Conrad Hilton

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Lore & Background

Hilton was born on December 25, 1887, in San Antonio, Socorro County, New Mexico territory, to Norwegian-born Augustus Halvorsen Hilton and Mary Genevieve Laufersweiler, a devout Catholic of German descent. He attended the Goss Military Academy, St. Michael's College, and the New Mexico School of Mines. From 1912 to 1916, Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature. He became frustrated with the "bureaucracy, slowness, cheating, lying, and inside deals of politics," and in 1916 refused to run for a fourth term, endorsing his longtime political ally, Quianu Robinson. He served two years in the United States Army during World War I, becoming a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps in Paris. While Hilton was in France, his father was killed in a car accident. The most enduring influences on his philanthropic philosophy were the Catholic Church and his sisters; his mother guided him to prayer whenever he was troubled, from the loss of a pony to severe financial losses during the Great Depression.

Reader's Guide

Conrad Hilton's significance lies in creating the world's first international hotel chain, transforming the hospitality industry. His career began in 1919 with the purchase of the 40-room Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas, for US$40,000, after a bank purchase fell through. The hotel did such brisk business that rooms changed hands three times a day, and the dining room was converted into additional rooms. He went on to buy and build hotels throughout Texas, including the Dallas Hilton (1925), Abilene Hilton (1927), Waco Hilton (1928), and El Paso Hilton (1930). The first hotel outside Texas was built in 1939 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. During the Great Depression, Hilton was nearly forced into bankruptcy and lost several hotels, but retained management of a combined chain and regained control of his remaining eight. He later acquired the Stevens Hotel in Chicago (renamed the Conrad Hilton) and the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. He formed the Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1946 and Hilton International Company in 1948. In 1954, Hilton Hotels bought the Hotels Statler Company for $111 million, then the world's largest real estate transaction. He eventually owned 188 hotels in 38 U.S. cities and 54 abroad. His legacy includes the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, established in 1944, which focuses on alleviating human suffering worldwide, and the Conrad N. Hilton College at the University of Houston, funded by a $1.5 million donation in 1969.

Did You Know?

• Hilton's first hotel, the Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas, rented rooms in eight-hour shifts to keep up with demand from the oil boom.
• He served two years in the U.S. Army during World War I, becoming a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps in Paris.
• In 1954, Hilton Hotels bought the Hotels Statler Company for $111 million, then the world's largest real estate transaction.
• Hilton's mother told him that prayer was the best investment he would ever make, a lesson he credited with guiding him through financial losses during the Great Depression.
• He left $500,000 to his two surviving sons, $100,000 to his daughter Francesca, and $15,000 to each of his grandchildren when he died in 1979.