“Success seems to be connected with action ..." - Conrad Hilton

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April 19, 2017 9:27 PM

The most enduring influence to shape Hilton’s philanthropic philosophy beyond that of his parents was the Roman Catholic Church and his sisters.

Conrad Hilton

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” – Conrad Hilton.

Conrad Nicholson Hilton (December 25, 1887 — January 3, 1979) was an American hotelier and the founder of the Hilton Hotels chain. He was born in San Antonio, New Mexico. His father, Augustus Halvorsen Hilton (1854–1919), was an immigrant from Norway, and his Catholic mother, Mary Genevieve (née Laufersweiler) (1863–1956), was an American of German descent from Iowa.

Hilton had seven siblings and attended the Goss Military Academy and St. Michael’s College (now Santa Fe University of Art and Design), and the New Mexico School of Mines (now New Mexico Tech). He was a member of the international fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon.

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In his early twenties, Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature, when the state was newly formed. He served two years in the U.S. Army during World War I. His father was killed in a car accident while he was serving in the Army in France.

The most enduring influence to shape Hilton’s philanthropic philosophy beyond that of his parents was the Roman Catholic Church and his sisters.

He credited his mother with guiding him to prayer and the church whenever he was troubled or dismayed — from the boyhood loss of a beloved pony to severe financial losses during the Great Depression. His mother continually told him that prayer was the best investment he would ever make.

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