Who Owns MGM?

MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) was founded on April 17, 1924, through the merger of three film companies: Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures. The merger was orchestrated by Marcus Loew, the owner of Loew's Theatres, who wanted to secure a reliable supply of films for his theater chain. Louis B. Mayer was appointed head of production, a role he would hold for over two decades.

Under Louis B. Mayer's leadership, MGM became the most glamorous and prestigious studio in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. The studio's motto, "Ars Gratia Artis" (Art for Art's Sake), and its iconic roaring lion logo became symbols of Hollywood excellence. MGM's roster of stars included Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, and dozens of other legendary actors.

MGM produced some of the most celebrated films in cinema history during this period, including The Wizard of Oz (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939, co-produced with Selznick International), Ben-Hur (1959), and numerous musicals featuring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. The studio was known for its lavish productions, high production values, and star-making machinery.

The studio system began to decline in the 1950s as the Supreme Court forced studios to divest their theater chains (in the Paramount Decree), television competed for audiences, and the star system eroded. MGM struggled to adapt to the changing entertainment landscape and went through a series of ownership changes.

Kirk Kerkorian, a Las Vegas businessman, acquired MGM in 1969 and sold off much of the studio's assets, including its famous props and costumes. Kerkorian bought and sold MGM multiple times over the following decades, and the studio changed hands repeatedly through the 1980s and 1990s.

Ted Turner acquired MGM in 1986 primarily to obtain its film library, which he used to launch Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and colorize classic black-and-white films. Turner sold most of MGM back to Kerkorian but retained the film library, which became the foundation of Turner's cable television empire.

MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010, weighed down by debt from previous acquisitions. The studio emerged from bankruptcy in 2010 under new ownership and continued to produce films, including the James Bond franchise (which MGM co-owns with Eon Productions) and the Hobbit trilogy (co-produced with Warner Bros.).

In May 2021, Amazon announced its acquisition of MGM for $8.45 billion, one of the largest entertainment acquisitions in history. The deal closed in March 2022 after regulatory review. Amazon's primary motivation was MGM's extensive content library of approximately 4,000 film titles and 17,000 television episodes, which would bolster Amazon Prime Video's content offering.