January 10, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
The hotel mogul William Barron Hilton has pledged $1.2-billion to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, in Reno, Nev., and last month announced his plans to give most of the rest of his fortune to the organization when he dies.
The $1.2-billion gift will push up the total value of the foundation and its affiliated charities to $4.3-billion, making it one of the wealthiest philanthropies in the United States.
Before Mr. Hilton’s pledge, the foundation and its affiliated charities held more than $3.1-billion in assets, according to the foundation’s 2007 annual report.
All but 15 other grant-making institutions have that amount in assets, according to The Chronicle’s most recent survey of wealthy foundations.
The foundation stands to grow even bigger in years to come: Mr. Hilton, who is 80, recently told the foundation’s board members that he intends to bequeath 97 percent of his entire net worth to the philanthropy when he dies. He is estimated to have at least $1.1-billion more than the amount he pledged last month.
The Hilton foundation was established by Mr. Hilton’s father, Conrad, who created the organization in 1944.
William Barron Hilton’s wealth has ballooned in recent months. He gained from a $26-billion deal announced in July in which the Blackstone Group agreed to buy the Hilton Hotels Corporation, and from a pending sale of Harrah’s Entertainment, in which Mr. Hilton owns shares, to Apollo Global Management and Texas Pacific Group Capital for $17.1-billion.
The Hilton foundation finances a range of activities, including efforts to prevent and treat blindness worldwide, improve water and sanitation systems in developing countries, curb drug abuse among young people, provide early-childhood education to disabled children, and help homeless Americans find housing.
