Barron Hilton net worth
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What is the net worth of Barron Hilton?
Barron Hilton is an American businessman and socialite, with a net worth of 4.5 billion U.S. dollars when he died in 2019. Barron Hilton is the son of Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton Hotels. Barron joined the family empire in the 1950s and took the company to incredible heights. In the 1970s, it was Barron’s wise move to invest in Nevada’s casinos, buying what would later become the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and the Flamingo Hotel, as well as the source of most of the family’s wealth today.
When Conrad died in 1979, 97% of his estate was left to his personal charity, and Barron could choose to purchase his shares in order to maintain the Hilton family’s control of the company. Despite the charity’s opposition, the court ultimately ruled that Barron won the case. After reaching a settlement, Barron owns 4 million shares in the family business. The private equity giant Blackstone Group acquired Hilton for US$20 billion in 2000. Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton are his granddaughters.
The Baron is also a pilot and one of the founders of the American Football League.
Deprive Paris of inheritance
Barron married Marilyn Joan Holly in 1947 until her death in 2004. They have two daughters and six sons. For most of his adult life, Barron planned to leave his billions of dollars of wealth to his family after his death.
According to reports, Barron felt very embarrassed by the behavior of his granddaughter Paris. From sex tapes, to scary reality shows, to the general smear of Hilton’s name. As a result, in 2007, Conrad adjusted the terms of his will to exclude his family, but instead left 97% of his estate to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Therefore, instead of about two dozen people inheriting USD 4.5 billion each, or USD 190 million each, these people will divide 3% of the USD 4.5 billion.This is a total of 135 million U.S. dollars, which is approximately USD 5.6 million per person.
early life
Hilton was born on October 23, 1927 in Dallas, Texas, to Mary Adelaide and Conrad Nicholson Hilton. He has three siblings-Conrad Nicholas, Eric Michael and Constance Francesca. He has Norwegian and German descent. His father was the founder of the Hilton hotel chain, which he founded when Barron was born. During Barron’s childhood, his father’s success grew steadily.
As a child, he was very interested in aviation, and often rode his bike to Dallas’ Love Field Airport to watch planes take off. He took a private flight course and obtained a pilot’s license at the age of 17.
During World War II, he worked as a photographer in the Navy and studied at the University of Southern California School of Aeronautics after retiring. There, he received a dual-engine rating at the age of 19.
Early career
After the war, he actually rejected his father’s offer to join the family business. Instead, he enrolled at the University of Southern California Aviation School after retiring during the war, where he received a twin-engine rating at the age of 19.
Hilton subsequently partnered with several different companies, one of which distributes fruit juice. He acquired the distribution rights of Vita-Pakt Citrus Products in the Los Angeles area, co-founded McDonald’s Oil Company, and founded Aviation Finance Corporation, one of the first aircraft leasing companies in the United States.
American Football League
In 1959, Lamar Hunter offered Hilton the Los Angeles franchise of the newly formed American Football League. He accepted and named his team the Chargers.
The Chargers started playing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1960, but the club found it difficult to compete for Rams fans in the NFL. The team moved to San Diego in 1961, to the tiny Balboa Stadium. Hilton played an important role in the construction of Jack Murphy Stadium, which is today known as Qualcomm Stadium.
He helped facilitate the large-scale merger of the AFL and NFL in 1966, which resulted in the Super Bowl. In 1966, when he assumed a more important role at Hilton, he sold his interest in the Chargers. He sold his shares for 10 million U.S. dollars. He is the last living member of the Stupid Club, which is the name the AFL owner gave himself when trying to compete with the mature NFL.
Hilton’s career
In 1954 Baron was elected Vice President of Hilton Hotels and ran the company’s franchise operations. Hilton also created the Carte Blanche credit card to serve the company’s most loyal customers.
His role in the company grew over time, until he became President and CEO of Hilton Hotels Group. In this position, Hilton fully demonstrated his father’s business genius and continued to expand and modernize the hotel chain.
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Las Vegas Casino
In the 1970s, it was Barron’s wise move to invest in Nevada’s casinos, buying what would later become the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel and the Flamingo Hotel, as well as the source of most of the family’s wealth today. The company’s expansion into Nevada has a direct impact on its net income. By 1972, these two resorts contributed 45% of the company’s revenue (excluding interest income, interest expenses, investment write-downs, and property sales), which was almost the same as the revenue of 160 other Hilton hotels in the United States.
In addition, Hilton took full advantage of what he foresaw of Las Vegas as the entertainment capital of the world. At their famous Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, Elvis Presley became a star performer, and until shortly before his death in 1977, he was still the guest of the year and stage performer. In the next few decades, with the intensification of US hotel competition, Hilton’s decision to expand its business to Las Vegas proved to be highly profitable.
Hilton also launched the Conrad International brand in the 1980s, followed by the Hilton Garden Inn brand in the 1990s. He is known as a financial conservative, always maintaining a low debt-to-capital ratio and a very high credit rating. These statuses allow him to easily continue to acquire new possessions.
Other career achievements
Hilton continues to actively expand domestic hotel chains through franchising. In 1977, he completed the hotel acquisition his father initiated nearly 30 years ago, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Knowing that the lease would expire in 1979, Hilton cleverly negotiated the purchase of hotels and real estate from the railway company. Hilton bought this landmark property for 35 million U.S. dollars, which is currently valued at approximately 1 billion U.S. dollars. As competitors continued to spread in the United States in the 1980s, Barron maintained his position by repairing his hotel and increasing his income in Las Vegas. Through a series of large-scale additions and renovations to the Flamingo Hilton and Las Vegas Hilton, by 1990, the company’s number of rooms in Las Vegas had almost tripled, from 2,277 to 6,703. In the 1980s, Hilton launched Conrad International and Hilton Garden Inn in the 1990s.
For the next ten years, Hilton has served as chairman of the board of directors.
After stepping down as CEO, Hilton continued to serve as chairman of the board of directors, and oversaw its successor Steve Bollenbach (Steve Bollenbach), through the acquisition of embassy suites, Homewood Suites and Doubletree and other brands to continue to expand the company’s scale. Over the years, the brand has continued to flourish, changing its name to Hilton, and owning hotels in 114 countries/regions around the world.
In 2005, 38 years after his father sold Hilton International to TWA, he acquired Hilton International. At this time, Hilton Hotels has become the most well-known and respected brand in the industry. Facts have proved that Hilton Hotels is irresistible to the private equity firm Blackstone Group. They acquired the company in 2007, and the company currently has 2,800 hotels and 480,000 rooms in 76 countries and regions. Blackstone paid US$47.50 per share, a 32% premium to the closing price on July 2.This $26 billion all-cash transaction includes $7.5 billion in debt
Hilton family wealth
When Conrad Hilton died in 1979, 97% of his estate was left to his personal charity, and Barron could choose to purchase his shares in order to maintain the Hilton family’s control of the company. Despite the charity’s opposition, the court ultimately ruled that Barron won the case. After reaching a settlement, Barron owns 4 million shares in the family business.
The private equity giant Blackstone Group acquired Hilton for US$20 billion in 2000.
personal life
In 1947, when Hilton was 20 years old, he married Marilyn June Hawley (Marilyn June Hawley). The couple remained married until Marilyn’s death in 2004. During the marriage, they had eight children in total. He also has fifteen grandchildren, including Paris and Nicky Hilton, and some great-grandchildren.
He has maintained a keen interest in aviation throughout his life. He owned a fleet of small aircraft and drove until the age of 84. He also hosted the Barron Hilton Cup, a global glider competition from 1980 to 2009. Year 2009. In 2010, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum named an exhibition after him-Barron Hilton Flying Gallery Pioneer, in recognition of Hilton. In 2012, he was also inducted into the International Aerospace Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
He mainly lives in Jay Paley House in Holmby Mountain, which was originally designed by architect Paul Williams for Jay Paley. The house was used for scenes from the TV series “The Colbys”. In addition, he owns a permanent suite in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York and a large ranch named Flying M. Hilton in Nevada and California. He died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles in 2019 at the age of 92. Before his death, Hilton announced in 2007 that he would leave 97% of his estate to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, a charitable organization founded by his father in 1944.
