Barron Hilton, a businessman who once headed the Hilton hotel chain and owned an NFL team, died Thursday at the age of 91.
In 1966, Hilton took over as president and CEO of Hilton Hotels Corporation from his father Conrad Hilton, who founded the empire. His son, Steven Hilton, said the family is mourning the loss.
“My father was a loving husband to our mother, Marilyn, a wonderful role model to his eight children, a loyal and generous friend, visionary businessman, respected leader and a passionate sportsman,” Steven Hilton said. “He lived a life of great adventure and exceptional accomplishment.”
Born in Dallas in 1927, he moved to Los Angeles in 1937 and started off his career in hospitality parking cars for hotel guests. Hilton enlisted in the Navy where he learned how to fly planes, a passion he continued throughout his life.
Hilton was also the founding owner of the now-Los Angeles Chargers. The football team said in a statement that “the modern NFL would not be what it is today without the vision of Barron Hilton.”
A generous philanthropist and billionaire, his family said he committed 97% of his wealth to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s humanitarian work.
Businesswoman and model Paris Hilton, 38, said in a Friday Twitter post that she has always looked up to her grandfather.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of my grandfather Barron Hilton. He was a Legend, a visionary, brilliant, handsome, kind and lived a life full of accomplishment and adventure. Ever since I was a little girl I have looked up to him as a businessman,” she said.
I am deeply saddened by the loss of my grandfather Barron Hilton. He was a Legend, a visionary, brilliant, handsome, kind and lived a life full of accomplishment and adventure. Ever since I was a little girl I have looked up to him as a businessman. pic.twitter.com/eGFXAz1LUr
— Paris Hilton (@ParisHilton) September 20, 2019
