Who is Kirk Kerkorians Former Spouse Lisa Bonder?

Posted by Zora Stowers on Thursday, May 9, 2024

Lisa Bonder is a retired professional tennis player better recognized as the ex-wife of the late billionaire businessman, Kirk Kerkorian, who she had married despite the massive 48 years age difference between them.

Lisa enjoyed a ten-year career from 1981 to 1991. During her time as a player, she reached number 9 on the world ranking board which was a career-high for her after winning four WTA titles.

Summary of Lisa Bonder’s Biography

  • Full Name: Lisa Bonder
  • Gender: Female
  • Date of Birth: October 16, 1965
  • Lisa Bonder’s Age: 58 years old
  • Place of Birth: Columbus, Ohio
  • Ethnicity: White Caucasian
  • Nationality: American
  • Zodiac Sign: Libra
  • Sexual Orientation: Straight
  • Religion: Christianity
  • Marital Status: Divorced
  • Lisa Bonder’s Ex-Husband: Kirk Kerkorian
  • Lisa Bonder’s Children: 2 children (1 Daugther – Kira Bonder and 1 Son – Taylor Jennings Kreis)
  • Lisa Bonder’s Parents: Seth Bonder (Father), Julia Bonder (Mother)
  • Siblings: Brother (Eric Bonder)
  • Lisa Bonder’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 10 inches
  • Lisa Bonder’s Height in Centimeters: 178cm
  • Lisa Bonder’s Weight: 61kg
  • Lisa Bonder’s Hair Color: Blonde
  • Lisa Bonder’s Eye Color: Blue
  • Lisa Bonder’s Net Worth: $3 Million
  • Famous for: Being the ex-wife of late billionaire businessman Kirk Kerkorian
  • Lisa Bonder’s Instagram: @lisabonderkerkorian

Lisa Bonder Was Born In Ohio But Raised In Michigan

Lisa Bonder was born on October 16, 1965, in Columbus, Ohio, to Seth and Julia Bonder. Her paternal grandparents were Russian immigrants who raised her father in New York. Lisa’s nationality as an American has not been affected by that of her grandparents, given that she was born in the US and has spent the majority of her life there.

Although she was born in Columbus, Ohio, she was raised alongside her brother Eric by their mother in Saline, Michigan, after her parents split up when she was younger. While in Michigan, she was a student of Huron High School Michigan.

During her time there, she exhibited compelling skills in tennis and was later convinced to join John Newcombe’s tennis training facility to amplify her talent. In 1980, Lisa moved to  New Braunfels High to give more attention to her budding tennis career.

She’s A Retired Professional Tennis Player

Lisa Bonder’s move to New Braunfels High in 1980 unofficially kick-started her tennis career. She went pro in 1981 before winning the first of four titles in Hamburg the following year. Three titles followed from 1982 to 1983 all won in Tokyo. She achieved these records by beating some of the best in the game like Mary Joe Fernandez, Andrea Jaeger, Amy Holton, Corine Vanier, Chris Evert, and Virginia Ruzici.

Like every athlete, Bonder had career-low points but she was able to retire in 1991 with a 139-126 win/loss record. She was also able to rise to the number 9 position on the ranking list during her playing days.

Lisa prefers a quiet lifestyle after all the controversy she has endured in her life. Her IG page doesn’t reveal more than images of her and her daughter and other life details. One thing that is clear from those images is that the 58-year-old is living her best life.

Bonder Began Dating Kirk Kerkorian A Few Years After Retirement

In probably what would make the line up as one of the shortest celebrity marriages in history, Lisa Bonder tied the knot in 1999 to billionaire businessman, Kirk Kerkorian. Before this marriage, however, Lisa and Kirk began dating about five years prior, although the details of their meeting or the exact date are unclear at the moment.

It was rumored at the time that Lisa was only interested in Kirk for his money and that she had allegedly breathed life into these rumors by casually remarking to one of her friends, Darril Lacoca that she intended to be the last wife Kerkorian would ever marry in order to inherit his relatively large estate.

This information was later related to Kirk by one of his business friends. Kerkorian chose to disregard this news and even went ahead to move in with the just-retired tennis player in 1995. This was also after he had gifted her a five-carat diamond ring.

This arrangement didn’t last long because Lisa Bonder felt Kirk Kerkorian was taking too long in making her his legally married wife. They broke up in 1995 and Lisa received $4 million from the billionaire after she had signed an ironclad NDA that precludes her from revealing intimate details of Kerkorian’s business or any private matter between them.

Before Kirk Kerkorian, Lisa Was Briefly Married To Tom Kreiss

Lisa Bonder had been hitched to Kreiss Enterprise Inc. executive vice-president, Tom Kreiss, before meeting Kerkorian.

These days, Tom can be seen faithfully and competently discharging his duties as an executive in what is a family business but prior to that, he had been a professional tennis player who even competed in the US Open, Wimbledon, and the French Open with his brothers Michael and Bob before leaving to join the family business in 1977.

It would not be a wild guess to say that Lisa and Tom connected within the tennis circles, although the exact point of their first meeting cannot be verified at this time. The duo evidently kept in touch with each other after Kreiss’ departure from tennis in 1977 because they would eventually get married almost 10 years later on January 10, 1988.

Sadly the marriage that produced a lovely son, Taylor Jennings Kreiss on February 8, 1989, didn’t last so long as the couple split almost immediately following the birth of their son.

She Was Dating Late Hollywood Bigwig, Steve Bing, While Still Involved With Kirk Kerkorian

When Lisa Bonder ended her relationship with Kirk Kerkorian in 1995, she started dating film producer, director, screenwriter, businessman, and philanthropist, Steve Bing. The pair had met at an airport in Los Angeles and it didn’t take long for them to start dating and soon Lisa was pregnant. The events that followed were quite surprising to all the parties involved.

Apparently, Bonder and Kerkorian were still seeing each other secretly even though they were now both in different relationships with Steve Bing and Una Davis respectively. Lisa even occasionally received money and gifts from Kirk.

Lisa Bonder Ended Up Becoming Kirk Kerkorian’s Wife But The Marriage Didn’t Last

When Lisa got pregnant, she opted to pin the paternity of the child on Kirk Kerkorian, forcing him to get married to her in 1999. The marriage lasted 28 days because Kirk, who obviously didn’t become a billionaire by being gullible, had his doubts about being the biological father of the baby in question.

Protracted civil litigation followed as Lisa demanded that Kirk set up a $7 million trust fund for the child and that he pay $100,000 monthly as child support. She lost the case after Anthony Pellicano, who was the private eye hired by Kerkorian revealed that Steve Bing was the biological father of the child in question.

Anthony Pellicano would later be charged and sentenced to 15 years in prison for his shady methods in acquiring evidence, not just in the suit involving Lisa but in other suits where he had played a defining role. It was discovered that he had wiretapped Lisa’s phone to listen to her conversations, as well as illegally obtained dental floss used by Bing to ascertain the true paternity of the child.

It is important to note that Lisa Bonder’s marriage to Kirk Kerkorian had effectively ended her relationship with Steve Bing. And although he had publicly acknowledged his daughter Kira, his suicide in 2020 didn’t help his daughter’s cause financially.

Steve’s father stated plainly that Kira would never inherit any part of Steve’s wealth even after it was proven that she was Steve’s daughter. Lisa on the other hand was able to receive $8.5 million from Kirk Kerkorian’s $4.2 billion estates after his death in 2015 at the age of 98. She was able to achieve this by contesting his will.

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