Hilton Hotels
Net Worth:
$2.5 Billion
Son
of hospitality legend Conrad Hilton, this hotel heir and World War II Navy
veteran is the former Chairman of Hilton Hotels and the currently embarrassed
grandfather of Paris Hilton the troubled celebrity. Initially refusing a job in
his father’s hotel business, William Barron Hilton tried his hand at a number
of occupations and businesses, but — in what will no doubt come as a dramatic
shock to you, dear reader — he was ultimately persuaded to follow in his
Conrad’s footsteps. By 1966 William Barron had ascended to the presidency of
Hilton Hotels and had dedicated his career to the expansion of the empire.
If
that sounds like fun, you don’t know how to do fun the Hilton way! While
working for the family hotel chain, Barron did a little moonlighting as the
founding owner of the San Diego Chargers (playing back then in Los Angeles) and
as a key player in the merger of the AFL and NFL. If this weren’t
exciting enough, in 1979 Barron was thrust even more fully in the public
spotlight as his father’s will called for the vast majority of the hotel
tycoon’s fortune to go to his charitable vehicle, the Conrad N. Hilton
Foundation. Barron contested his father’s will, eventually securing his
inheritance.
The
Hilton Worldwide group today features multiple hotel franchise concepts,
including as
1.
Hilton Garden Inn
2.
Hilton Homewood Suites,
3.
And over 500 Hilton Hotels and Resorts.
Oh,
and not to worry — all is well today with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation: after
watching granddaughter Paris’ entitled antics for over a decade, Barron threw
in the ancestral towel, announcing in 2007 that he would be leaving all but a
tiny portion of his fortune to the foundation his father had established.
No comments:
Post a Comment