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{{Short description|American hotel tycoon and politician (1887–1979)}}
{{About|Conrad Hilton Sr|his son|Conrad Hilton Jr.|the former Conrad Hilton hotel|Hilton Chicago|the chain of hotels by Hilton|Conrad Hotels}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| birth_name    = Conrad Nicholson Hilton
| image         = Conrad Hilton (croped).jpg
| state_house = New Mexico 
|state = New Mexico
|district = 2nd
|term_start = 1912
|term_end = 1916
|predecessor = Legislature established
|successor = [[Quianu Robinson]]
|party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| caption       = Hilton in 1962
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1887|12|25}}
| birth_place   = [[San Antonio, New Mexico|San Antonio]], [[Socorro County, New Mexico|Socorro County, New Mexico Territory]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1979|1|3|1887|12|25}}
| death_place   = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = Calvary Hill Cemetery, [[Dallas, Texas]], U.S.
| occupation   = [[Hotelier]]
| spouse        = {{Plainlist|
* {{marriage|Mary Adelaide Barron |1925|1934|reason=div.}}
* {{marriage|[[Zsa Zsa Gabor]] |1942|1947|reason=div.}}
* {{marriage|Mary Frances Kelly |1976|<!-- Omission per Template:Marriage instructions -->}}
}}
| known_for     = [[Hilton Hotels & Resorts]]
| children      = {{hlist|[[Conrad Hilton Jr.|Conrad Jr.]]|[[Barron Hilton|Barron]]|[[Eric Hilton|Eric]]|[[Francesca Hilton|Francesca]]}}
| relatives     = [[Hilton family]]
}}

'''Conrad Nicholson Hilton''' (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American [[hotel magnate]] and politician who founded the [[Hilton Hotels]] chain. From 1912 to 1916, Hilton was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] representative in the first [[New Mexico Legislature]], but became disillusioned with the "inside deals" of politics. In 1919, he purchased his first hotel, the [[Mobley Hotel]] in [[Cisco, Texas]], for {{US$|40000|1919}} and subsequently capitalized on the oil boom. The rooms were rented out in eight-hour shifts. He continued to purchase and sell hotels, and eventually established the world's first international hotel chain. When he died in 1979, he left the bulk of his estate to the [[Conrad N. Hilton Foundation]].

==Early life==
Hilton was born on December 25, 1887, in [[San Antonio, New Mexico Territory|San Antonio]], Socorro County, New Mexico, to Norwegian-born [[Augustus Halvorsen Hilton]] (1854–1919) and Mary Genevieve Laufersweiler, a devout Catholic of German descent.<ref name="Hilton">{{Cite web |last=Hoover |first=Gary |date=April 24, 2018 |title=Conrad Hilton: The Dreamer Who Conquered an Industry |url=https://www.archbridgeinstitute.org/2018/04/24/conrad-hilton-the-dreamer-who-conquered-an-industry/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014013618/https://www.archbridgeinstitute.org/conrad-hilton-the-dreamer-who-conquered-an-industry/ |archive-date=October 14, 2023 |access-date=December 21, 2020 |website=Archbridge Institute |language=en-US}}</ref> He attended the [[New Mexico Military Institute|Goss Military Academy]] (since renamed as the New Mexico Military Institute) and St. Michael's College (later called the [[Santa Fe University of Art and Design]]), and the New Mexico School of Mines (now [[New Mexico Tech]]). From 1912 to 1916, Hilton was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] representative in the first [[New Mexico Legislature]], when the state was newly formed. Hilton became frustrated with the "bureaucracy, slowness, cheating, lying, and inside deals of politics,"<ref name=Hilton /> and in 1916, he refused to run for a fourth term, instead endorsing his longtime political ally, [[Quianu Robinson]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Silver Spade: The Conrad Hilton Story|publisher=[[Farrar, Straus and Young]]|year=1954}}</ref>

He served two years in the [[United States Army]] during [[World War I]]. After completing Officer Training School, he became a second lieutenant, and served in [[Paris]] in the [[Quartermaster Corps (United States Army)|Quartermaster Corps]].<ref>[https://www.glion.edu/magazine/determination-in-adversity-the-story-of-conrad-hilton/ "Determination in adversity: the story of Conrad Hilton"], ''The Insider: The Magazine of Glion Institute of Higher Education'', October 22, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2021.</ref> While Hilton was in France with the army after the war, his father was killed in a car accident.<ref name="ReferenceA">"Be My Guest" by Conrad Hilton, copyright 1958 by the Prentice Hall Press</ref>

The most enduring influences to shape Hilton's philanthropic philosophy, beyond that of his parents, were the [[Catholic Church]] and his sisters. He credited his mother with guiding him to prayer and the church whenever he was troubled or dismayed—from the boyhood loss of a beloved pony, to severe financial losses during the [[Great Depression]]. His mother continually told him that prayer was the best investment he would ever make.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==Career==
As a young boy, Hilton developed entrepreneurial skills working at his father's general store in [[Socorro County, New Mexico]], which was partially converted into a 10-room hotel.<ref name="tshaonline.org">[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhi39 ''The Handbook of Texas Online'' (Texas State Historical Association)].</ref><ref>[https://theoutline.com/post/1073/hilton-never-ending-quest-to-build-a-hotel-in-space ''The never-ending quest to build a hotel in space''].</ref> This was followed by varied experiences, including a stint as a representative in New Mexico's first State Legislature, and a career decision to become a banker.

[[File:Conrad_Hilton's_Mobley_Hotel,_Cisco,_TX_IMG_6403.JPG|thumb|Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas.]]

He intended to buy a bank when he arrived in Texas at the height of the [[Texas oil boom]]. In 1919, he bought his first hotel instead, the 40-room Mobley Hotel in [[Cisco, Texas]],<ref name="tshaonline.org"/> when a bank purchase fell through. The hotel did such brisk business that rooms changed hands as often as three times a day, and the dining room was converted into additional rooms to meet the demand.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="bigspring">Associated Press. "Modest Inn at Cisco Began Hotel String of Conrad Hilton," ''Big Spring Daily Herald'', November 21, 1963, p. 12-A.</ref> He went on to buy and build hotels throughout Texas, including the high-rise [[Dallas Hilton]], which opened in 1925; the Abilene Hilton in 1927; Waco Hilton in 1928; and [[Plaza Hotel (El Paso)|El Paso Hilton]] in 1930. The first hotel outside of Texas that Hilton built was in 1939 in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], today it is known as the [[Hotel Andaluz]]. During the [[Great Depression]], Hilton was nearly forced into [[bankruptcy]] and lost several of his hotels. Nevertheless, he was retained as manager of a combined chain, and eventually regained control of his remaining eight hotels.

Over the next decade, he expanded west to [[California]] and east to [[Chicago]] and [[New York (state)|New York]], crowning his expansions with such acquisitions as the [[Stevens Hotel]] in Chicago (then the world's largest hotel; it was renamed the Conrad Hilton), and the fabled [[Waldorf-Astoria]] in [[New York City]]. He formed the [[Hilton Worldwide|Hilton Hotels Corporation]] in 1946, and Hilton International Company in 1948.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Hilton Hotels' worldwide expansion facilitated both American tourism and overseas business by American corporations. It was the world's first international hotel chain, at the same time establishing a certain worldwide standard for hotel accommodations. In 1954, Hilton Hotels bought The [[Statler Hotels|Hotels Statler Company, Inc.]] for $111 million, then the world's largest real estate transaction. In all, Hilton eventually owned 188 hotels in 38 cities across the U.S., including the [[Mayflower Hotel]] in Washington, D.C.; the [[The Palmer House Hilton|Palmer House]] in Chicago; and the [[Plaza Hotel]] and Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, along with 54 hotels abroad. He later purchased the [[Carte Blanche (credit card)|Carte Blanche]] Credit Company and an interest in the [[American Crystal Sugar Company]], as well as other enterprises.

Hilton received honorary degrees from the [[University of Detroit]] (1953), [[DePaul University]] (1954), [[Barat College]] (1955), [[Adelphi College]] (1957), [[Sophia University]], Tokyo (1963), and the [[University of Albuquerque]] (1975). Hilton's autobiography, ''Be My Guest'',<ref>[http://www.doubletreefranchise.com/SF/Overview/HHC_History.asp?HCode=HHC ''Be My Guest, Autobiography of Conrad Hilton''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324124351/http://www.doubletreefranchise.com/SF/Overview/HHC_History.asp?HCode=HHC |date=March 24, 2012 }}.</ref> was published in 1958 by [[Prentice Hall]]. In 1966, Hilton was succeeded as president by his son, [[Barron Hilton|Barron]], and was elected [[chairman of the board]].

==Personal life==
In 1925, Hilton married Mary Adelaide Barron (1906–1966). They had three sons, [[Conrad Hilton Jr.]], [[Barron Hilton]], and [[Eric Hilton]], before divorcing in 1934.

In 1942, Hilton married actress [[Zsa Zsa Gabor]]. They had one child, a daughter, [[Francesca Hilton]], before divorcing in 1947. Gabor wrote in her 1991 autobiography ''One Lifetime Is Not Enough'' that she became pregnant by Hilton only after he raped her during their marriage.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/10/zsazsa200710 | title=It's a Mad, Mad, Zsa Zsa World | first=Leslie | last=Bennetts | date=September 6, 2007 | magazine=Vanity Fair | access-date=May 29, 2023}}</ref> Francesca died in 2015, at age 67, from a [[stroke]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-francesca-gabor-hilton-dead-20150106-story.html | title=Francesca Hilton, daughter of Zsa Zsa Gabor and Conrad Hilton, dies at 67 | first=Kurtis | last=Lee | date=January 6, 2015 | work=Los Angeles Times | access-date=May 29, 2023}}</ref>

In 1950, Hilton bought [[Casa Encantada]] at 10644 Bellagio Road in [[Bel Air, Los Angeles]], and occupied the house until he died in 1979. Hilton described his enchantment with the house as "... a case of love at first sight... I couldn't resist it, one of the fabulous houses of the world." He renamed the property the ''Casa Encantada'' ("enchanted house").<ref name="Hyland2008">{{cite book|author=Jeffrey Hyland|author-link=Jeffrey Hyland|title=The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KaX6KwAACAAJ|year=2008|publisher=[[Random House]]|isbn=978-0-8478-3162-3}}</ref>

In 1957, Hilton was initiated as a member of [[Tau Kappa Epsilon]] fraternity at [[New Mexico State University]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Distinguished Alumni |url=https://www.tke.org/about/distinguished-alumni |publisher=[[Tau Kappa Epsilon]] |access-date=December 7, 2023}}</ref>

In 1976, Hilton married Mary Frances Kelly. Their marriage lasted until his death three years later in 1979.

On January 3, 1979, Hilton died of pneumonia<ref>{{cite news|url=https://eu.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2008/08/08/conrad-hilton-dies-at-91/31504549/|title=Conrad Hilton dies at 91|date=January 4, 1979|first=Trish|last=Long|newspaper=El Paso Times}}</ref> at the age of 91. He was interred at Calvary Hill Cemetery, a Catholic cemetery in [[Dallas]], Texas. He left US$500,000 (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|500000|1979|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) to his two surviving sons, US$100,000 (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|100000|1979|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) to his daughter, Francesca, and US$15,000 (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|15000|1979|r=-3}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) to each of his grandchildren.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

===Hilton family fortune===
In 1969, James C. Taylor presented plans to build a hospitality college on the campus of the [[University of Houston]] to Barron Hilton. Barron then presented the plans to his father, who donated US$1.5&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|1500000|1969|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) for the completion of the project. The [[Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management]] opened to students in September 1969.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

The bulk of Conrad Hilton's estate was left to the [[Conrad N. Hilton Foundation]],{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} which he established in 1944. His son, Barron Hilton, who spent much of his career helping build the Hilton Hotels Corporation, contested the will—despite having left the company as acting president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of directors. A settlement was reached, and as a result, Barron Hilton received 4 million shares of the hotel enterprise, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation received 3.5 million shares, and the remaining 6 million shares were placed in the W. Barron Hilton [[Charitable remainder unitrust|Charitable Remainder Unitrust]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} Upon Barron Hilton's death, Unitrust assets were transferred to the Hilton Foundation,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hiltonfoundation.org/news/press-release/conrad-n-hilton-foundation-announces-the-death-of-barron-hilton/|title=Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Announces the Death of Barron Hilton}}</ref> of which Barron previously served on the Board of Directors as chairman.<ref name="PGDC">{{Cite web| title = Barron Hilton to Donate 97% of Estate to Hilton Foundation| date = December 26, 2007| publisher = Planned Giving Design Center, LLC| url = http://www.pgdc.com/pgdc/news-story/2007/12/27/barron-hilton-donate-97-estate-hilton-foundation| access-date = 2011-04-02| archive-date = March 19, 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110319015235/http://www.pgdc.com/pgdc/news-story/2007/12/27/barron-hilton-donate-97-estate-hilton-foundation| url-status = dead}}</ref>

In 1983, the Hilton Foundation donated US$21.3&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|21300000|1983|r=2}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) to expand facilities and increase endowment. That gift led to the construction of the South Wing, which opened in 1989, and added {{convert|94000|ft2}} of education and meeting space to Hilton College.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

On December 25, 2007, Barron Hilton announced that he would leave about 97% of his fortune, then estimated at US$2.36&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|2.36|2007|r=1}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}),<ref name="PGDC"/> to a charitable [[unit trust|unitrust]] that would eventually be merged with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7161358.stm | work=[[BBC News]] | title=Hilton fortune to go to charity | date=December 27, 2007 | access-date=2010-04-26}}</ref>

==Legacy==

* The [[Conrad N. Hilton Foundation]] was established in 1944 by Conrad N. Hilton. Its mission is the alleviation of human suffering worldwide.
* [[Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize]] created in 1996 by The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
* The [[Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management|Conrad N. Hilton College]] is a hospitality college of the [[University of Houston]] named after Conrad Hilton.
* The Conrad N. Hilton Library at the [[Hyde Park campus of the Culinary Institute of America]].
* The Conrad N. Hilton Chair in Business Ethics, The Hilton Distinguished Entrepreneur Award, and the Conrad N. Hilton Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at the College of Business Administration [[Loyola Marymount University]].
* In 2009, actor [[Chelcie Ross]] played the role of Conrad "Connie" Hilton in the television show ''[[Mad Men]]'' for six episodes.

==Autobiographies==
* ''Be My Guest: Autobiography of Conrad Hilton'' (Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1958)
* ''Inspirations of an Innkeeper'' (privately printed, 1963)

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* Alef, Daniel. ''Conrad N. Hilton: Reveled in Hotel Deals'' (Titans of Fortune Publishing, 2009)
* Bolton, Whitney. ''The Silver Spade; the Conrad Hilton Story. with a foreword by Conrad Hilton'' (New York: Farrar, Straus and Young, 1954)
* Comfort, Mildred Houghton. ''Conrad N. Hilton, Hotelier'' (Minneapolis: T.S. Denison & Company, Inc., 1965)
* Dabney, Thomas Ewing. ''The Man Who Bought the Waldorf: The Life of Conrad N. Hilton'' (Duell Sloan & Pearce, 1950)
* Oppenheimer, Jerry. ''House of Hilton: From Conrad to Paris: A Drama of Wealth, Power, and Privilege'' (Three Rivers Press. 2007)
* Hilton, Conrad N. ''Be My Guest'' (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1958)

==External links==
* [http://www.biography.com/people/conrad-hilton-9339383/videos/conrad-hilton-full-episode-2071930617 Biography: Conrad Hilton, The Innkeeper to The World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124222826/http://www.biography.com/people/conrad-hilton-9339383/videos/conrad-hilton-full-episode-2071930617 |date=November 24, 2012 }} (Video)
* [http://www.hrm.uh.edu/ Conrad N. Hilton College at University of Houston]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100608110747/http://www.americanheritage.com/people/articles/web/20060802-conrad-hilton-paris-hilton-hotel-waldorf-astoria-barron-catholicism.shtml Conrad Hilton's Secret of Success]
* [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A1EFF3E5E107A93C2AA178BD95F4D8485F9&scp=1&sq=conrad+hilton%2C+collector+of+hotels&st=p Conrad Hilton, Collector of Hotels] (''[[New York Times Magazine]]'', 1949)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080926173206/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896912-1,00.html Innkeeper to the World] (''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 1963)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070305163550/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,854077,00.html The Key Man] (''Time'', 1949)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081008031834/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,853982,00.html Waldorf-Astoria as Hotels No. 16] (''Time'', 1949)
* [http://www.hiltonfoundation.org Conrad N. Hilton Foundation]
* [http://sanangelolive.com/news/2013-10-26/san-angelos-heartbreak-hotel San Angelo's Heartbreak Hotel] History of second Hilton hotel built in San Angelo, TX in 1928, and Conrad Hilton's bankruptcy (''San Angelo Live!'', 2007)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091112202742/http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/36412/mad-men-see-the-real-conrad-hilton Mad Men: See the Real Conrad Hilton]– image slideshow by ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]''
* [https://www.socorronm.org/notable-local/conrad-hilton-founder-hilton-hotel-chains-1887-1979/ Conrad N. Hilton early life in New Mexico]

{{Portalbar|Biography}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilton, Conrad}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New Mexico]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American autobiographers]]
[[Category:American hoteliers]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:American people of Norwegian descent]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in the real estate industry]]
[[Category:American socialites]]
[[Category:Catholics from New Mexico]]
[[Category:Hilton family|Conrad]]
[[Category:Hilton Worldwide]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the New Mexico House of Representatives]]
[[Category:New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology alumni]]
[[Category:New Mexico Military Institute alumni]]
[[Category:People from Socorro, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society]]
[[Category:Santa Fe University of Art and Design alumni]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the New Mexico Legislature]]