Paris Hilton may have cashed in on her famous last name, but she won’t be cashing in on the family fortune.
Yesterday, her grandfather Barron Hilton said he was giving his multibillion dollar fortune to a family foundation that supports drought-stricken villages in Africa.
“This means that the work of the foundation will continue and expand for many years to come,” said Conrad H. Hilton Foundation’s chief executive officer Steven M. Hilton yesterday in a written statement.
But it also means that Barron Hilton’s party-loving granddaughter, whose role in a homemade sex video propelled her to international celebrity, won’t profit from the sale of the hotel chain that bears her name.
To some Paris followers, that’s not a surprise.
Jerry Oppenheimer, author of “House of Hilton: From Conrad to Paris: A Drama of Wealth, Power and Privilege,” predicted the move last year, when he said, “(Barron Hilton) was, and is, extremely embarrassed by how the Hilton name has been sullied by Paris.”
Paris Hilton, however, declined to comment for this article.
Conrad Hilton - Paris’ great-grandfather - created the hotel empire in 1919. Although his private life was marked by scandal, in public he was a devout Catholic. He created the foundation in 1944. So far, it has spent $560 million to support the works of Catholic religious sisters and others.
Conrad’s son is Barron. Now 80, he just sold the Hilton hotel chain’s 2,800 hotels, in which he owns about a 5 percent stake, to Blackstone Group LP for $20 billion. Also, he stands to profit from his share of Harrah’s Entertainment, which is being purchased by Apollo Management LP and Texas Pacific Group Inc. for $17.12 billion.
The $1.2 billion that Barron Hilton will earn from both sales will be given to the family foundation. Also, upon his death, Barron Hilton’s $1.1 billion personal fortune will be given to the foundation.
Paris Hilton is one of Conrad Hilton’s many great-grandchildren.
She became a household name in 2003, when her raunchy video, “One Night in Paris,” circulated on the Internet. She’s since made her own money, with a television show, movie appearances, a book and an album.
Earlier this year, she spent three weeks in jail for violating probation in a drunken-driving case. Upon her release, she vowed to change her ways, and announced plans to tour poverty-stricken parts of Africa.
But those plans were canceled and, these days, she’s preparing for her nude scene in the upcoming film, “The Hottie and the Nottie.”
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
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Hollywood's most successful couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, took their extending family for an extra special holiday meal yesterday -- at Ronald McDonald's house of mystery meat! And a merry Happy Meal for all!
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