Hotel billionaire Barron Hilton is stiffing his high-living, hard-partying granddaughters, Paris and Nicky, yesterday announcing plans to give 97 percent of his vast fortune to charity.
His plan includes a $1.2 billion pledge to the Con rad N. Hilton Founda tion, named after his fa ther – a donation that includes the windfall from the recent sale of Hilton Hotels Corp. and the pend ing sale of the world’s biggest ca sino company, Harrah’s Enter tainment Inc.
Barron Hil ton, 80, chair man of the foundation, intends “to contribute 97 percent of his entire net worth, esti mated today at $2.3 billion, in cluding the cre ated trusts, at whatever value it is at the time of his passing,” the foundation declared.
There was no immediate com ment from Paris.
But family expert Jerry Oppenheimer, author of “House of Hilton,” has told The Post that Paris has been an “embarrassment” for the bluebloods, sullying the family name with her vacuous antics.
“Speaking for the family as well as the foundation, we are all exceedingly proud and grateful for this extraordinary commitment,” said Steven Hilton, one of Barron’s sons and president and chief executive of the foundation.
The “that’s hot” model and “Simple Life” reality TV star has been a symbol of celebrity privilege for years, gaining infamy in 2003 when a sex tape of her and a boyfriend made the Internet rounds.
She managed to parlay the notoriety into a celebrity career, including her TV show, a book, a music album and film roles.
This year, she slipped back into infamy with more than three weeks in jail for violating probation in a drunken-driving case.
Barron Hilton’s plans for his $1.2 billion windfall is the year’s second-largest publicly announced donation, right behind Leona Helmsley’s $4 billion to a foundation under her family’s name.
The Hilton foundation was established in 1944; Conrad Hilton died in 1979, and left virtually all his money, including his reported 27 percent controlling stake in Hilton Hotels, to the charity.
Barron challenged the will and, after a nearly decade-long legal struggle, reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement to split ownership of the shares with the foundation in 1988.
The hotel group was sold for $20 billion in October to Blackstone Group; the acquisition of Harrah’s is due to be completed in early 2008.
The Hilton Foundation describes its mission as “to relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute.”
Among its interests are projects that provide clean water in Africa, education for blind children, housing for the mentally ill, the work of Roman Catholic sisters, and substance abuse. With Reuters