Barron Hilton may well have put a crimp in the party lifestyle of his famous granddaughter Paris — and in the plans of his 22 other grandchildren — when he announced last week that he would donate nearly all of his $2.3 billion fortune to the Hilton family foundation. The huge charitable gift includes $1.2 billion from the recent sale of the Hilton Hotels Corporation and from the coming sale of Harrahs entertaiment , the casino company.

My father left 97 percent of his wealth to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and I am proud to follow my father’s example,” said Mr. Hilton, 80, son of the international hotel chain’s founder.

But the history of the Hilton fortune may not be quite as straightforward as it seems. After Conrad Hilton left his son only a sliver of his fortune when he died in 1979, years of legal wrangling began. Ultimately, Barron Hilton won 60 percent of the income from his father’s estate for life — or about $50 million this year alone. The other 40 percent goes to the foundation.

Mr. Hilton, who lives in Los Angeles, said his fortune would be placed in a trust. Then, after he dies, 97 percent of the money will be donated to the foundation.

The money includes $900 million from last month’s sale of the Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels to the Blackstone Group. Mr. Hilton, who had been the company’s co-chairman, also holds $300 million in stock in Harrah’s Entertainment. Next year, Harrah’s is slated to be sold to the private equity groups Apollo Management and the Texas Pacific Group for $17.1 billion.

read the rest published by NY Times here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/business/30suits.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

 

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