting and exciting projects around the globe. Sol could turn vision into reality.”

‘Sol Kerzner: My Friend and Adversary’ by Peter Venison is published by Melinda Ferguson Books