Eric Michael Hilton (July 1, 1933 – December 10, 2016) was an American heir, hotelier, and philanthropist.

Early life

Eric Hilton was born on July 1, 1933 in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. He was the third son of

Conrad Hilton Conrad Nicholson Hilton Sr. (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American businessman who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916 Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature, but became disil ...

(the founder of the

Hilton Hotels Corporation Hilton Worldwide (legally Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.) is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the corporation is now led b ...

.) and his first wife Mary Adelaide Barron. Growing up in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

, Hilton was educated at

El Paso High School El Paso High School is the oldest operating high school in El Paso, Texas, and is part of the El Paso Independent School District. It serves the west-central section of the city, roughly south and west of the Franklin Mountains and north of Inters ...

and graduated from

Texas Western College The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...

. He served as a radar specialist in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Career

Hilton started his career at the Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1949. He first worked at the El Paso Hilton, working his way up from "bellman, doorman, steward, cook, elevator operator, desk clerk and telephone operator." Within a decade, in 1959, he became the manager of the Deshler Hilton in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Two years later, in 1961, he became the manager of the Shamrock Hilton in Houston, Texas. He later served as the corporation's executive vice president. He also served on its board of directors. He served as its vice chairman from 1993 to 1997, when he retired.

Philanthropy

Hilton served as the chairman of the BEST Foundation for a Drug-Free Tomorrow. He also served on the board of directors of the Little League Foundation of America from 1977 to 2016 Additionally, he served on the board of trustees of the

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is an American non-profit charitable foundation, established in 1944 by hotel entrepreneur Conrad Hilton. It remained relatively small until his death on January 3, 1979, when it was named the principal beneficiary ...

. Hilton founded the Nevada Medical Center. He also founded the Three Square Food Bank, a

food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, across ...

, in 2007. By 2016, the food bank had spread to Lincoln County,

Nye County Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At , Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, behi ...

and

Esmeralda County Esmeralda County is a county in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 729, making it the least populous county in Nevada. Esmeralda County does not have any incorporated communities. Its ...

. An on campus restaurant in honor of Eric Hilton, Eric's is part of the

Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management The Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership (Hilton College) is a college at the University of Houston, a public research university in Houston, Texas, focused on hospitality. It is one of 13 academic colleges at the universit ...

. Students of the Hilton College run all aspects and operations of the restaurant and bar. Hilton received the Award of Merit from the American Vocational Association as well as the Alumni President's Award and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

Personal life and death

Hilton married his 1st wife, Patricia Ann Skipworth, when they were just 19 years old. They had four children: Eric M. Hilton, Jr., Beverly Hilton-Neapolitan, Linda Hilton, Joseph Bradley Hilton. They raised their children in a residence in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Eric and Patricia later divorced. Eric's second wife Bibi, who is from Denmark, remained with him until his death. They had no children together, however, were married for over 30+ years. Eric Hilton died on December 10, 2016, aged 83 with his wife Bibi Hilton by his bedside. Hilton's 1st wife, Patricia, died the following May also at the age of 83, a private ceremony was held at their

Katy, Texas Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city of ...

home. As of 2020 Bibi Hilton is still living.

References

1933 births 2016 deaths People from Dallas People from El Paso, Texas University of Texas at El Paso alumni United States Army personnel of the Korean War Businesspeople from Las Vegas American corporate directors Philanthropists from Nevada Conrad Hilton family Philanthropists from Texas {{Philanthropist-stub