Following the success of that property, Kerzner built South Africa's first five star graded hotel in Umhlanga, a village north of Durban – he opened this resort in December 1964 which he named the Beverly Hills Hotel. Kerzner International owns the lavish Atlantis hotel and casino resort in the Bahamas and acquired its first UK gaming licence. His Bahamas-based company, Kerzner International,
Kerzner's parents were Russian Jewish immigrants to South Africa who settled in the seaside resort of Durban and work in hotel on the beach front. He toughened up further while doing national service and when he graduated from the South African army, he did an accountancy degree at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.