I was having a conversation about a perfectly respectable business topic when word of Paris Hilton’s re-incarceration broke, and the person I was talking to said, “Isn’t it great that she’s got nothing to do with running Hilton Hotels Corp. (HLT).” That got me thinking … could she? Are the Hiltons still involved in their company? The answer is yes. Paris’s grandfather, 79-year-old Barron Hilton, is a former president of the company, currently its vice-chairman and is responsible for a family stake (through a trust) that still controls 5.3% of the company, or more than $700 million. I don’t pay careful attention to hotel and gambling stocks, but Hilton has been on a tear, easily outperforming the market over the last five years.
With money like that, Paris will have the resources to fuel her antics for year to come. Provided she stays out of jail.