Frank Fertitta
Casino billionaire Frank Fertitta III chairs Red Rock Resorts. He bought the UFC for $2 million in 2001 and sold it for $4 billion in 2016; in September 2026 he gifted $70 million in stock to 10,000 employees.
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- Location
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Country
- United States
- Full name
- Frank Joseph Fertitta III
- Born
- 1962 (Red Rock Resorts' April 2026 proxy statement lists him at age 64)
- Current role
- Chairman and CEO, Red Rock Resorts, Inc.
- Best known for
- Co-owning the UFC from 2001 to 2016; buying it for $2 million and selling it for an estimated $4 billion
- Net worth
- $2.6 billion (estimated, late 2025)
Frank Fertitta
Frank Joseph Fertitta III is an American billionaire businessman best known as the chairman and chief executive officer of Red Rock Resorts, the parent company of Station Casinos, the locals-focused casino empire his father founded in Las Vegas in 1976. (Casino.org) (Red Rock Resorts proxy statement) Along with his younger brother Lorenzo, he owned the Ultimate Fighting Championship from 2001 to 2016, buying it for $2 million and selling it for an estimated $4 billion. (Casino.org) (TheWrap)
He was born in 1962; Red Rock Resorts’ April 2026 proxy statement lists him at age 64. (Red Rock Resorts proxy statement)
The $70 million anniversary gift
On September 9, 2026, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta stood before a surprised gathering of employees at the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa and announced one of the largest employee stock awards in Las Vegas history: more than $70 million worth of Red Rock Resorts Class A stock to nearly 10,000 team members across Station Casinos, as part of the company’s 50th anniversary celebration. (InterGame)
The formula was deliberately simple and tenure-based. Team members employed as of September 9 received $1,000 in Red Rock Resorts Class A stock for every year of service. (InterGame) Seven employees who have been with Station Casinos since the 1970s were set to receive more than $45,000 each in equity. (InterGame)
The announcement carried a deliberate echo of the company’s founder. “Our father founded this company on a few simple principles: serve the local community, deliver great value and most importantly, take care of our team members,” Frank said, adding that the award “reflects those values and recognises the people who have brought them to life every day for the past 50 years.” (InterGame) Lorenzo called the award “an investment in our nearly 10,000 team members, whose dedication and commitment we are deeply thankful for.” (InterGame)
The stock gift was the centerpiece of a 50th anniversary program that began on July 1, 2026, at Palace Station, where the company’s story started, with a fireworks and drone show and the debut of a new brand identity and the “From Vegas, For Vegas, Always Vegas” campaign. (InterGame)
Building the Station Casinos empire
Fertitta grew up inside the business he now runs. His father, Frank Fertitta Jr., launched Station Casinos in 1976 as a single locals-oriented casino, and the company grew into one of the largest operators of neighborhood casinos in Las Vegas. (Casino.org)
Frank III joined the family company in 1985 as an officer and general manager of Palace Station. He was elected a director and appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1986, became president in 1989, and took the chief executive’s job in July 1992, positions he held while the company expanded through the 1990s. (Red Rock Resorts proxy statement)
After his father retired in 1993, Frank and Lorenzo led Station Casinos through its first public offering, raising $294 million and becoming principal shareholders in the process. (Casino.org) The two brothers have run the company together ever since, with Frank as chairman and CEO and Lorenzo as vice chairman of the board of Red Rock Resorts, Inc. (InterGame) (Red Rock Resorts proxy statement)
The UFC trade
In 2001, the Fertitta brothers and their business partner Dana White bought the struggling Ultimate Fighting Championship for $2 million through their company Zuffa LLC. (Casino.org) (TheWrap) At the time, mixed martial arts was a fringe, cash-strapped sport with little mainstream acceptance.
Over the next 15 years they invested in talent, regulation, production, and marketing, turning the UFC into a global sports enterprise whose fights reached viewers in more than 156 countries. (TheWrap) In July 2016, they sold the company to an investment group led by WME-IMG, backed by Silver Lake, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and Michael Dell’s investment firm, for about $4 billion — then the most expensive transaction for a sports organization in history. (TheWrap) Red Rock Resorts’ proxy statement dates the brothers’ exit from Zuffa to August 2016. (Red Rock Resorts proxy statement) Lorenzo stepped down from day-to-day operations while both brothers retained passive minority stakes. (TheWrap)
The arc — $2 million in, roughly $4 billion out over a decade and a half — stands among the most profitable investments in sports history. (Casino.org)
Red Rock Resorts today
Red Rock Resorts, Inc. is the publicly traded holding company for the Station Casinos properties, with its headquarters at 1505 South Pavilion Center Drive in Las Vegas. (Red Rock Resorts proxy statement) Frank Fertitta has chaired its board since the company’s formation in September 2015 and served as chief executive officer since May 2016; he had been CEO of the predecessor operating company, Station LLC, since June 2011. (Red Rock Resorts proxy statement)
Casino industry coverage estimated each brother’s net worth at $2.6 billion in late 2025, built on their casino holdings and the proceeds of the UFC sale. (Casino.org) The company’s hotel-casino portfolio includes Red Rock Casino and Spa in Las Vegas and Sunset Station in Henderson, Nevada, and it also manages casinos for other owners. (Casino.org)
Family and philanthropy
Fertitta graduated from the University of Southern California’s business school in 1984. (USC Today) On October 18, 2012, USC announced that he and his wife Jill had made a naming gift to the university, creating the Jill and Frank Fertitta Hall for the USC Marshall School of Business and establishing the Jill and Frank Fertitta Endowed Chair in Business. (USC Today)
What this profile does not claim
It does not state a current, exact net worth or shareholding figure, since both move with Red Rock Resorts’ stock price; the $2.6 billion figure is an estimate dated to late 2025. (Casino.org) It does not assert the brothers’ exact remaining stake in the UFC after 2016, since public reporting covers only the headline sale and the retention of passive minority positions. (TheWrap) It does not repeat net-worth rankings from lower-tier celebrity-net-worth sites, which were read as background only. It does not state an exact birth date or birthplace; only the 1962 birth year is supported by a source read for this profile, and family details that appear only in encyclopedia-index entries were left out.
Timeline
- 1962
- Born; Red Rock Resorts' April 2026 proxy statement lists him at age 64.
- 1976
- Frank Fertitta Jr. founds Station Casinos in Las Vegas.
- 1984
- Graduates from the University of Southern California with a business degree.
- 1985
- Joins Station Casinos as an officer and general manager of Palace Station.
- 1986
- Named a Station Casinos director and executive vice president and chief operating officer.
- 1989
- Becomes president of Station Casinos, a post he holds until July 2000.
- 1992
- Becomes chief executive officer of Station Casinos in July.
- 1993
- After his father's retirement, he and his brother Lorenzo lead the company's first IPO, raising $294 million.
- 2001
- Along with his brother Lorenzo and Dana White, buys the UFC for $2 million through Zuffa LLC.
- 2012
- He and his wife Jill make a major gift to USC for a new Marshall School of Business building and an endowed chair.
- 2015
- Becomes chairman of the board of Red Rock Resorts, Inc. upon its formation in September.
- 2016
- Sells the UFC to a WME-IMG-led investment group for an estimated $4 billion; becomes CEO of Red Rock Resorts in May.
- 2026
- Announces more than $70 million in Red Rock Resorts stock awards to nearly 10,000 Station Casinos employees for the company's 50th anniversary.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Exact current net worth and the size of his present Red Rock Resorts shareholding fluctuate with the stock price and are not pinned to a single citable figure.
Sources
5 sources (3 tier 2, 2 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.
- Supports: September 2026 50th-anniversary stock award: roles of the Fertitta brothers, award size and formula, ceremony location, anniversary campaign Open original source
- Supports: 2016 UFC sale to WME-IMG-led buyers for about $4 billion; brothers bought it for $2 million 16 years earlier Open original source
- Supports: Father founded Station Casinos in 1976; first IPO after his 1993 retirement raising $294 million; UFC bought for $2 million in 2001 and sold for an estimated $4 billion in 2016; estimated net worth of $2.6 billion each brother as of late 2025 Open original source
- Supports: Career history: general manager of Palace Station 1985, EVP/COO 1986, president 1989-2000, CEO from July 1992, chairman since September 2015, CEO since May 2016, co-owner of Zuffa until its sale in August 2016; age 64 Open original source
- Supports: October 18, 2012 announcement of the naming gift from Jill and Frank Fertitta '84; creation of Jill and Frank Fertitta Hall; establishment of the Jill and Frank Fertitta Endowed Chair in Business; Frank Fertitta identified as a 1984 graduate of USC Marshall Open original source
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