The Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy is now fully endowed thanks to an $18 million donation by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian. The K-12 Las Vegas charter school will now be funded in perpetuity. Its total endowment will be somewhere between $120 million to $125 million, after Agassi’s 16th annual Grand Slam for Children benefit raised around $26.1 million at Wynn Las Vegas on Saturday night. "If it wasn't for Mr. Kerkorian's kindness to my family long before I ever hit a tennis ball, I wouldn't be here today,” Agassi told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Agassi’s father Mike worked as a greeter at one of Kerkorian's casinos, the original MGM Hotel. The 94-year-old Kerkorian is one of the largest shareholders of MGM Resorts International. Kerkorian was also once married to former American WTA player Lisa Bonder. "For him to now give a gift that assures a future for Agassi Prep is a luxury I'm not sure I ever imagined,” Agassi said. "It's your life's work being guaranteed; its future. It changes these children's lives forever."