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The Hiltons: A Family Dynasty
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. But outside the boardroom, Conrad struggled with emotional detachment, failed marriages, and conflicted Catholicism. Then there were his Playboy Nicky Hilton's tragic alcoholism and marriage to Elizabeth Taylor was the stuff of tabloid legend. Barron Hilton, on the other hand, deftly handled his father's legacy, carrying the Hilton brand triumphantly into the new millennium.
Eric, raised apart from his older brothers, accepted his supporting role in the Hilton dynasty with calm and quiet-a stark contrast to the boys' much younger half-sister Francesca, whose battle for recognition led her into courtrooms and conflict. The cast of supporting players includes 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.
Demanding and enigmatic, patriarch Conrad Hilton's visionary ideas and unyielding will established the model for the modern luxury hotel industry. But outside the boardroom, Conrad struggled with emotional detachment, failed marriages, and conflicted Catholicism. Then there were his Playboy Nicky Hilton's tragic alcoholism and marriage to Elizabeth Taylor was the stuff of tabloid legend. Barron Hilton, on the other hand, deftly handled his father's legacy, carrying the Hilton brand triumphantly into the new millennium.
Eric, raised apart from his older brothers, accepted his supporting role in the Hilton dynasty with calm and quiet-a stark contrast to the boys' much younger half-sister Francesca, whose battle for recognition led her into courtrooms and conflict. The cast of supporting players includes 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.
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First published April 1, 2014
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About the author
J. Randy Taraborrelli
25 books487 followersJ. Randy Taraborrelli is an author known for biographies of contemporary entertainers and political figures. He is a featured writer in several entertainment magazines in Canada, England, and Australia. He also appears on television as an entertainment news reporter on shows such as Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America, Today and CBS This Morning. Taraborrelli resides in Los Angeles, California.
Taraborrelli, who has written eighteen books (including updated and expanded editions), has had fourteen of them appear on the New York Times best seller list, the most recent of which was 2014's The Hiltons - The True Story of an American Dynasty. His first best seller was Call Her Miss Ross in 1989. His 2009 biography of Marilyn Monroe - The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe - made a re-appearance on the e-books best-seller list at number two in the summer of 2012.
In November of 2012, it was announced that Reelz cable channel had optioned Taraborrelli's New York Times best-selling book, After Camelot, as a miniseries. It will be his second television miniseries, the first airing on NBC in 2000 and based on his book, Jackie, Ethel, Joan.
Through his newly formed J. Randy Taraborrelli Productions, Taraborrelli is currently developing and producing a number of television projects.
Taraborrelli, who has written eighteen books (including updated and expanded editions), has had fourteen of them appear on the New York Times best seller list, the most recent of which was 2014's The Hiltons - The True Story of an American Dynasty. His first best seller was Call Her Miss Ross in 1989. His 2009 biography of Marilyn Monroe - The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe - made a re-appearance on the e-books best-seller list at number two in the summer of 2012.
In November of 2012, it was announced that Reelz cable channel had optioned Taraborrelli's New York Times best-selling book, After Camelot, as a miniseries. It will be his second television miniseries, the first airing on NBC in 2000 and based on his book, Jackie, Ethel, Joan.
Through his newly formed J. Randy Taraborrelli Productions, Taraborrelli is currently developing and producing a number of television projects.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
April 12, 2014
Much thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing/the author for allowing me an advanced copy.
I didn’t know much of what I was getting into before I started reading this book. I often enjoy books centered around powerful families such as the Kennedy’s, so I thought I would give this one a go. Luckily for me, it was not centered on Paris Hilton, but predominantly the members of her family that have allowed her such a privileged lifestyle.
Conrad Hilton, Paris’s great grandfather, came from a family ethic where you were expected to work hard to earn your own path through life, without handouts or free rides of any kind. He believed in keeping the family name clean and even though he knew that he wasn’t the father of one of his children, he still called her one of his own and gave her his last name.
Naturally, I have always assumed that the Hilton’s lived off of the wealth of their family’s fortune, but was surprised to learn that this was not Conrad’s vision for his family and had there not been a loop hole in his will (that allowed his son, Barron Hilton, to contest against and win), our ear’s may have been spared the term “that’s hot” for so many years.
It was also quite interesting to learn that Conrad thought that women who spent a majority of their time hung up on doing things to make themselves look beautiful were frivolous and foolish. He couldn’t even endure watching a woman apply fingernail polish in his presence. So, of course, he wasn’t thinking very clearly when he married Zsa Zsa Gabor in the 40’s. As a result, they had two separate bedrooms. I found it interesting how the author compared Zsa Zsa to Paris toward the end of the book, because the entire time that I was reading about Zsa Zsa, I couldn’t help but notice their uncanny similarities as well.
Although Paris claims that she has worked for everything that she has, one can’t help but wonder if she would be so independently wealthy had a sex tape of her and Rick Solomon not surfaced in 2004. I suppose it is possible with the success of her reality show “The Simple Life”, but with her arrests, possessions with marijuana and cocaine, “after going to seven different private/or parochial schools” and then “being expelled from the Canterbury boarding School” after breaking the rules and therefore later earning her GED, it’s just hard to believe that she could be as successful as she is without her last name’s influence along with her infamous sex tape.
Paris may be the most popular heiress since Conrad, but the first one she is not, by name at least. Conrad also had a daughter with Zsa Zsa Gabor although he claims that this is entirely impossible since he wasn’t having sex with Zsa Zsa. But because he wanted to keep the Hilton’s name in tact and for the sake of Zsa Zsa’s daughter, Francesca Hilton, he claimed her to be one of his own.
Francesca had no reason to believe that she wasn’t a Hilton, by blood, until an argument ensued with Conrad when she asked to live with him and for money and he regrettably blurted out this fact to her. Francesca assumed that he wasn’t feeling well and that he wasn’t serious until she sued for more money after his death and learned that he had been quite serious, as he left information regarding this belief should she later sue. This sounds horrible, but I gathered from all of the information given that he had a soft spot for her and therefore left her more money than he initially planned and he felt terrible about their quarrel.
I really felt horrible for Francesca as she had a mother who was so self-involved and a father that claimed that she wasn’t his. Then later in life, Zsa Zsa’s super creepy and attention-seeking husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt attempted to keep her mother isolated from her. Although she didn’t have it so easy in life, Francesca seems to have had a decent life and remarkably laughs about it in hindsight.
As a whole, I enjoyed this book. I found it to be very informative rather than biased which was quite refreshing. I particularly liked how in the end, the author did a comparison of Zsa Zsa and Paris because I can’t imagine many people reading this without doing so. Although I have spoken mostly about Paris and Zsa Zsa as they are more identifiable, the book taps mostly into the lives of Conrad, his wives, and his children.
I definitely recommend this book although I have to add that if someone were looking for a Hilton-bashing book or for gossip that you won’t find it here. This reads more as a non-opinioned biography of the family and how they became so infamous.
I didn’t know much of what I was getting into before I started reading this book. I often enjoy books centered around powerful families such as the Kennedy’s, so I thought I would give this one a go. Luckily for me, it was not centered on Paris Hilton, but predominantly the members of her family that have allowed her such a privileged lifestyle.
Conrad Hilton, Paris’s great grandfather, came from a family ethic where you were expected to work hard to earn your own path through life, without handouts or free rides of any kind. He believed in keeping the family name clean and even though he knew that he wasn’t the father of one of his children, he still called her one of his own and gave her his last name.
Naturally, I have always assumed that the Hilton’s lived off of the wealth of their family’s fortune, but was surprised to learn that this was not Conrad’s vision for his family and had there not been a loop hole in his will (that allowed his son, Barron Hilton, to contest against and win), our ear’s may have been spared the term “that’s hot” for so many years.
It was also quite interesting to learn that Conrad thought that women who spent a majority of their time hung up on doing things to make themselves look beautiful were frivolous and foolish. He couldn’t even endure watching a woman apply fingernail polish in his presence. So, of course, he wasn’t thinking very clearly when he married Zsa Zsa Gabor in the 40’s. As a result, they had two separate bedrooms. I found it interesting how the author compared Zsa Zsa to Paris toward the end of the book, because the entire time that I was reading about Zsa Zsa, I couldn’t help but notice their uncanny similarities as well.
Although Paris claims that she has worked for everything that she has, one can’t help but wonder if she would be so independently wealthy had a sex tape of her and Rick Solomon not surfaced in 2004. I suppose it is possible with the success of her reality show “The Simple Life”, but with her arrests, possessions with marijuana and cocaine, “after going to seven different private/or parochial schools” and then “being expelled from the Canterbury boarding School” after breaking the rules and therefore later earning her GED, it’s just hard to believe that she could be as successful as she is without her last name’s influence along with her infamous sex tape.
Paris may be the most popular heiress since Conrad, but the first one she is not, by name at least. Conrad also had a daughter with Zsa Zsa Gabor although he claims that this is entirely impossible since he wasn’t having sex with Zsa Zsa. But because he wanted to keep the Hilton’s name in tact and for the sake of Zsa Zsa’s daughter, Francesca Hilton, he claimed her to be one of his own.
Francesca had no reason to believe that she wasn’t a Hilton, by blood, until an argument ensued with Conrad when she asked to live with him and for money and he regrettably blurted out this fact to her. Francesca assumed that he wasn’t feeling well and that he wasn’t serious until she sued for more money after his death and learned that he had been quite serious, as he left information regarding this belief should she later sue. This sounds horrible, but I gathered from all of the information given that he had a soft spot for her and therefore left her more money than he initially planned and he felt terrible about their quarrel.
I really felt horrible for Francesca as she had a mother who was so self-involved and a father that claimed that she wasn’t his. Then later in life, Zsa Zsa’s super creepy and attention-seeking husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt attempted to keep her mother isolated from her. Although she didn’t have it so easy in life, Francesca seems to have had a decent life and remarkably laughs about it in hindsight.
As a whole, I enjoyed this book. I found it to be very informative rather than biased which was quite refreshing. I particularly liked how in the end, the author did a comparison of Zsa Zsa and Paris because I can’t imagine many people reading this without doing so. Although I have spoken mostly about Paris and Zsa Zsa as they are more identifiable, the book taps mostly into the lives of Conrad, his wives, and his children.
I definitely recommend this book although I have to add that if someone were looking for a Hilton-bashing book or for gossip that you won’t find it here. This reads more as a non-opinioned biography of the family and how they became so infamous.
May 9, 2018
Interesting book about a fascinating family. I was glad that much more emphasis is on the earlier generations rather that Paris and her lot.
April 20, 2014
Meh!... well, actually I have a little more to say about this book: it seems to be based solely on public records and a couple of tabloid articles. However, it is written tastefully and doesn't seem to ruffle any feathers whatsoever. I found myself kind of empty and in the very same place where I was when I started it.
November 24, 2023
A long a rather dull book that is mostly about the relationship between Conrad Hilton and Zsa Zsa Gabor, detailing every conflict they had during their marriage and after their divorce. In the acknowledgements, the author discusses how he was considered as a possible ghostwriter for Zsa Zsa Gabor's memoirs and that may explain why this book is so focused on Zsa Zsa Gabor to the exclusion of much of the rest of the Hilton family or the wider history of travel and tourism in the United States.
June 8, 2014
If you are looking for a book that dishes on the lives of Paris and Nikky Hilton, this is not it.
This is a well researched, well written book that chronicles the life of Conrad Hilton's visionary ideas and unyielding will which established the model for the modern luxury hotel industry aka the dynasty of Hilton Hotels.
It also tells of his emotional detachment, failed marriages, and conflicted issues with Catholicism.
Also talked about are a cast of supporting players includes 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.
A very interesting rags-to-riches story about a fascinating man.
This is a well researched, well written book that chronicles the life of Conrad Hilton's visionary ideas and unyielding will which established the model for the modern luxury hotel industry aka the dynasty of Hilton Hotels.
It also tells of his emotional detachment, failed marriages, and conflicted issues with Catholicism.
Also talked about are a cast of supporting players includes 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.
A very interesting rags-to-riches story about a fascinating man.
August 19, 2014
This book was actually very interesting.. the audio was great for the car. Very interesting and entertaining. It is NOT about Paris Hilton and her generation. She's briefly mentioned in the end. It's about Conrad Hilton and how he built the Hilton hotel chain from the ground up.
October 11, 2017
Reads like a memoir. Gives the impression that the Hiltons (especially Conrad) could do no wrong, while everything was Zsa Zsa's fault. Would have also liked more details about the business and how it grew. Otherwise it's a very interesting look at an interesting dynasty.
April 16, 2021
Such a long journey, finally Conrad Nicholson Hilton found his success, from renting a room at $2.50 a day to managing and owning more than 4,300 hotels and 715,000 rooms in 94 countries and territories.
July 2, 2021
I didn’t know much about the Hilton story before, and this biography kept me intrigued and engaged from start to finish. Hilton’s grit and business-savvy are impressive, but the family’s commitment to each other through thick and thin was even more impressive than their millions.
January 5, 2019
Wonderful book about success, love, and drama
Great book if you want to
1) know the keys to success— the right combination of hard work, ridiculous work ethic and calculated risk-taking,
2) know the drama filled lives of Hiltons and get entertained.
A highly fun read.
Great book if you want to
1) know the keys to success— the right combination of hard work, ridiculous work ethic and calculated risk-taking,
2) know the drama filled lives of Hiltons and get entertained.
A highly fun read.
May 28, 2022
I don't normally read a lot of biographies but I liked this one a whole lot! It was so easy to read, and interesting, that the pages just kept turning.
July 6, 2021
Lots of drama in the Hilton family that I never know knew about...
June 28, 2022
I’d expected more about the later generations of the family, but overall, an engaging history of the family, with the focus on Conrad. Zsa Zsa Gabor definitely does not come off looking very good
February 5, 2025
Zsa Zsa stole the show. She kept popping up to liven up the text but I am sure it was no damned fun to be her daughter. or her employee.
Quite a look into this American dynasty and it's early roots.Interesting to read at a time America is in shambles, a good distraction to go back to another time.
Quite a look into this American dynasty and it's early roots.Interesting to read at a time America is in shambles, a good distraction to go back to another time.
July 29, 2016
I had surgery and chose this book to read when I couldn't move around much. Interesting timing because this was the week of the Republican convention. Conrad Hilton and Trump both are hotel moguls and I saw some similarities between the two. Trump even has a son named after Conrad's son Barron.
Randy Taraborrelli has a fascination with Zsa Zsa Gabor. Weirdly, the book talks about Conrad's marriage to Zsa Zsa in the 1940's before he even mentions Conrad's first wife Mary and his children. He mentions Zsa Zsa throughout Conrad's life story although I strongly suspect that after their marriage her role was pretty small.
Conrad comes off as a decent, religious, hard working man. His son Nicky is portrayed much more sympathetically here than in other books I've read. Even Zsa Zsa was kind to Nicky's wife and came off better than you'd expect.
I enjoyed learning about Conrad and now I really want to go to Chicago and stay at one of the three grand hotels he bought there.
Randy Taraborrelli has a fascination with Zsa Zsa Gabor. Weirdly, the book talks about Conrad's marriage to Zsa Zsa in the 1940's before he even mentions Conrad's first wife Mary and his children. He mentions Zsa Zsa throughout Conrad's life story although I strongly suspect that after their marriage her role was pretty small.
Conrad comes off as a decent, religious, hard working man. His son Nicky is portrayed much more sympathetically here than in other books I've read. Even Zsa Zsa was kind to Nicky's wife and came off better than you'd expect.
I enjoyed learning about Conrad and now I really want to go to Chicago and stay at one of the three grand hotels he bought there.
July 8, 2014
I really have no idea what provoked me to read this lengthy account, but it did not disappoint. From cover to cover, in a hop-scotchy timeline, this book was more than entertaining and interesting. From the moment Conrad Hilton, as a young boy, suggested that his family have their own "hotel" within their house to make ends meet, he was a goldmine. Hotel after hotel was acquired with ease, respect and responsibility and mostly with success. The relationships with all of his children and wives is deeply explored and uncovers the various sides of him--some that you'll love and others that you'll hate. Regardless, he is a kind-hearted man that saw the importance of family (at times) religion and his desire to help all human beings. This is a must-read!
July 12, 2014
This fascinating book about the Hilton dynasty almost reads like a novel. Conrad Hilton, the patriarch of this famous and wealthy family, started from very humble beginnings. He parlayed that into a multimillion business. His children, Nicky, who married Elizabeth Taylor and divorced her after one year, Barron, a chip off the block was very business oriented, Eric, his third son who was raised by his mother and stepfather, and Francesca, his daughter by Zsa Zsa Gabor, his second wife, who paternity was questioned had their stories fully told. All the way down to Paris Hilton who is Baron's granddaughter and Conrad's great granddaughter, it is all here: joys and sorrows, the good, the bad and the ugly. It was a great read.
February 19, 2016
The detail and storytelling in this book engage the reader from the beginning and carry through to the ending. Conrad Hilton understood the importance of relationships in business. He also clearly combined his religious faith with his business practices. He learned from his father the value of hard work and earning his own money. These views were handed down to his children and grandchildren. In the later years of his life, despite his immense wealth, Conrad Hilton did not leave a huge inheritance for his family members but gave the bulk of his wealth to charities.
I enjoyed every part of this book and heard it all--cover to cover. I recommend this book.
I enjoyed every part of this book and heard it all--cover to cover. I recommend this book.
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August 13, 2016Thanks netgalley for a free read in exchange for a review. Long historical review of Conrad and Zsa Zsa, part immediate family, and mostly past hotelier stories. I'm not going to rate this because some parts were so boring I skimmed it. Seemed to be too much info on the whole and nothing you really wanted to know. It sounds as though Conrad was an upstanding person, just seems sad his family went to crap after his demise.
April 19, 2014
My rating is 2.5!!!!A gossipy history of the Hilton family with the emphasis on the patriarch, Conrad. He was quite a controlling man with a firm belief that there was no free ride in life. All the children had to earn a living. Loyalty to one another was at the forefront and they created quite an empire. All the histrionics with ZsaZsa Gabor was boring – an egoistic woman
August 24, 2014
Kind of a slog. A lot of details regarding business deals that were not very interesting. And I think the author's goal was to disparage Zsa Zsa Gabor and it worked. She seems pretty reprehensible based on her attempts to cash in on Hilton money. Also too long and some repetition. No harm in editing!!
September 28, 2017
Read this one with my husband. We thoroughly enjoyed the story of their lives and learned so much. Gratefully this isn't about Paris or her sister, but she has a chapter dedicated to her near the end of the book. I love learning about the lives of successful people; learning their personalities and what drove them.
April 4, 2015
Learned many interesting facts about a family I only thought of as "Paris Hilton". Interesting to read about Conrad hiltons humble beginnings and the work ethic he tried to instill in his children. A good read and only a short segment addresses Paris and her adventures.
April 19, 2015
If you want to read an obsequious novel about the Hilton family, this is the book for you. It seems researched (apparently no real life interviews or anything), but it also doesn't seem like the author really critically analyzed any of the Hiltons or their decisions. Also a little boring.
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April 5, 2015Meh.
September 22, 2014
Good book nice biography of the Hilton family.
May 24, 2015
I really liked this book! I wish the author spent more time talking about the process of how Conrad amassed his wealth versus the drama surrounding ZsaZsa...
February 22, 2015
Very interesting history of this slightly odd family focussing on the beginnings of the company and not the sleaze of where the Hiltons have ended up
March 4, 2015
This book should have been titled The Hilton's with a side of Zsa Zsa Gabor. If you're looking for a book on the Hilton's, pre Paris & Nicky, this one isn't it. It's really not very good.
June 10, 2017
Weird book, am up to page 44 and we're already at Conrad's middle age and past his first marriage with hardly a mention. Since he was the founder of the dynasty, it's pretty poor reporting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews