Would you like to know the Hilton Family, owner of one of the largest hotel chains in the world, and the chain's development story?
The rise of the Hilton family began when the eldest member of the family, Augustus Halvorsen, who was born in 1854, moved from Norway to the USA in 1870. Augustus Halvorsen had seven children. One of them was Conrad, who would later become the hotel king. Conrad was born in Mexico in 1887 and made his mark as the most successful businessman in the Hilton empire.
Worked as a greengrocer
Before becoming a hotel tycoon, Conrad learned business as a grocer with his father. While Conrad was working at the grocery store, his family was renting out rooms in the house where they were staying in Mexico. In other words, the foundation of hotel management was being laid.
Conrad also participated in the war during the First World War. He served in an institution that provided fuel, food and clothing to the army. He left the army after his father passed away in 1919.
He bought his first hotel
After the war, Conrad moved to Texas and bought his first hotel in 1919 that same year. He actually wanted to buy a bank, but things didn't go as he wanted. Conrad's first hotel was the 40-room Mobley Hotel.
The hotel is still in operation. It continues to serve customers, except for two rooms.
Giant purchase
Conrad expanded his business after his first hotel and in 1954 made the largest real estate acquisition worldwide to that time. Conrad bought the Statler Hotel for $111 Million. After the purchase, it started to introduce itself as the "Hotelmaker of the World".
Hotel where US presidents stay
Prior to this purchase, Conrad had attracted attention by purchasing the Waldorf Astoria, which was shown as one of New York's legendary hotels, in 1949. The hotel was one of New York's best-known buildings and has hosted every US president since Herbert Hoover.
Continuing to make legends
Since then, the Hilton empire has been trying to buy legendary locations around the world. One of them is the submarine hotel in Maldives.
$8,000 a night
So much so that the cost of staying one night at the hotel Conrad Pezula in South Africa is 8 thousand dollars.
Conrad's love life was as active as his business life. Divorced twice, married three times. Hollywood legend Zsa Zsa Gabor was Conrad's second wife. Gabor has been married nine times. Her famous quote is, "I am a successful housewife. Whenever I divorce a man, I keep his house."
Died in 1979
Conrad, the founder of the Hilton legend, died in 1979 and left his legacy to his three children. One of his sons, Richard Hilton, started his own real estate business. Conrad's other son, William Barron Hilton I, took over the family business.
William Barron Hilton I, became CEO of the Hilton companies in 1966 and his boss after his father's death. William Barron is the grandfather of Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton, some of the most famous names in the popular world.
Changed hands in 2007
The famous investment fund BlackStone bought Hilton Hotels for $26 Billion in 2007, when the housing crisis was at its worst.
Largest hotel IPO
Hilton went public in 2013. $2.35 billion in revenue was generated from the IPO and went down in history as the largest public offering of a hotel to date.
Waldorf Astoria also sold
Hilton sold New York legend Waldorf Astoria to a Chinese insurance giant for $1.95 Billion in October.
Other assets
The Hiltons own multiple sites in different locations around the world, the most well-known being in Costa Rica. Some Hilton members still live in Norway.