Two years before Donald Trump was elected president, and he plays a role in the history of the Hiltons.
Skimming through the book, it reads a bit like a tabloid or a series of articles from celebrity magazines, but it appears the early history will be very, very interesting.
Family history:
Conrad Hilton: about the same generation as my grandfather, Paul Oksol; Conrad, 1887 - 1969
First generation: four children; about ten years older than my father and his four sibs; for the most part, born just after the Jazz Age; one exception, Francesca, the oldest of this generation, born in 1947
Second generation: same generation as me and my sibs; these would be the 1950's and 1960's boomers' generation
Third generation: about the same generation as our two older daughters. This Conrad generation would include Paris.
Prologue
Short vignette: Zsa Zsa Gabor giving her deposition in 1969 when Conrad's will was being contested
Part One: Conrad
Curse of the Ambitious
flashback: 1941; Conrad in Beverly Hills; single after recent divorce; very, very lonely
hotels in New Mexico, Texas, and California; looking to go to New York and international
Humble Beginnings
father: August ("Gus") Halvorsen Hilton -- born in Norway, b. 1854
mother: Mary Genevieve Laufersweiler, born in Iowa; German, b. 1861
strong, rigid Catholics
Conrad: named for his maternal grandfather, Conrad Laufersweiler and the Fort Doge doctor that delivered him, Nicholson -- Conrad Nicholson Hilton
born on Christmas Day, 1887
born in San Antonio, Territory of New Mexico
schooled in San Antonio; at Goss Military Institute in Roswell (later renamed the New Mexico Military Institute)
later to St Michael's College; two years there
book that inspired him at this time: Optimism, Helen Keller
by 1904, "Gus" Hilton rich; part of his wealth from selling a Texas coal mine for $135,000
St Louis World Fair; also site of the Summer Olympic Games, first to be held in the US
scoured California for new home for the family
settled on Long Beach, CA
back and forth to San Antonio to monitor his store, A. H. Hilton
1907: financial panic wiped out Hilton's wealth
family devastated
it was Conrad's suggestion (at age 19) that the family open a hotel; they had a huge house (each child had his/her own room (8 children); he suggested 4 - 5 rooms; the home in San Antonio
within six weeks, news of the "Hilton hotel" reached all the way to Chicago: if you have to break up your sales trip, break it at San Antonio and try to get a room at Hilton's
Conrad took control of the hotel
at age 21, he took control; hotel now called A. H. Hilton and Son
now, back on financial feet, Conrad enrolls a the New Mexico School of Mine at nearly Socorro fairly close to San Antonio; invaluable lessons in higher mathematics for future career, no matter what it was
1911: Territory of New Mexico admitted to the Union; Conrad enters politics; becomes the youngest representative; popular member of Santa Fe high society but incredibly bored
returned to San Antonio, New Mexico: opened the small town's first bank with his own money and some money from friends; the bank failed within a year
1916, age 29: managed his sister/two friends musical trio; again failed
returned to the San Antonio, NM, store
then fate intervened
1915: RMS Lusitania sunk; 1917, US enters war; Conrad commissioned a second lieutenant -- Army assigned him to the Quartermaster Corps in Paris
while in Paris, his father died; car accident; Ford jalopy
Hotelier
to Cisco, Texas, oil boom
idea for a bank falls through
staying at the run-down Mobley hotel; bought it for $40,000 with $35,000 from his mom, "it would be the decision of a lifetime"
made use of every bit of space
learned the hotel business; the importance of "service, hospitality"
expanded incredibly fast
by 1923: 500 rooms across Texas; usually small hotels; including the Melba in Ft Worth
soon making $100,000/year -- wanted a hotel with his own name
first hotel with his name: Dallas Hilton, July 26, 1924; he was 37 years old;
first of several Texas hotels over the next ten years: Dallas, Abilene, Long View, Lubbock, El Paso, and Plainview
1927: he was named president of the Texas Hotel Association
Losing It All
the Crash of October, 1929; the beginning of the Great Depression; everything came to a halt
lost everything; $500,000 in debt; all he had left was the El Paso Hilton
refers back to Optimism by Helen Keller
Georgia On His Mind
the story of meeting Zsa Zsa
Loneliness at the Top
he in NYC; calls Zsa Zsa in Los Angeles; learns she is married
Buying the Town House
corner of Wilshire and South commonwealth in the Westlake district of LA; Conrad's most significant LA purchase up to that time
[fell into disrepair after the LA riots of 1992; closed; sold; now low-income housing]
decides he wants to marry Zsa Zsa; Conrad takes her to meet his 81-year-old mother; they get along fabulously
Catholic Stumbling Block
Zsa Zsa's mother was Jewish; hard to say what her father was; Zsa Zsa was cavalier about religion; Conrad was not
Catholic Church did not recognize his divorce from Mary Barron Conrad
Conrad Breaks the News to Zsa Zsa
when he tells her he cannot marry her, Zsa Zsa abruptly leaves
Conrad, at age 55, assumes that's the end, but he begins to contemplate his mortality and asks if he wants to spend the rest of his life alone
Part Two: Mary (a very, very short section; only 9 pages)
The First Mrs Hilton
- it had been 20 years since Conrad had felt about a woman the way he felt for Zsa Zsa
- flashback to his time in Paris, WWI; where he wore his Catholic religion on his sleeve
- "fittingly" it was in a Dallas church he first spied Mary
- later, happened to see Mary Adelaide Barron accompanied by an acquaintance of his, Mrs Beauregard Evans
- Mary Adelaide Barron: born 1906
- looked a lot like his mother at that age; shared his mother's name
- opened the Dallas Hilton, August 4, 1925; first hotel he had ever built from scratch
- married, October 19, 1925; he, 38; she 19
- settled in Dallas
- first child, son: Conrad Nicholson "Nicky" Hilton JR, 1926 (in 1950, married Elizabeth Taylor, lasted one year)
- second child, son: William Barron, 1927
- goal: to become America's foremost innkeeper
- before the end of 1920, well ahead of his goal, acquiring at least one hotel a year
- Dallas, Abilene, Waco; Marlin, Plainview, San Angelo, Lubbock
- lost his favorite brother during that time to TB meningitis
- by the fall of 1929, storm clouds -- market crash and Great Depression
- third child, son Eric Michael was born, 1933
- quickly skips through how he saved some of his hotels; survived financially; and then how Mary cheated on him; and then the divorce, and the divorce settlement
- Mary Hilton and Mark Saxon were married a year after her divorce; 1935, Fort Worth, TX
Conrad's Inner Turmoil
- Conrad calls Zsa Zsa; says he can't live without her; have known each other for four months
- married, 1942, in Santa Fe Hotel in New Mexico; he 55; she, 25
The Roosevelt
Marriage: His
Marriage: Hers
A Frustrating Business Deal
The Plaza
An Ominous Sign
A Priest's Visit
Up in Flames
He Never Should Have Done It
What Would It Take?
Zsa Zsa Is Institutionalized
The Divorce
Buying the Stevens and the Palmer House
Zsa Zsa's Daughter
Part Four: Sons of the Father
Transition
Raising the Rich
An Offer He Could Refuse
The Question of Francesca
Part Five: Elizabeth
Beautiful Dreamer
Enter: Elizabeth Taylor
The Man Who Bought the Waldorf
Fast Worker
Nicky Takes Elizabeth to Texas
A Party to Celebrate the Caribe Hilton
Nicky and Elizabeth Marry
Honeymoon from Hell
Elizabeth Suffers a Miscarriage
Divorce-- Hollywood Style
Part Six: Spoils of the Rich and Famous
America's Dad
Casa Encantada
"He's Getting Worse"
A Baroness Named Betsy
The Shadow of Her Smile
If Only
Zsa Zsa Finds Her Niche
Flling Elizabeth's Shoes
Assault
Magic Words
Mamie
Marilyn's Party
Dinner at the Manse
Part Seven: The Big Boon
The Hilton Junket
Barron Climbs the Ladder of Success
Nicky's Fast-Paced Life
Eric: From Out of the Shadows
A Troubling Conversation About Francesca
Natalie Wood's Advice
Trish
"The Woman to Give My Children Life"
NIcky and Trish Marry
Part Eight: For Love or Money
Zsa Zsa Is Not Wanted
"The Most Beautiful Woman"
Zsa Zsa Teaches Trish About the Hiltons"
Success
Sibling Rivalry on the Rise
Francesca's Summer of Discontent
Olive's Appeal to Zsa Zsa
"Zsa Zsa Who?"
The Simple Life
"It's Going to Be Okay, Brother"
Part Nine: In His Father's House
Nicky Causing Problems
The TWA Merger
"Tired of Being Misunderstood"
Nothing Personal
Showdown
A Done Deal
Trish Enters Conrad's Den
Nicky Considers Suing His Family
From Kings to Paupers
Trish Tries Again with Conrad
Marilyn Hilton's Plea to Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Makes a Decision
A Grasp at Happiness
The Death of Nicky Hilton
The Wake at Casa Encantada
Part Ten: Secrets
Conrad's Warning to Zsa Zsa
A Shocking Revelation
Francesca's Requests
"Just in Case"
The Challenge
Part Eleven: Frances
At Long Last Love
Frannie
A Gentle Nudge
Best Friend's Advice
Family Concerns
The Thorn in His Side
The Marital Agreement
Conrad and Frances Marry
Part Twelve: House of Hilton
Life at the Mansion
"Spoiled Fruit"
Clearing the Air
Barron, Eric, and Francesca
Francesca's Idea
The Great adventure of Her Life
Understanding Zsa Zsa
Death's Door
Conrad Hilton: Rest in Peace
The Way He Wanted It
Part Thirteen: The Fight of Their Lives
Francesca Contests the Will
"Insane Delusion"
Zsa Zsa's Deposition
Smoking Gun?
A Surprise Visitor
Judge's Decision
Part Fourteen: Heir Apparent
Barron's Option
A Windfall for Barron?
The Francesca Factor
Each Other
Eric and Pat Divorce
Barron Is Denied
the mid-1980s
Barron Hilton, still happily married to Marilyn
huge success in gambling in casinos in Las Vegas
but by 1970s, Las Vegas casinos expanded to Atlantic City
then Barron -- huge embarrassment -- NJ did not grant him a gambling license after building a majestic 614-room hotel and 60,000-square-foot casino on an eight-acre site in Atlantic City; the biggest undertaking in the Hilton Corporation's history, $320 million
at same time struggling with his father's will
competition: "you got your Donald Trumps, you got your Steve Wynns ...."
New Jersey turned down gambling request due to his ties to Sidney Korshak; ties to the Mob
Trump enters the picture
Donald Trump Makes an Overture
1984: Trump was 38 years old
already well known as a real estate mogul in NYC before he entered Atlantic City
Trump called Zsa Zsa; said he admired Conrad Hilton; wanted to be another Conrad Hilton
Barron and board considered Trump's offer to buy if the price was right
Hostile Takeover?
Stephen Wynn, 43 years old; chairman of Golden Nugget, Inc; which owned two of the most profitable hotels in Atlantic City and Las Vegas; launched a takeover bid for the Hilton Hotels Corporation by making a surprising bid to buy Conrad's 27.4% block of shares, the same shares that Barron and the foundation had been fighting over for many years
Wynn offered $488 million ($72/share); until then, Barron's best offer, $24/share; thinking: if Wynn could get these shares, he would buy out rest of shareholders at same price / share; in all, $1.8 billion
then, on page 411, the difference between Steve Wynn (cold, impersonal, candid) and Donald Trump (a people person); Barron preferred Trump as a person
Trump Meets Hilton
March, 1984; Hilton director meets with Trump; suggests Barron and Trump should meet
Trump meets Barron for the first time
Trump felt very, very comfortable with Barron
Trump to the Rescue
to stop Steve Wynn, Barron calls Trump with an offer
Trump's first offer was $250 million; Barron had previously told Trump, Hilton had sunk $320 million into the Atlantic City casino
but then immediately raised his offer to a full $320 million
Wynn, sues; counter-offers, $344 million
Barron rejected it
Trump's offer was all cash; Wynn's was a collection of promissory notes and an undeveloped parcel of land in Atlantic City
Trump got the hotel; no problem getting the license; re-named Trump's Castle; opened June 17, 1985
Trump bought it unseen; his first walk-through -- incredible
in March, 2006, Donald Trump paid what might be considered the greatest of compliments to his friend, Conrad's son Barron. He named his third son after -- Barron Trump
Wynn's hostile takeover of Hilton was over but as long as Conrad Hilton's stock in the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation remained, there was always a chance that someone else could enter the picture, attempt to purchase that block, and also entice a majority of shareholders to a better offer, thereby managing a complete takeover -- Barron knew he had to find some way to end his battle with the foundation as soon as possible
Resolution
Barron finally wins against the Foundation, March, 1988
a very interesting story -- pages 416 - 417
Part Fifteen: Fini
Zsa Zsa's Lapse in Judgement
Francesca: "The Original Hilton Heiress"
Paris
"Rather Silly"?
How Did Conrad Do It?
End of an Era
Marilyn Hilton: Rest in Peace
On the Town with Paris
Epilogue: A Final Toast
Acknowledgments and Source Notes
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