Tuesday, October 3, 2017

The Hiltons: The True Story Of An American Dynasty, J. Randy Taraborrelli

c. 2014

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
Business Affairs
  • 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
Part Three: Zsa Zsa

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
For Love or Money

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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