9 Quotes & Sayings By Conrad Hilton

He later attended the Harvard School of Hotel Administration and worked as a hotel waiter for several years. In 1915, Hilton became general manager of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Colorado. His success at the Brown Palace led to his appointment as manager of the Pickwick Club in Kansas City, which he purchased from William Randolph Hearst in 1920.

In 1925, Hilton formed the multimillion-dollar hotel chain of Hilton Hotels Corporation . In 1927 he opened Hotel Texas, followed by The Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in San Juan, Puerto Rico; The Hôtel des Étrangers in Paris; The Hôtel Waldorf-Astoria in New York City; and the Hôtel Ritz-Carlton in London—all of which gained him a reputation as a "world traveler." In 1930, he opened the Hôtel des Grands Hommes ("Hotel for Great Men") on Fifth Avenue. The Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Fifth Avenue became known as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, while the Hôtel des Étrangers was renamed The Pierre and became part of its empire of luxury hotels.

In 1946, he formed another hotel chain called Hilton Hotels Corporation . A year later, he sold his interest to J.R. Simplot Company.

From that time until his death on November 28, 1979, Conrad Hilton had a tremendous influence on America's hotels and tourism industry—the "Hiltonization" of America.