Barron Hilton follows in Conrad’s footstep, leaving 97% of vast family wealth – charity up to whopping $4.5 billion

By Stacey Silberman

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 12/27/07 – In the wake of the sale of the Hilton Hotel chain to the Blackstone Group, Paris Hilton’s 80-year old grandfather Barron Hilton formally announced Wednesday a plan to donate 97% of nearly $2.3 billion to his father’s favorite charity the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Hilton, who is also chairman of the philanthropic foundation, said in a statement that he was “proud to follow my father’s example” by generously donating the bulk of his assets.

“Speaking for the family as well as the foundation, we are all exceedingly proud and grateful for this extraordinary commitment,” said Steven M. Hilton, President and CEO of the foundation. He is also one of Hilton’s eight children. “Working to alleviate human suffering around the globe, regardless of race, religion or geography, is the mandate of the foundation set by my grandfather, Conrad Hilton, and now reinforced by my father, Barron Hilton.”

This pushes the overall value of the foundation and it’s related charitable entities to a whopping $4.5 billion in assets.

The foundation supports life-saving projects both domestically and internationally. Some of the projects the foundation supports are: blindness prevention and related services; housing for the mentally ill homeless; access to safe drinking water in developing countries; global work of the Roman Catholic Sisters; early childhood development for children with disabilities; substance abuse prevention and hotel and restaurant management education at the University of Houston.

In keeping with the original directive of the foundation that it be global in reach, the foundation gives more than 50% of its grants to international initiatives that save thousands of lives. Since its inception the foundation has used upwards of $560 million toward long-term projects domestically and around the world.

Approximately $1.2 billion of the estate will be distributed to the foundation as proceeds from two corporate deals soon to be finalized. One of the deals is the November sale of Beverly Hills based Hilton Hotels to The Blackstone Group for $900 million. The other will come from the sale of $300 million in stock Hilton owns in Harrah’s Entertainment. The sale of the stock to private equity investors is still pending.

While $1.2 billion of the philanthropic contribution will be distributed immediately to the foundation, the other $1.1 billion will be held in trust until Hilton’s death. According to publicist Patrick Barry, Mr. Hilton himself will distribute the 3% inheritance to family heirs.

Conrad Hilton established the foundation back in 1944. Upon his death in 1979 he left the majority of his wealth to the beloved foundation. “There is a natural law, a Divine law, that obliges you and me to relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute,” said the late Conrad N. Hilton.