The Hiltons
The True Story of an American Dynasty
The true family story, now written in its entirety for the first time. THE HILTONS is a sweeping saga of the success—and excess—of an iconic American family. Demanding and enigmatic, patriarch Conrad Hilton’s visionary ideas and unyielding will established the model for the modern luxury hotel industry. His international chain included magnificent hotels such as the Waldorf-Astoria and The Plaza in New York; The Beverly-Hilton in Los Angeles; the Nile Hilton in Cairo and the Hilton Hotel in Rome, among dozens of others.
A true icon in the business world, his influence was also felt outside the hotel industry: he helped pioneer the use of credit cards in this country, for example. But outside the boardroom, Conrad struggled with emotional detachment, failed marriages and issues regarding Catholicism. The rest of the cast includes his children, Barron, Nicky and Eric, who struggled to find their way in their father’s shadow; the inimitable Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was married to Conrad briefly and remained a thorn in his side for decades, and a host of other Hollywood and business luminaries with whom the Hiltons crossed paths and swords over the years; Elizabeth Taylor and more.
With research drawn from hundreds of exclusive interviews as well as personal correspondence and court documents long ago buried and forgotten, THE HILTONS lifts a veil of secrecy to tell for the first time the true story behind the celebrity, wealth and glamour of one of the most successful family enterprises in American history.