Conrad Nicholson Hilton(1887-1979)
He was the son of a Norwegian, Augustus Halvorsen Hilton, and a German-born Norwegian, Mary Laufersweiler. He first attended a military school in Roswell, then from 1900 to 1904 a college in Santa Fé and finally from 1907 to 1909 a mining academy in Socorro. In the following years, Hilton helped out in his father's private boarding house, with whom he then founded the "New Mexico State Bank" in 1913. In 1915, Hilton was already acting as its president. At the same time, Hilton became politically active and was elected to the New Mexico Parliament in 1912. In the years 1917 to 1919, his political and entrepreneurial activity suffered an interruption: Hilton took part in the fighting in the First World War as an American officer, where he was also deployed on the Western Front in France. After his return, Hilton focused on the hotel industry. In 1919 he bought his first small hotel in Texas, which was quickly followed by several other hotels.
The first self-built hotel, the "Dallas Hilton," opened on August 2, 1925. He now organized the hotel business through his own stock corporation, which he operated in an extremely risky manner: the "Hilton Hotels Corporation." Although Hilton almost went bankrupt in 1931 due to the depression, he was able to keep himself afloat by buying and selling hotels. In 1945, he attracted attention with his first spectacular coup: Hilton bought the world-famous "Stevens" Hotel in Chicago for three million US dollars. The Chicago hotel, which became a great asset for him, was followed by the purchases of other large houses such as the "Plaza" and the "Waldorf-Astoria" in New York and the "Palmer House" in Los Angeles. With the subsidiary "Hilton Hotels International", which was founded in 1948, the hotel mogul expanded on a global scale. He conquered the largest hotels in Central and South America and finally opened his first European hotel in 1953, the "Castellana" Hotel in Madrid.
In 1955, Hilton acquired the "Statler" hotel group in the USA for a double-digit million sum. Hilton's global expansion soon led to the opening of properties in every major city in Europe and Asia. The group ran several hundred hotels in the USA alone. At the age of seventy, Hilton published his autobiography "Be My Guest" in 1957. In 1966, Conrad Hilton stepped down from active management of the company in favor of his son William Barron Hilton (born 1927). Meanwhile, Conrad Nicholson Hilton was married three times. His first marriage was to Mary Adelaide Barron (1925-1934), with whom he had sons Conrad Jr., William Barron Hilton and Eric Hilton. This was followed by his marriage to the actress Zsa Zsa Gabor (1942-1947), with whom he had their daughter Constance. The marriage to Mary Frances (1976) remained childless.
Conrad Nicholson Hilton died on January 3, 1979 in Santa Monica, California.
The first self-built hotel, the "Dallas Hilton," opened on August 2, 1925. He now organized the hotel business through his own stock corporation, which he operated in an extremely risky manner: the "Hilton Hotels Corporation." Although Hilton almost went bankrupt in 1931 due to the depression, he was able to keep himself afloat by buying and selling hotels. In 1945, he attracted attention with his first spectacular coup: Hilton bought the world-famous "Stevens" Hotel in Chicago for three million US dollars. The Chicago hotel, which became a great asset for him, was followed by the purchases of other large houses such as the "Plaza" and the "Waldorf-Astoria" in New York and the "Palmer House" in Los Angeles. With the subsidiary "Hilton Hotels International", which was founded in 1948, the hotel mogul expanded on a global scale. He conquered the largest hotels in Central and South America and finally opened his first European hotel in 1953, the "Castellana" Hotel in Madrid.
In 1955, Hilton acquired the "Statler" hotel group in the USA for a double-digit million sum. Hilton's global expansion soon led to the opening of properties in every major city in Europe and Asia. The group ran several hundred hotels in the USA alone. At the age of seventy, Hilton published his autobiography "Be My Guest" in 1957. In 1966, Conrad Hilton stepped down from active management of the company in favor of his son William Barron Hilton (born 1927). Meanwhile, Conrad Nicholson Hilton was married three times. His first marriage was to Mary Adelaide Barron (1925-1934), with whom he had sons Conrad Jr., William Barron Hilton and Eric Hilton. This was followed by his marriage to the actress Zsa Zsa Gabor (1942-1947), with whom he had their daughter Constance. The marriage to Mary Frances (1976) remained childless.
Conrad Nicholson Hilton died on January 3, 1979 in Santa Monica, California.