Text | Li Jia
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Every family history is precipitated with the imprint of history, and no matter the rise and fall of glory and disgrace, it embodies the inheritance of the family from generation to generation. Although the Hilton family's hotel empire is no longer as grand as it was in its heyday, it is still not to be underestimated. Conrad, the eccentric "hotelier of the world," started out as a cheap hotel in a dusty, isolated town in Texas and built a global conglomerate; his great-granddaughter, Paris, became famous for a sex dvd. From the inspiration and passion to build a business empire to the indulgence and extravagance of corruption, what else is there in the Hilton family that has been passed down from generation to generation?
As a "century-old family" in business history, especially in the hotel management industry, the roots of the Hilton family cannot be described as deep, and each generation has the temperament of each generation. The brilliance of the successful can be seen by everyone, but the mystery of their success is different. The Hilton Hotel Empire has been able to grow from scratch and step by step to become stronger so far, with successful experiences, but also lessons from failure. What the world evaluates, it is a matter of opinion, and it does not affect the success criteria and family spirit of the Hilton family.
Born in 1887 in San Antonio, New Mexico, the Hilton family was born in 1887 to a father who ran a grocery store. Xiao Kanglad showed a talent for businessmen very early on, and began to "work" for his father before going to school, receiving a monthly salary of $5.
In 1907, the Economic Crisis broke out in the United States, many businesses were submerged in the torrent of the times, millions of people lost their homes, and the Hilton family business was affected and fell into trouble. In order to make a living, the original shop had to be converted into a family-style hotel, and this 5-room hotel became a source of livelihood for the family. His father was the head of the house, his mother was the cook, and Conrad and his brother were responsible for going to the train station to solicit guests. It was a chore, but it was this experience that provided Conrad with a great opportunity to exercise in the hospitality industry in the future.
Conrad's dream was to be a decent banker, and he had also successfully formed the San Antonio Bank at the age of 26, and everything looked like it was moving in the direction of his dreams. Unfortunately, when World War I broke out in 1917, Conrad was conscripted into the army. By the time he retired from the army, his father had died, the bank was unable to maintain its operations for various reasons, and Conrad had only $5,000 left in all his money.
Sasha-Garbo
Forced to start a new business, Conrad was once again faced with a choice, and his mother said to him, "You have to find your own world." To zoom in on the boat, you must first find the place of the water depth. ”
Fortunately, Conrad soon found "deep water" in Texas. At that time, a large oil field was discovered in Texas, countless gold diggers flocked to it, and Conrad came here to try his luck. Conrad bought the Mobli Hotel in the town of Sisk for $40,000, and with his experience running a family hotel as a teenager, he transformed the hotel to both provide convenience for travelers and increase profits. Conrad remembered what his father had said: "Let every inch of land and space grow gold." Soon, the turnover and profit of the Mobyley Hotel began to skyrocket.
With the success of the Mobly Inn, Conrad partnered with others to buy the Melba Hotel in Watsburg and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Dallas. Conrad's hotel industry began to flourish. Six years later, Conrad spent $1 million to build the first hotel in Dallas, Texas, named "Hilton Dallas"; in 1938, he bought the Sir Drake Hotel in San Francisco; in 1939, the Blakes Hotel on the Long Beach was acquired by him; in 1945, he bought the largest hotel in the world at the time, the Stevens Hotel in Chicago; soon after, he bought another luxury hotel in Chicago, the Palmer Hotel, for a huge amount of $19.4 million... ...
These successful acquisitions, Conrad did not satisfy, but further stimulated his ambitions, and then set his next goal on the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, known as the "Queen of the World Hotel". Located on Buckthani Avenue in New York, this hotel has hosted royals, heads of government and millionaires from many countries around the world, making it the most luxurious and famous hotel in the world. After nearly two decades of hard work, Conrad finally got his wish. In 1949, the hotel finally belonged to him.
In October 1954, Conrad created the most glorious page of his life, spending $110 million to buy the "Statera Hotel Series", known as the "Emperor of the World's Hotels", a hotel chain with 10 first-class hotels. It was the largest merger in the history of the hotel industry and the largest real estate sale in the world at the time.
After unremitting struggle, Conrad finally ascended to the throne of the American hotel industry. He did not stop, but set his sights on the world hotel business, founded the International Hilton Hotels Limited, and expanded his hotel kingdom to all over the world. "You have to have a dream." In his autobiography "Home Away from Home", the world-famous "Hotel King" unveiled the mystery of his success: "I think that the precursor to accomplishing a big cause is a great dream!" ”
Conrad had three marriages and four children in his lifetime, the eldest son, Nick Hilton, was an unprofessional playboy, and the serious second son, Barron Hilton, inherited his father's business and pushed the Hilton brand to new heights. The third son, Eric Hilton, unlike his brothers, calmly accepted a supporting role in the Hilton dynasty, while Francesca, the daughter of Eric's half-sister, the elder Hilton, and his second wife, Sasha Garbo, was a completely different person, and in order to gain recognition, she was constantly at odds with the family and eventually went to court.
Nick Hilton's wedding photo with Elizabeth-Taylor in 1950
On May 6, 1950, Nick and Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor had a grand wedding at the Church of the Good Shepherds in Beverly Hills. But like most big weddings, the marriage went high and low, and even a sweet honeymoon was over, and it ended at lightning speed. Nick is still wandering in the flowers, has no interest in the family business, is only keen on parties and women, and eventually dies early due to excessive alcoholism and indulgence.
Nick Hilton's wedding to Elizabeth Taylor
The second son, Barron, eventually became the second generation of the family business, not only taking over the family business, but also inheriting his father's concept of "smiling service". He once said: "The hotel must be built where it is needed, and don't forget to smile at your guests." A mis-chosen and unsmiling hotel is like losing the spring sun and spring breeze in a garden. ”
His father was Barron's idol, and the story of starting a business from scratch thrilled Barron as a teenager. Unexpectedly, after the death of his father, Barron had to fight for the inheritance for 9 years.
When Conrad died, he was left with only a few hundred thousand dollars and a small stake in Barron, and the other children received little of the assets, most of which he donated to the Roman Catholic Church and a charitable foundation. Barron was unhappy with this approach to the disposition of the estate, believing that he had contributed greatly to the growth of the family's wealth and deserved to inherit the family estate, so he filed a lawsuit with the court.
In 1988, Barron won the case and gained the right to vote in the shares held by the charitable fund, becoming the head of Hilton, who truly controlled 25% of the voting rights of the stock, while also receiving 60% of the interest on the trust fund for the next 20 years.
Barron has contributed greatly to the development of the family business and has only been married once in his life. Ironically, Barron's eight children are mostly out of the ordinary, and only six sons, Richard Hilton, currently have two sons and two daughters, Paris Hilton is the largest, followed by her sister Nikki Hilton, the third younger brother is Barron Hilton II, and the youngest brother is Conrad Hilton III.
As much as Paris Hilton always likes to say, "I don't want people to always see me as 'granddaughter of the Hilton family,' I want them to recognize that I'm Paris!" But there is no denying that if it were not for the "king of hotels" Hilton family, even if there were more scandals, she might not be far from being well known now.
Sisters Paris and Nikki
In fact, Paris's high-profile style is the consistent style of the Hilton family. For a long time, news about the Hilton family not only occupied the financial page of the media, they were also regular customers of the entertainment version.
Conrad, the founder of the Hilton Hotel, told the media in his old age that he liked to dance and that his dance partners were limited to "young and beautiful ladies". After conrad divorced his first wife, Mary Barron, he married Sasha Garbo, a Hollywood star who had been popular in the United States, and of course, the marriage lasted only five years, and then ended in divorce. Conrad had a new love, and he was only Sasha Garbo's second husband in eight marriages in his lifetime.
Conrad's marriage to Sasha lasted only five years
Conrad's eldest son, Nick, had a brief marriage to Elizabeth Taylor, who had no interest in the family business and was only keen on parties and women. Many people think that today's Paris is simply a copy of Nick of that year.
Conrad Hilton III with his parents
The luxurious life of the third generation of the Hilton family does not have to be expressed, but if the limelight is exhausted, it is definitely the fourth generation of Paris and Nikki sisters. The two Hilton sisters directly killed the entertainment industry, the two began as models, as artists, designers, with a good face, hot body and all kinds of headlines at times, the sisters galloped in Hollywood.
Paris Hilton and grandfather Barron
However, the degree of attachment of the two sisters to the entertainment industry is still different, compared with the sister, the sister Nikki Hilton is relatively low-key, in the entertainment industry while playing tickets, mainly operating clothing and cosmetics business, although there have been rumors with many male stars, but in the end it may be because love may be for the interests of the family, in 2015, and the Rothschild family heir James Rothschild married, came to a "princess and prince fairy tale wedding", basically no longer mixed in the entertainment industry.
After my sister got married, I saw the name Hilton on the entertainment news, which was basically the exclusive property of my sister Paris Hilton. I don't know if After Paris gets engaged, she will be at ease with family and hotel operations, and will no longer be in the entertainment industry.
In 2015, Nikki Hilton married Rothschild heir james Rothschild for a "fairytale wedding of a princess and prince."
The sisters' youngest brother, Conrad Hilton III, was also not a home-wracking master, and his namesake to his great-grandfather shows that he was one of the family's most favored heirs. But he is famous for his debauchery and violent personality, which has caused many troubles and has been photographed by the media publicly smoking marijuana.
Barron Hilton with granddaughter Paris
In 2014, He was fined $5,000 for 750 hours of community service and marijuana for splashing on flights, making rough use of flight attendants and threatening to kill them, and blatantly smoking and smoking marijuana in the airline toilet. During this period, in addition to paying fines and participating in community services, he also received psychological and substance abuse treatment.
The fourth generation of children is so unconscious, it's no wonder That Barron Hilton has declared that he intends to donate 97% of his $2.3 billion inheritance to the Conrad-N-Hilton Foundation, "rather than let her ruin her family property, it is better to do something good."
Barron, Richard and Paris had three generations of grandchildren
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